The mission of Youth Enrichment Services (YES) is to inspire and challenge inner-city Boston youth with physical and mental activities that foster life-long respect for self, others, and the environment. 

Since its founding in 1968, Youth Enrichment Services (YES) has evolved into a blue-chip youth development organization with a unique three-tiered program structure that offers Boston’s urban youth a dynamic continuum of experiences as they progress through elementary, middle, and high school. More than 1,600 children and teens participate in YES’s year-round programming each year. Under the careful guidance of trained staff and over 200 trained and dedicated volunteers, youth explore new activities and opportunities, develop self-confidence, and transform into young leaders.

YES accomplishes its mission through its three-tiered Formula for Success. YES’s Tier 1 Introductory programs are one-time experiences that give youth a chance to experience the outdoors and engage in new activities through its Operation SnowSports and Outdoor Adventure programs. Tier 2 Intermediate programs are repeat engagement experiences that build self-esteem by creating a supportive environment that celebrates skill development and includes positive social relationships with peers and trained adult staff and volunteers. Tier 2 programs include YETTI (Youth Excel Through Tailored Instruction) and the Mattapan Young Achievers, Cross Country Ski, Outdoor Adventure week-long intensives, and the YES Track and Field programs. The Tier 3 High Impact YES Academy (includes the Girls Outdoor Adventure Leaders (GOAL) program, College Preparation, Career Exploration, and the Junior Volunteer program). These high-impact programs are a gateway for under-served urban teens to reach their full potential and achieve success in the classroom and beyond.

YES targets youth and teens ages 7 to 18 from Boston’s most diverse and economically challenged neighborhoods: Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. One out of three YES youth live in a single-parent household and three-quarters are from low to low-moderate income households. Girls are half of YES’s overall participants. Three out of five of all YES youth are of color: Black/ African American (29%), Latino/ Hispanic (18%), Multi-Ethnic (15%), and Asian (6%).

Major Accomplishments FY16 (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016):

High School Graduation – Contributed to the successful completion of high school for 100% of YES high school seniors. For the sixth year in a row, all YES high school seniors graduated and enrolled in college.

Operation Snowsports (YETTI) – Introduced youth to skiing and snowboarding through a repeat engagement program model where youth are instructed by the same volunteer teacher and learn with the same group of peers over the course of four weeks. During the 2015-16 winter season, 173 youth participated in the YETTI model.

Track & Field – YES expanded its Track & Field program to be offered in a second location. In addition to its first location at Moakley Park in South Boston, YES now offers its Track & Field program to youth ages 4 – 7 at English High School in Jamaica Plain.

In order to achieve its strategic goals, YES has pressing capacity building needs:

I am honored to have served as the Executive Director of Youth Enrichment Services since 2008. It is a privilege to lead this organization through its next chapter. YES owes much to its founders, Richard and Mary Williams, who built this organization from the ground up. It is my goal, as their successor, to be a true steward of the YES mission. 

YES’s financials are in a very stable position, and the outlook is positive for short-term stability and long-term sustainability. YES’s strategic efforts to diversify the organization’s charitable funding streams are successfully underway. YES has realized increased events revenue over the past four years by establishing an annual gala fundraiser and offering a series of after-work events for young professionals. For the 2015 Black Diamond Gala, YES has established a major donor leadership council to lead fundraising efforts. The Council consists of 15 major YES donors who have the capacity to sponsor the event themselves and to bring in their networks. YES has successfully expanded its email and direct mail campaigns, adding two new campaigns in FY15, while also growing its social media presence. Currently, YES is putting increased focus on stewardship activities with individuals, corporations and foundations capable of making major gifts. 

Page 2 of YES's 2014 Audited Financials, Statement of Financial Position, Mortgage Payable (current liability) line item indicates that the mortgage note was within one year of renewal, thus bringing the balance due into a current position as of 6-30-14. The mortgage was refinanced in September of 2014. Under Net Assets, the change in the Undesignated Operating and the Temporarily Restricted reflect the transition of cash from restricted to unrestricted status.

Page 3 of YES's 2014 Audited Financials, Statement of Activities and Changes in Net Assets, Revenue and Support and Expense line items both reflect organization growth and a significant improvement in unrestricted net assets.

Other Documents

YES’s ultimate goal is to provide transformative opportunities for Boston inner-city youth, ages 7 to 18, through challenging, active outdoor experiences embedded with leadership development programming. YES’s intended outcomes are that youth develop the experience, confidence and leadership skills needed to achieve, lead and excel in college, career, and life. YES facilitates social change by giving youth the tools and encouragement needed to change how they see themselves and others; to make value-driven decisions; and to interact positively with the world and all those they encounter.

YES utilizes multiple broad complementary strategies.

• Promote regular outdoor physical activity. YES inspires youth to get outside and get moving all year-round, through downhill and cross country skiing, snowboarding, track & field, rock climbing, kayaking, and biking. The Centers for Disease Control clearly outlines the benefits of being physically active, which include reducing the risk of obesity and diabetes, for which the YES target population is at risk (Health of Boston Report, 2013). YES youth routinely continue to exercise regularly.

• Foster meaningful relationships. Because of the high numbers of adult staff and volunteers involved in program delivery, YES is able to foster the development of consistent, positive, trusting relationships between youth and supportive adult staff and volunteers. Relationships with caring adults are widely recognized as being essential for youth to achieve their full potential. YES youth unfailingly say that they feel supported by their coaches and have positive interactions with adult staff and volunteers.

