04/28/2026
Tonight, we closed a chapter and we are opening a new one.
Tonight was the final Tuesday night of the Youth Engaged in Leadership Programme (YELP) as we have known it, and what a night to end on. Our YELPers showed up, showed out, and reminded every one of us why this programme has mattered for 14 years.
For fourteen years, YELP has gathered middle and high school students on Tuesday nights for leadership presentations and sent them into the community once a month to volunteer and serve. We watched YELPers walk into their first day of YELP unsure of themselves and walk out at the end of the second semester standing taller. We have seen shy voices become bold ones. We have seen YELPers bloom, and it has been one of the greatest honours of this work.
So what is next?
YELP is not ending; it is evolving. Next school year, YELP will transition into a volunteer-focused programme, putting our youth directly into the community they have been learning to lead. Same heart. Same mission. More hands in the work.
To all our YELPers, volunteers, presenters, sponsors, and anyone who has given their time to YELP, thank you. You are the reason this programme has lasted 14 years. And you are the reason it is worth reimagining.
We cannot wait to show you what is next.
~Lena B. B. and Mary W.
