Partners for Youth Opportunity offers year round mentoring and summer job program for middle and high school students. Their goal is to support and motivate each student as they develop their aspirations for the future skills they need to become successful contributing members of the community.
Partners for Youth Opportunity began as part of the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership Initiative in 1998 and became an independent non-profit in March 2004.
Partners for Youth Opportunity is a uniquely comprehensive model that successfully supports at-risk teens in their efforts to graduate from high school and enroll in college. Each student is matched with a team of four mentors who support them at school and in internships that help them develop career goals. Students choose to join PYO because they are motivated to improve their academic performance and to explore their future.
The goal of Partners for Youth Opportunity is to match 14-19 year old students with mentors who can influence them to make positive choices in their lives. Since 1998, 27 PFY students have graduated from high school; 23 have gone to college. In 1999, PFY won the CASE Gold Medal for Innovative Mentoring Programs nationwide. PFY students have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, Urban Ministries' Kitchen, the Special Olympics, Rescue Mission, Read and Seed, and Jordan High School.
The Boys and Girls Club promotes and enhances the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. A safe place to learn and grow!
What makes the Boys and Girls Club Unique?
The Boys and Girls Club of Cabarrus County serves approximately 2000 children between the ages of 5 and 18 in Cabarrus County each year. Their core programs fall into one of five focus areas: Character and Leadership Development, Education and Career Development, Health and Life Skills, The Arts, and Sports, Fitness, and Recreation.
When we started the fund at the Boys and Girls Club we were given the choice of where we would like the donations to go and we chose 2 special programs. The KEYSTONE which will provide scholarships to those who want to go on to advanced schooling beyond high school. The other program is the basketball and football programs which Reggie enjoyed being involved in when he was growing up.