Their name couldn’t be more fitting.
Youth Empowerment Project, an afterschool and summer program situated along Main Street in Sharpsburg, is a place where children can become their best selves.
“There are so many positives here,” said Ashley Ireland, whose daughter and two sons attend. “The people who run it are like the kids’ uncles. They help with homework, expose them to activities and keep them in line. They really care.”
An outreach of Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania, YEP provides socialization, technology, team-building, arts, field trips and more.
“Our number one priority is that kids have a safe space after school,” youth director Dexter Fairweather said. “We feed them dinner and give them a place to be with their friends.
“We give them experiences that they might not get elsewhere.”
The program is free to children five to 18 in Sharpsburg, Etna and Millvale.
Inside the two-story building, kids explore and create with art supplies, toys, large screen TVs, a podcast area, TikTok ring lights, basketball hoops and gaming computers. A tech room featuring a 3D printer, projector and movie screen was unveiled in December. Fairweather hopes to encourage a group of tech-loving teens to form a BotsIQ team. Already, the kids have learned to program the 3D printer to make Pokemon trinkets and animal-shaped keychains.
“Xbox is my favorite thing we do,” said 9-year-old Kane Dixon, a third grader at Kerr Elementary. “My other favorite is bingo.”
Launched in 1996, the initiative was recently retooled by Fairweather and VOA Southwest PA area director Aaron Thomas.
Both formerly worked for Allegheny County Department of Human Services and have extensive experience with trauma-informed care. Thomas worked as social service director at Pittsburgh’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center and Fairweather as a county youth advocate.
“We are aware that we need to provide a safe space, physically and mentally, along with enrichment and positive connections,” Thomas said. “We also know that continuing to improve the space will make more people want to come.”
The program this month got a boost from the state with a $208,000 grant through the Commission on Crime and Delinquency to renovate and expand programs.
Money came through the Building Opportunity through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) program as part of an effort to reduce community violence and support afterschool programming.
“When we invest in afterschool programs, we’re being smart about safety, and we’re saving lives,” PA Lieutenant Gov. Austin Davis said in a statement. “There’s no more important metric when we talk about getting stuff done.”
Jodina Hicks, Volunteers of America president, said the grant allows the program to promote healthy behaviors and build positive relationships, while helping each child reach their full potential.
Support is focused on youth leadership, civic engagement, career readiness and arts/environment, Hicks said.
“This grant helps us keep the programming growing and thriving,” she said.
Already, there are about 25 children at the afterschool program and up to 90 who attend in the summer.
Thomas said the grant will support more STEAM activities and “up the technology aspect” of the program.
“This is going to take us to the next level,” he said.
Sharpsburg-area donors, like Second Harvest Community Thrift Shop and Ketchup City Creative, have buoyed the program, along with national agencies like the United Way and the Grable Foundation.
“There are a lot of people who help support us,” Fairweather said. “We couldn’t do it without them.”
Recent initiatives include a scholarship program through which four teens are attending the University of Pittsburgh and Community College of Allegheny County.
Del Robinson, 21, has his eyes set on a career in sports management. The Woodland Hills graduate is attending CCAC with help from YEP. He is grateful for the opportunity, Robinson said, and shows his appreciation by mentoring the young kids in the afterschool program.
“I like making the kids laugh,” he said. “Maybe they had a hard day at school and they can just come here and have fun.”
YEP also provides a Learn & Earn program for high school students where they can work 15 hours a week at the program; a screen-printing entrepreneurial initiative, Main Street Screen Works, which is a student-run business that provides hands-on experience and training; and maternal health care for families.
“We’ve taken our work with kids and teens to families,” Hicks said.
Featured Local Businesses
When school lets out in June, kids still have a place to thrive through YEP’s summer camp. Offered eight hours a day for eight weeks, camp adventures include weekly field trips to hot spots like Kennywood and the Carnegie Museum, as well as a weekly pool party in Highland Park.
Fairweather has established a Top Chef-like series where the kids either visit a local eatery or host visitors to introduce them to new cuisine.
“We had a Black Korean family that came and made beef and broccoli, and we had a Black chef who made dirty rice and pecan pie,” Fairweather said. “The idea is for the kids to try things they wouldn’t normally.”
Parent Briana Edwards said she feels supported by the program. She said the staff has the kids’ best interests at heart.
“They take them to the playground and on field trips — these things that sometimes I can’t do,” Edwards said, adding that her son Trey, 10, loved the trip to Urban Air, an adventure park.
There are behavior expectations, Fairweather said, for the students to participate but he usually has no trouble.
When children need a time-out, they can spend time on a bean bag in the Chill Room, funded by the RK Mellon Foundation.
Mohamed Hussein, a sophomore at Fox Chapel Area High School, attended the program as a child and said transitioning to a teen employee there is building momentum for his future career as a teacher.
“It’s amazing to get to interact with all the kids everyday,” he said. “Everything here is to build up the kids.”