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…
Celebrating 10 Years of YELLS: A Look Back My name is Bridget Reyes, and I’m a proud YELLS alumna and Board Member! My reflection here is one in a series of reflections leading up to YELLS’s Tenth Anniversary Networking Dinner. This amazing organization and the people who make it so incredibly…
YELLS is so fortunate to have such amazing volunteers. This month, we want to thank the volunteer team that gave up their entire weekend to join us at Camp Blue Ridge for our Servant Leadership Retreat. DJ, Cameron, and Jenny all started in different places at YELLS, but joined forces…
Servant-leadership is at the core of YELLS’s ideology, and our scholars learn to embody this principle through various fun activities and academic lessons. One of our 1st grade students, Syriah Fields, has gone “above & beyond” (another one of our core values!) from the start of the school year. Each…