• Model positive social values. The YES culture reinforces positive social norms and builds improved social skills by recognizing good sportsmanship and rewarding resiliency; by setting the example that everyone in the group is valued and their participation matters; and by practicing accountability in terms of rules of behavior towards each other, their coaches and others they encounter while on the trails, mountain, water and in the community. Promotion of pro-social norms is considered to by the Institute of Medicine to be an essential feature of effective youth development programs. YES youth consistently make healthier lifestyle choices and improve their academic efforts.

• Opportunities for skills building.  In addition to teaching sport-specific skills, YES helps youth build the personal skills of goal setting and problem-solving. YES provides youth the chance to set and pursue their own goals, build on their existing strengths, and take the lead on working through challenges individually and as a group. Research clearly indicates that such skills are essential for positive youth development. YES youth consistently increase their problem-solving and goal setting skills. YES also teaches leadership, college-and-workforce readiness skills. Youth gain the tools and practical experiences needed to succeed in school, work and life through workshops, job shadowing, college tours, and one-on-one assistance. For the past five years, 100% of the youth in the YES Academy have advanced to the next grade level and graduated high school on time and enrolled in college.

• Facilitate Access & Inclusion.   Boston’s minority and economically disadvantaged youth are faced with inadequate access to quality educational and workforce development opportunities and limited meaningful out-of-school programs, with less than half having access to such programs (Boston Indicators Report, 2012). By keeping programs low-to-no cost, YES offers youth opportunities that most would not otherwise have. 

• Provide physical and psychological safety. Many YES youth live in high crime areas, so it is essential that they feel safe when they are with YES. Practices and activities are held at high quality and well managed facilities, using quality equipment and developmentally appropriate training from certified coaches. Emotional safety is promoted by focusing on the overall well-being of the child and from utilizing a positive risk taking approach: encouraging youth to try something new that they might not be initially good at, and supporting them to keep trying. Literature supports the importance of safety and YES has an excellent record on this measure, with youth routinely reporting feeling safe with YES.

YES has the necessary experienced staff, robust development efforts, strong community partnerships and well-developed volunteer infrastructure.

Senior Leadership: 

Development Capacity:

YES’s goal is to gain a comprehensive picture of the youth being served and the positive changes that can be directly attributed to their involvement in YES programs, including changes in self-perception, development of specific skills, related improvement in school, and overall satisfaction with the program. To do this, YES conducts pre and post-surveys with youth in all programs, using both traditional “paper and pencil” surveys and web-based surveys. Data is also gathered from registration forms and school documents. Anecdotal testimonies are gathered through reflection journaling and youth interviews. In addition, surveys are conducted with parents who are asked about their satisfaction with the program and about the impact they observe the program having on their child. Supervisors provide observation and evaluation feedback. The numbers of returning youth, high school graduates and college enrollees are also documented.

All surveys encourage the respondent to add in their own comments so YES can hear what’s working or not working well about the program. For example, feedback from the girls in the GOAL program inspired YES to launch the Saturday GOAL session specifically for older girls.

Success is defined and measured against established outcome objectives for each program, which are intended to measure the program’s positive influence on health and development, including making better lifestyle and academic choices, as well as the development of skills. Evaluation results are shared with program staff and the organization’s leaders, including the Program Committee of the Board of Directors. YES routinely incorporates the lessons learned from its evaluation efforts to refine its programs and approach to service delivery. For example, attendance-taking alerts staff to any youth who might be struggling and provides insight into which activities are the most and least popular and why.

A sample of FY16 outcomes demonstrate the positive impact YES has on youth. YES is especially proud to say that for the past five years, 100% of youth in the YES Academy have graduated high school on time and enrolled in college.

YES set itself a goal of serving 40% more youth in its 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, a goal which YES was able to reach and surpass. YES engaged 81 teens and pre-teens through Junior Volunteer Leaders, GOAL and Career Exploration. By 2014, the YES Academy had grown to include a new program (College Preparation) and served a total of 185 youth, an increase of 128%. 

Beyond these programmatic accomplishments, YES continues to increase its fundraising capacities, gaining important new major donors and organization leaders who work at Putnam Investments, Citi and Morgan Stanley.  YES also built significant new connections with Trip Advisor, Olympian Ted Ligety, the Mass Promise Fellowship program, and the Doug Coombs Foundation. YES has raised its profile locally, being spotlighted through the Prudential Center’s “31 Nights of Lights” program, and nationally with exposure on Good Morning America and in Sports Illustrated.

While this unprecedented growth is phenomenal, it presents a very real need for additional funding, volunteers and space to support it; it is YES’s biggest challenge. YES has already begun working on solutions, including bringing some of its YES Academy programming off-site, exploring the development of additional adult volunteer training options, and stewarding new individual donors to support the organization.

As YES enters its next strategic planning period (2016-2020), in addition to continuing to pursue growth in numbers served in certain programs, such as Career Exploration and GOAL, YES is focusing on repeat youth engagement and deepened participation in other programs, especially its Tier 2 programs. This horizontal growth strategy enables youth to increase the frequency and deepen the quality of their YES experience, resulting in more meaningful relationships between youth and their positive adult role models (i.e., YES staff and volunteers). One way YES aims to achieve this goal is through age-based cohorts. Age-based cohorts will enables YES to utilize curricula that meet the specific developmental needs of middle and high school students to maximize their learning and growth. Another goal YES is focusing on for its 2016-2020 Strategic Plan is to integrate college, career, and life readiness skills into programming in all of its tiers. When children gain a richer and more impactful experience at YES, it moves YES closer to its long term goal of developing youth who are prepared for college, careers, and life’s challenges.