About Us
Our Mission
The Institute for the Advancement of Young People is a 501 (c) 3, non-profit organization based in the City of Richmond, serving youth ages 12-25, in Richmond and the surrounding counties of Hanover, Henrico, Hopewell and Chesterfield. Our Mission is to rearrange the expectations of young people to support their continual growth and development by teaching life sustaining skills to the “at risk” population of the young. Further our mission is to influence behaviors in 5 Key areas of wealth and well being for youth: Tangibility, Forecasting, Nutrition, Finance, and Personal Growth and Development. Our mission is simple, yet life sustaining; it is to help young people bridge the gaps in their life from mess to success01.
VISION STATEMENT
The vision for the Institute for the Advancement of Young People is to elevate, support and guide youth and young adults to achieve academic, social, and financial goals that will lead to the creation and sustenance of their human footprint by providing opportunities to focus on their immediate needs to prepare and meet goals, that they themselves have set based on where they want to go in this world. By providing unique educational, personal and spiritual growth experiences through a multitude of venues, patterned after the individuals personal pursuits, IAYP participants will be able to contribute positively to our society. The Institute for the Advancement of Young People advocates the development of life and leadership skills and social competence, for the purpose of intentionally influencing our young people to explore and deepen their understanding of what life and reality demands, as well as maintaining a personal standard code of conduct and ethics to support and live out their lives based on that understanding. IAYP mentors participants to develop a strong inner core, by building spiritual values that utilize and depend upon self-awareness and their human footprint. IAYP visions for their participants a system of tangible achievements that can be accomplished by building experiences through relationships and practical real life scenarios that will sustain their interests in a modern society, where choices and options abound for personal growth and development. IAYP seeks to encourage participants to make the types of decisions which will further promote and influence their productivity while sustaining and meeting their daily needs. Beyond the program, IAYP seeks to contribute fully functioning adults that mirror the core vision and mission of our organization into our society, which will ultimately lead to more leaders within the community willing to always recycle opportunities to advance our youth, thereby creating a new and improved community for the future.
“Help our youth discover their talents and how it is their destiny to use those talents for greatness, longevity and prosperity and you have given them the keys to unlock their future!.”- Gwen Simms, Founder.