Message From the CEO

Dear Friend:

Since 1984, SA Youth has been a pillar for youth in our community, focused on keeping
kids off the streets, out of trouble, and engaged in learning. While building long-term
relationships with kids from urban areas, we seek to impact our youth and create in
them, “success beyond circumstance.”

You are aware of the systemic and complicated issues facing at-risk, urban kids in San
Antonio – academic underachievement, drugs, gangs, violence, unstable family
situations, and oftentimes, hopelessness. We are losing far too many of our youth who
are dropping out of school instead of building a successful future.

At SA Youth, we go beyond providing a program and safe place. We provide people,
caring adults who build lasting relationships with our youth. Whether they are kids at one of our many community learning centers or young adults enrolling in YouthBuild (our
second chance recovery program), the difference SA Youth offers is being there yearround. Consistent interactions every day with adult mentors and role models provide
the knowledge that someone cares. And, research shows us that children who have at
least one meaningful relationship with a caring adult role model outside of family are
more likely to succeed in school, and in life.

The many problems facing our youth are best resolved by people, not structures. And,
at SA Youth, we provide the opportunity for our youth to build relationships over the
course of childhood. At our centers, most of the children attend at least 80% of the
time, and we are open almost every day of the year, during school breaks, and
sometimes, during the holidays. It’s important because these are the times when kids
are most at-risk for getting into trouble and falling behind in their school work.

Since our beginning, SA Youth has impacted more than 22,000 children and youth. Our
mission is only possible because of a committed donor community, a passionate board
of directors, and caring staff and volunteers. Thank you for supporting our mission, and I hope you’ll continue to help us help children.

Warm regards,
Cynthia Le Monds, CEO