YLF is non-profit organization that provides mentorship as well as after-school and summer programming for students, grades 3-12. YLF was established in 1997 to help DC youth from areas of concentrated disadvantage become leaders of character and integrity in their communities. YLF does this by providing students with one-on-one mentoring, character formation, and academic and extracurricular tuto
ring. Its signature programs are: the Program for Academic and Leadership Skills for young women (PALS) and the Tenley Achievement Program for young men (TAP). Over the last two decades, over 4,000 students have attended YLF programs, and, more than 95% of their parents have a high satisfaction with their son or daughter’s involvement. Nine-in-ten students describe YLF programs as life-changing, and in 2009, 2017 and 2021, YLF was named one of D.C.’s Best Small Charities by the Catalogue for Philanthropy. In 2015, it was selected for the Fair Chance Partnership.
