Virtuous Business Leadership
Academy
(VLA)
The Youth Leadership Foundation builds character among youth in our Nation’s Capital.
Our signature programs — the Program for Academic & Leadership Skills (PALS) for young women and the Tenley Achievement Program (TAP) for young men — train young professionals and college-aged men and women to build character and mentor 3rd–8th graders throughout the school-year and summer.
Our students most value being a part of YLF because of the friendship they share with their mentor. Students have greater self-confidence, set and achieve more goals and develop positive habits related to character as a result of their time with mentors.
PALS is a community where girls are challenged to grow in character and leadership potential from 3rd to 8th grade and where parents find a partner in raising successful, bright, and generous young women. Throughout the school year PALS mentors host formative After-School clubs and Saturday workshops. In the summer time, PALS mentors engage girls a dynamic five-week summer camp.
SY 2022-23 PALS School Year Programs
When: Weekdays, M-Th, 3:30 - 6:00pm
Where: Neighborhoods in Congress Heights, Anacostia, Brookland, and Columbia Heights
Enrollment: Participation is coordinated through YLF school partners
Our program introduces engaging topics in familiar subjects to spark students’ passion for learning. Each program day PALS offers help with homework, mentorship, sports and other extra-curricular activity. What our students value most from their time at PALS is the meaningful friendship they develop with their mentor.
“Thank you so much for your time, energy, patience and effort! [PALS] really goes a long way in helping us parents produce well rounded, cultured and smart girls,”
- S. Brown, Parent of PALS Students
TAP is a fraternity where boys are challenged to grow in character and leadership potential from 3rd to 8th grade and where parents find a reinforcement in raising successful, bright, and generous young men. Throughout the school year TAP mentors host formative After-School clubs and Saturday workshops. In the summer time, TAP mentors engage boys in a dynamic five-week summer camp.
SY 2022-23 TAP School Year Programs
When: Weekdays, M-Th, 3:30 - 6:00pm
Where: Neighborhoods in Congress Heights, Anacostia, Brookland, and Columbia Heights
Enrollment: Participation is coordinated through YLF school partners
Our program introduces engaging topics in familiar subjects to spark students’ passion for learning. Each program day TAP offers help with homework, mentorship, sports and other extra-curricular activity. What our students value most from their time at TAP is the meaningful friendship they develop with their mentor.
“If YLF goes through all this for one student, I can only imagine what impact they have on the community.”
- C. A., TAP Alumnus
Funded through the Corporate Patron Program, the Virtuous Business Leadership Academy (VLA) is YLF's high school mentorship program. VLA includes a personal mentor, retreat weekends, focused on a student's personal and professional development, and the opportunity to participate in the Virtuous Business Leadership Competition each summer, to gain business experience. Students learn how to communicate confidently, work more effectively, prioritize their time and energy, and make decisions to build a more virtuous and service-oriented life. To learn more and apply, click here.
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Mentor+ is an initiative of the Youth Leadership Foundation that pairs students with mentors while providing equitable opportunity access to recreation. Our Mentor+ Climbing program is an after-school rock climbing program intended to foster a passion for outdoor spaces and conservation of these spaces in students who traditionally do not have access to outdoor recreation. We pair students with a climbing mentor. In doing so, students gain personal resilience, and develop a self-concept around outdoor stewardship.
SY 2022-23 Plus Programs
What: Mentor+Climbing
When: Weekdays M, W, Th, F 4:30 - 6:30 pm
Where: Movement Crystal City
Enrollment: Currently Full
Email thomas@helpingkids.org to join the waitlist.