OUR MISSION STATEMENT
"To influence positive change
of
pre-adolescent at
risk
boys
direction and
outcome in life."
Congratulations to Justin Pugh and Shamarko Thomas- two of our former YIP mentors that were drafted into the NFL in 2013!
Justin Pugh, who
served as a mentor at the Syracuse YIP, was drafted in the
first round,
and was the 19th pick overall by the New York Giants. Justin was a three-year
starter at left tackle for Syracuse, and has been switched to right tackle with
the Giants. Justin appears to have a promising career with the Giants.
Shamarko Thomas, who
also served as a mentor at the Syracuse YIP, was drafted in the fourth round,
and was the 111th pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Shamarko played safety at
Syracuse and
was a standout performer at
the NFL scouting combine, leading all draft-eligible safeties with a 4.42 40-yard
dash, 28 bench press reps and a 40.5-inch vertical jump.
YIP wishes Justin and Shamarko the very best of luck going forward in their Rookie NFL seasons!
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Congratulations on successful Rookie 2013 NFL seasons to two of our former YIP mentors- Rhett Ellison and Chandler Jones!
Rhett Ellison, who served as a mentor at the University of Southern California YIP in years past, was drafted in the fourth round by the Minnesota Vikings. Rhett, the 128th pick overall, played fullback and tight end for the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans and is the son of YIP Chairman and Founder Riki Ellison. Rhett had a very successful rookie year with the Vikings and made it to the playoffs.
Chandler Jones, who served as a mentor at the Syracuse YIP the past two years, was drafted in the first round, picked as the 21st player overall by the New England Patriots. Chandler played Defensive End at Syracuse for the Orange and had a very successful rookie year with the Patriots and made it to the final round of the playoffs.
YIP wishes Rhett and Chandler the very best of luck going forward in their respective NFL careers!
Riki Ellison's interview on the John Harris Yahoo Sports Radio show about YIP.
http://www.yahoosportsradio.com/nfl/riki-ellison-making-an-impact-for-at-risk-youth-28303/
YIP Recruitment Has Begun for 2013!
We are in the process of making the final selections on the universities where we will be holding the YIP camps this summer. We will make an announcement soon and are excited for a successful year in 2013!
2012 Program Measured Impact Results
Overall, participants in YIP end up academically three to five months ahead of peers who do not participate in educational support programs in the summer and other key measures of success pertaining to YIP participants include:
- Statistically significant improvements in mathematics test scores;
- Statistically significant and meaningful gains in mastery of vocabulary;
- Quantitative and qualitative gains in terms of obtaining new peers, friends and adults from whom they can obtain support;
- Quantitative and qualitative gains in teamwork, leadership, and collaboration abilities;
- 93% of participants indicated that YIP has made them realize their lives can be better than they expected.
Mathematics Program
On average, the boys had a (mean) pre-test score of 43.3% of answers correct and a post-test score of 50% of answers correct:
- This represents a 6.7% improvement in test scores, an improvement that is statistically significant and demonstrates meaningful change.
- The vast majority of students (82%) demonstrated some level of positive gain between the pre-test and the post-test.
Language Arts Program
On average, the boys had a (mean) pre-test score of 46.2% of answers correct and a post-test score of 71% of answers correct:
- This represents a dramatic 24.8% improvement in test scores, an improvement that is statistically significant and demonstrates meaningful change.
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As impressive as the Language Arts Program results are, they are even more impressive when we consider the loss in reading ability that would have occurred over the summer were it not for this program.
- As a whole, students, regardless of income or other risk factors, are expected to lose reading skills over the summer months.
Life Skills and Other Outcomes
At the beginning of camp:
-
30 % of YIP youth were not able to work with someone who has different opinions than theirs, by the end of camp 7.3% of youth still were unable to work with someone who has different opinions than theirs;
- 42.5% of YIP youth did not feel bad when someone else gets their feelings hurt, by the end of camp 14.6% of youth did not feel bad when someone else gets their feelings hurt;
- 45% of YIP youth did not try to understand what other people go through, by the end of camp 5.4% of youth felt did not try to understand what other people go through;
- 40% of YIP youth did not stand up for themselves without putting others down, by the end of camp 10.9% did not stand up for themselves without putting others down;
- 52.5% of YIP youth did not try to understand how other people feel and think, by the end of camp 7.2% of youth did not try to understand how other people feel and think.
Overall Assessment of the YIP Program by the Participants
- Nearly all (89.3%) of the boys agreed (quite a bit 10.7%, or totally 78.6%) that they enjoyed the YIP camp.
- 92.8% agreed (quite a bit or totally) that the YIP camp made them realize that they can do better in life than they expected they could before the camp.
