Founded in 2004, YEP is one of the area's most impactful and trusted nonprofits, providing comprehensive services to young people living in poverty, those out of school or work, and individuals who have experienced trauma. YEP reaches 1,000 individuals annually across 13 parishes operating out of 5 sites in Greater New Orleans, offering 4 impactful programs all free to participants. We operate in four main service areas across Central City, Mid-City, Algiers, New Orleans East, and St. Charles Parish, serving the river parishes. Our programs include YEP MENTORS, providing mentoring and youth advocacy for ages 8-21; YEP EDUCATES, offering adult education and high school equivalency preparation for those 16 and older; YEP WORKS, focusing on work-based learning and job training for ages 16-24; and YEP ENRICHES, which provides out-of-school-time programming, summer camp and teen camp for ages 7-16. Thanks to your donations, we've paired 2,600 young people with adult mentors, helped 689 graduates earn their high school equivalency diploma, seen 100% of youth connected to a Youth Advocate exhibit improved self-esteem, and inspired hope for the future in 95% of our participants.