UP Program at Kokomo Urban Outreach

06/10/2026

Every single item selected in our youth shop represents hours of dedication, character development, and vocational learning.

Whether a student is proudly bringing home swim goggles and an inflatable lounge chair for summer fun, or carefully filling a basket with essential groceries to support their household, they are practicing real-world responsibility.

Our kids aren't just earning points—they are practicing the real-world skills required to manage a paycheck, make intentional choices, and balance wants with needs.

The Formula for Success:
Life Skills + Work Ethic + Education = A Self-Reliant Adult

Your generosity keeps this vital community pipeline moving forward. A sponsorship of $2,400 completely funds a child's journey through the UP Program for a full year.

Thank you for investing in their future and standing alongside our youth!

06/10/2026

📬 Get the Inside Story: Join Our Email Chain!

If you want to make sure you never miss a milestone, a major breakthrough, or a real-world story of youth transformation happening right here in Kokomo, it’s time to get on our email list!

When you join the KUO email family, you get the updates that matter most sent straight to your inbox:

✨ Behind-the-Scenes Milestones: Be the first to hear about the development of our new laundry and shower project, Dignity Area transformations, and facility updates.

🌱 Stories of Real Impact: Read the direct, personal stories of how our youth are learning self-reliance, hitting academic goals, and stepping into local leadership roles.

🛠️ Ways to Get Involved: Discover immediate, local opportunities to support our youth workforce crews, buy from youth-led businesses, or find out how you can volunteer.

We don't do spam or flood your inbox, we share real updates about real people in our neighborhood working to break cycles and build stable legacies.

👇 Ready to join the inner circle?
Message us your email address to join our newsletter today!

06/10/2026

Every single Wednesday afternoon, a beautiful transformation happens at our building. Close to 100 kids ages 9–18 walk, pedal their bikes, and catch rides from all over Kokomo to get to the UP™ Program.

They aren't just showing up for a place to go—they are coming to a space where they know they are completely valued, loved, and supported.

What a Typical Wednesday Looks Like:

🌱 Group Mentoring Sessions: We don't shy away from the hard stuff. Our youth gather for intentional mentoring segments where we talk through tough topics, build character, and map out positive life choices.

🛒 The Stores Are Open: Students can visit our dedicated clothing store and general store. They use their earned points to stock up on food, snacks, and essential hygiene items.

🏀 Fun & Fellowship: Beyond the classes, Wednesdays give our kids a safe, supervised environment to play games, laugh, and just enjoy being kids together.

We aren't just handing out temporary relief. We are investing in the long-term infrastructure of human independence and molding the leaders of tomorrow. Thank you for being the foundation our students stand on!

06/10/2026

A building is just brick and mortar until a community steps in to give it a heartbeat. Because of the incredible visionary generosity of local businesses, organizations, and families, our facility is fully equipped to teach, mentor, and prepare Kokomo’s youth for a self-reliant future.

Every corner of our space serves a unique purpose in building life skills, character, and work ethic. We are deeply proud to highlight the incredible sponsors who turned these rooms from a dream into a daily reality:

🧠 Worker Stress Relief Room – Made possible with a grant from the Indiana Youth Institute. A dedicated space to support and recharge the hard-working team pouring into our youth every single day.

06/10/2026

join us for our weekly huddle LIVE!

06/10/2026

🎥 WAY DOWN DEEP: Big Milestones & New Horizons!

In case you missed yesterday’s episode of Way Down Deep with Jeff and Kareen, you are going to want to stop scrolling and hit play on this one! We dropped some incredible updates about what’s happening right now inside our building.

Here is a quick look at what we covered:

✨ Dignity Area Milestone: We just hit an amazing milestone! Watch to see how this space is officially coming together to serve our community.

🧺 The Next Big Project: We are officially laying the groundwork for a brand-new initiative—giving our kids direct access to a laundry facility and a shower right here in the building to ensure their basic needs are met with dignity.

🤝 Next-Gen Leadership: We are thrilled to introduce our newest—and youngest—board member!

🌱 Molding Future Leaders: Jeff and Kareen dive into exactly how the UP Program intentionally shapes, mentors, and prepares our youth to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Our spaces are growing because our community keeps stepping up to support these kids. Watch the full update below to get the inside scoop on where we are heading next!

👇 Click below to watch the full update!

Way Down Deep with Jeff and Kareen - June 9, 2026

06/10/2026

A child's quality of life is deeply shaped by the stability of their household and neighborhood.

Across Indiana, family financial stress remains an everyday hurdle:

-23% of Indiana children (369,000 kids) live in households where parents lack secure, stable, year-round employment.

-34% of local youth (513,000 children) grow up in single-parent families, which frequently increases parenting and financial strain.

-23% of families are currently burdened by high housing costs, spending more than 30% of their monthly pretax income just to keep a roof over their heads.

Poverty and prolonged household stress can disrupt a young person's mental, emotional, and physical development. To break this cycle, we must equip youth with the tools to build their own stable legacies.

We wrap around our local families by providing a consistent framework of high expectations and community resources including our winter life skills classes, tutoring and a focus on education and strong work ethic to teach them how to be a good employee and future leader.

From financial literacy and budgeting to household maintenance and nutrition, we teach youth the daily habits required to navigate adult life independently.

By instilling work ethic in youth today, we ensure they grow into completely independent adults who will write a completely different story for their own future children.

Behind every percent sign in a report is a family in our neighborhood trying to find a footing. We don't just hand out temporary relief—we invest in the long-term infrastructure of human independence.

🤝 Be the foundation a local student stands on.

Hit SHARE to spread the word, or visit our website to become a monthly program donor!

06/09/2026

In Indiana, 69% of eighth graders are scoring below proficient in math. These foundational metrics are heavily tied to future workforce readiness and economic stability. If our kids are falling behind at school desks, we have to change the environment where they learn.

At our new facility, we purposefully design our spaces to turn abstract educational hurdles into practical life skills:

The Robotics Room: Fueled by Hayne's International this lab introduces students to advanced STEM troubleshooting, critical thinking, and technical problem-solving.

Critical thinking doesn't just happen on a worksheet. By grounding education in tangible, real-world trades, we show students exactly why math matters to their personal futures!