YMEN

YMEN is an effective and dynamic youth leadership organization in the North Lawndale Community on Chicago’s West Side. YMEN’s mission is to prepare young men and young women in North Lawndale for leadership by helping them grow in their faith and character, develop a love for learning, and use their talents to serve the community and strengthen our families. Offering 30 different programs seven days a week, YMEN provides educational support, group mentoring, vocational classes in the arts, career-based and entrepreneurial education, sports and recreational activities, family supportive services, and service learning to more than 300 students and their families. Here is our return on investment: Currently, 70% of our staff are former students of YMEN who are now the indigenous leadership of the organization.

YMEN has received numerous awards and has been identified by the University of Illinois as “a key answer to the struggle facing urban youth… YMEN is one of the most effective youth development organizations in Chicago, if not the country, and a powerful alternative to gang membership and school dropout.”