We envision a community where no youth is considered at-risk and where all are respected as valued community members. To this end, we work to establish structured opportunities for adolescents to become safe, healthy, resilient, and confident community members.

We trace our origin to a 2003 gathering initiated by a group of local philanthropic institutions that was held to focus the District of Columbia on solutions to the lack of developmental opportunities and safe spaces for young people during out-of-school time (OST). That first meeting led to a year and a half-long dialogue about the programmatic and resource impediments limiting nongovernmental youth-engaged organizations in their delivery of developmental services generally. The outcome of the dialogue was the decision, made by more than 20 participating youth-engaged organizations, to form an alliance among themselves, youth, and concerned residents to advocate collectively for more even and effective supports to and leadership by youth.