Bandwagons Youth Initiative

Our Mission Statement:

Bandwagons Youth Initiative’s mission is to enrich the lives of America's youth by connecting them to their community through high-quality academic tutoring, mentoring, and sports training.

Why do we need this nonprofit?

Bandwagons Youth Initiative looks to tackle a current and worsening societal issue: the mental health crisis among youth. Society often focuses on the mental health needs of adults, while we are failing our youth. The toll that this pandemic has taken on our youth requires us to do more. Even before the pandemic, the pressures alone that are placed upon youth to be the best academically and/or athletically in order to achieve success bring a great deal of stress. BYI wants to help tackle the increasing need for youth social/emotional learning, and the financial barriers to youth participation in sports. BYI will support youth both academically and socially through educational tutoring, mentorship, and athletic coaching, training, and support. With mentorship through academics and sports, BYI will help youth internalize their greatness and full potential for life, and then teach others how to do so too. 

What is our 5 year plan?

Our current goal is to get into schools. We plan to connect to all of the local colleges/universities and pitch our program to them, because there is not a current local program that connects college students with youth in the capacity we are looking to achieve. By 2025, we hope to build these partnerships and begin to focus on after school programs that provide tutoring and sports training to youth from elementary school through high school. During these after school programs, the volunteer college students will serve as tutors and will work with students, giving them academic tutoring and sports training, in an environment that provides mentorship, role models, and empowerment. Tutors will first receive training through the organization and then will be placed in elementary, middle, and high schools, after-school programs, and after school sports programs under the guidance/supervision of classroom teachers, after-school program staff, and coaches. Their activities will provide opportunities and choice for youth to connect and build relationships through sports and education within our local community; thereby empowering themselves and each other to engage and achieve through collaboration with peer mentors.

Our 3 year goal is to invest in land. Many fields are not readily available for use and kids are left with minimal opportunities to play pickup sports because of fees or restrictions on usage. Organized activities have become very expensive and cumbersome; and many of those that are affordable tend to be lower quality, leaving many parents choosing not to engage in these activities (whether it is sports or tutoring). The commitment alone for organized events has become another deterrent following the ever-rising cost requirements to get involved. Kids and parents would be more willing to engage in these fun activities if it was not as heavy of a commitment (a two week camp for instance). This is causing our community to see a decline in youth and community engagement because it is either extremely expensive and heavy time commitment, or very low quality. By 2027, we would like to have land that would allow for youth to have access to high quality organized athletic opportunities - this is a strong need for our local youth.

Our 5 year goal is to have a facility built on our land. We see ourselves in a large facility that encompasses space for tutoring sessions and fields on site where elementary, middle, and high school students can be transported to the facility where they will meet with BYI vetted and trained college students and trained staff for high quality, low to no cost, educational tutoring and athletic sessions. This site would also host regular youth sports for students in the local Firestone/Frederick/Mead community at low to no cost. This site would also host adult sports at regular cost that would then offset the cost for youth sports. Currently, there are not many local places for youth to socialize; this site would give youth that safe, engaging place to connect with other youth, while also enhancing their academics and widening their athletic opportunities. The cost for youth to engage in sports has become outrageous, and this site would give all youth in any income bracket the opportunity to engage in high quality programs, where currently low-income families may not be able to do so because of the outrageous cost in society.

Our 5 year plan encompasses a holistic approach to adult and youth sports. BYI will help bring families together around sports and education.

“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity” (Seneca). 

Bandwagons Youth Initiative wants to give that luck to all youth. BYI will give youth the platform and ability to connect with the opportunities they seek, and opportunities they may not have even known existed.