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Youth Impact Program is excited to announce that we had an incredibly successful year with our programs at Stanford and Northwestern University. These two programs achieved our best results to date due to our mentoring program led by student-athletes, United States Marines, and the relationships they formed with the at-risk students who attend YIP. We had an astonishing jump in academic scores in verbal, language, and math competencies because the participants are learning from their mentors, now successful student-athletes and servicemen who came from the same neighborhoods and faced the same obstacles. We feel very strongly that our programs, which we have built together, are leading our nation’s efforts in creating lasting solutions to the social issues our communities are facing including murder, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
YIP has a proven leadership development program where we teach social responsibility not only to our students but also to the student-athletes and mentors who work for the program. We are moving ahead of the NFL and facing the challenge of strengthening our communities by creating respectful and responsible leaders out of at-risk youth. We have created a safe, disciplined, and stimulating teaching environment where our young at-risk students thrive, excel, and learn. Our results prove that.

For the fourth consecutive year, our Stanford program was supported by the San Francisco 49ers and we were able to serve 93 at-risk youth, bringing the total number of students served at Stanford University to 326. Many of the students came from East Palo Alto, a high-crime, high-need area with one of the highest high school dropout rates in the nation where 18% of residents live below the poverty level. YIP Board Member Bill Milligan championed the Stanford YIP Program.

We are extremely proud to have you on our team! This team has made a difference in the lives of thousands of young boys and has the support of community members across the nation, including former and current NFL players. Your teammates include the following current NFL football players: Matt Cassel (Minnesota Vikings); Rhett Ellison (Minnesota Vikings); Cameron Fleming (New England Patriots); Chandler Jones (New England Patriots); Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts); Josh Mauro (Arizona Cardinals); Dezman Moses (Kansas City Chiefs); Justin Pugh (New York Giants); Thomas Shamarko (Pittsburgh Steelers); and David Yankey (Minnesota Vikings).

The Youth Impact Program Annual Report contains a detailed overview of the programs we offered at Stanford and Northwestern University in 2014. From all of us at YIP, thank you for your generosity, your belief, and for supporting our mission to empower at-risk youth to achieve life-long success and make a difference in their communities.

Click Here to Read the 2014 YIP Annual Report.

Riki Ellison

YIP Chairman and Founder

Permanently Impacting Our Nation’s At-Risk, Inner-City Youth