Support Our Small Nonprofit!

SOUL is a sports-based youth development program created to support low-income student-athletes transition out of high school into post-secondary life. We use athletics as a catalyst for social change. We engage youth and young adults between ages 14 and 21. Our aim is to deconstruct the cycle of poverty by empowering opportunity youth through academic enrichment, career and college readiness. We work in collaboration with public schools, youth service providers and other community-based organizations to deliver services and engage youth. Those who participate in SOUL programs are provided free academic tutoring, access to professional and collegiate mentors, in addition to college access support, scholarships, and workforce development opportunities.

Nationally, according to Measure of America, a social science research organization, there are 4.5 million disconnected youth (age 16-24) in the US. Sadly, 20.8% of the Black American male population (US) is disconnected, which follows Native American women (24.5%) and Native American males (23.3%). The US rate of disconnected youth is 12.3%, in the District its 9.8%, and 17% of Black youth in DC are considered disconnected. This totals about 8,900 young people. Our goal is to empower the 200 plus DC youth we serve annually, by helping them develop the skills required to break the cycle of poverty. This is accomplished through SOUL’s intentional integration of academic and social enrichment within our engagement with student-athletes. We believe our approached mixed with our youth’s passion for sports helps to develop healthier young adults.

In our work we find the cycle of poverty is systemic. Undoubtedly, the dehumanization of people through the x-isms, combined with the miseducation and inaccessibility to resources at home are at the foundation for this inequity. Today, this vicious cycle is perpetuated through knowledge gaps. These gaps start at birth and are compounded in a dynamic capacity towards adulthood. Our programs are designed to capture the hearts and minds of our youth. We run four signature programs for high school aged youth.

· College Access Study Hall (CASH) provides high school youth participating on sports teams with a space for academic, athletic, and character development.

· Sister Circle provides a safe space for female students (including student-athletes) to explore personal development and personal well-being.

· Young Men’s Roundtable is a program established to create a safe space for young men to be vulnerable as the development towards manhood.

· College 101 is an academic bridge program which was designed to ensures academically high performing, low-income, college-bound students gain the writing and math skills required to matriculate successfully through their first year of college.

Through these enrichment programs we aim to enhance our youth’s academic, athletic, and critical thinking abilities while deepening their understanding of the following mental and behavioral processes: cognitive development, self-awareness, social norms, risky behaviors, and personal accountability.