Y Achievers prepares minority youth for college and career opportunities shaped by the core belief that educational attainment provides pathways out of poverty for youth. 225 first-generation and low-income students were prepared for college in 2019-2020 leading to 90% of Y Achievers pursuing higher education. Can we count on your help to us support additional young people this fall? 

Who are Y Achievers and why do they need our support?

Y Achievers is a national program which helps youth in 7^th – 12^th grade discover and pursue higher educational and career goals by equipping them with the skills needed to succeed and be community role models. Since its inception, the YMCA Achievers Program has served 25,000+ teens in the City of Boston and our Adult Achievers have volunteered more than 84,000 hours in community service. 

Boston area professionals act as our Adult Achievers and provide expertise and mentorship in fields which our youth are interested in through Career and Life Skill exploration workshops on topics such as financial literacy, resume development, interview prep, and workplace conduct. A guest speaker series of professionals who look like our young people shines a light on a variety of career options, from medical professional to entrepreneur. 

YMCA Achievers Objectives: 

1. Expose youth to career and college knowledge through the lens of professionals who look like them. We believe that children cannot aspire to be what they cannot see. 
2. Motivate participants to raise academic performance, succeed in school, and gain marketable skills. 
3. Build character and increase positive assets of youth. 
4. Recognize and promote excellence among youth participants and adult volunteers. 
5. Build character and increase positive assets of youth. 

Throughout the pandemic, Y Achievers recognized the importance of staying connected with young people, either virtually or in-person. As we planned virtual offerings, we committed to addressing the barriers that many of our young people would face with this transition while utilizing the remote format to bring exciting guest speakers who would otherwise be unable to participate. When safe, we have found that the in-person participants look forward to an opportunity to gather with their peers in a safe environment.

We are committed to ensuring all young people have access to programming, fieldtrips, Y membership and college tours no matter financial circumstance. This wouldn’t be possible without the generous contributions of partners like you!

Can you please support us and our Advisory Board in reaching our goal so that we can continue to guide our young people on a pathway to success?