YELLS staff and youth rung in 2020 with New Year’s Eve-themed activities that challenged us to think about how we can grow our skills and spread our impact in 2020. While our students were still enjoying their holiday break, our staff met to get a head start in putting the…
In case you missed it, our teens hosted a tremendously successful Community Dinner to help us close out the year. This was a huge service learning opportunity for our Community Action Cafe Scholars and Mentoring Bigs, as they learned first hand what it takes to hold a successful event of…
Each December the Franklin Road Community Association hosts Holidays Around the World. This huge community event led by Franklin Gateway residents provides holiday entertainment, crafts and activities, Christmas gifts, and a resource fair. Our Mentoring Bigs took advantage of this opportunity host “pitch tables” for their upcoming community service projects.…
This past holiday season was filled with many generous donations and gifts. We want to give special recognition to our neighboring businesses at Parkway One and Two for the huge outpouring of love they decided to give our students this year. Parkway One and Two reached out to us to…
“It takes a village to raise a child, and YELLS is like an extended family.” – YELLS Afterschool Program Parent We’re so blessed to have a community that uplifts our work at YELLS and wraps their arms around our Franklin Gateway neighborhood. The YELLS Family is truly powerful: 33+ partners…
“YELLS helped me to grow in my communication skills, keeping eye contact, networking skills, and becoming more of a leader. It helped me to see that there is always a way around things. If there is a bad situation, there’s always a way to make it better. The YELLS values…
Our daily volunteers are a very important part of the YELLS team. Volunteers are needed to help make sure that everything runs smoothly and our kiddos receive the individual guidance to help them learn and grow. Dan Moore, affectionately referred to as Mr. Dan, came to YELLS last year as…
Last school year was a very successful year for many of our students, but we’re especially proud of one of our graduates who, after struggling with many family issues, wasn’t sure she saw a path to graduation before she began at YELLS. Ansleigh recalls learning about YELLS from her two…
We want to give a big shout out to three of our partners, Advanced MD, Assurant Solutions, and United Way! Each of them played a role in making a very special afternoon for our students! Advanced MD, a Global Payments company, first came to YELLS in 2017, and we are…
Each year our YELLS teens embark on a journey of self-discovery and teamwork as the Mentoring “Bigs” and Community Action Café Scholars join together for an intensive weekend retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The retreat focuses on servant-leadership and building upon YELLS’s core values while strengthening family ties among…
