Oakland Youth Aspire (OYA) enriches the lives of youth by creating a fun and welcoming environment that promotes a healthy lifestyle and fosters open communication, empathy, and the development of interpersonal skills. Vision:
Our vision is to help youth aspire to live healthy and productive lives, and develop fundamental skills to reach their fullest potential. We do this by following our core va
lues:
-Inclusion and Respect: We provide a safe place that is inclusive and welcoming to youth from all economic, cultural and social backgrounds. In this collaborative environment, youth, volunteers, and board members listen to, respect and value one another.
-Life Skills and Relationships: We utilize social emotional learning techniques with a focus on communication, empathy, and conflict resolution. We encourage nurturing relationships among board members, volunteers and the youth we serve. We believe that by supporting youth we are also strengthening families and community.
-Healthy Lifestyles: We believe in promoting healthy lifestyles and physical activity. We provide access to nutritious food with well-balanced meals and weekly grocery bag giveaways, and we teach youth how to prepare healthy meals in our teen-cooking program.
