Most activities of The WYE Project (WYEP) will be designed for participation by youths between the ages of 12 and 19. Certain programs will be designed for inclusion of younger ages. And, depending on a particular project’s reach, specialization and importance of service, students who are in their first years of college may be invited to share their knowledge and skills by participation.

 

Specific projects and programs will be propelled by the most talented and gifted students identified for participation through schools, youth organizations, religious institutions, agencies, and through general community outreach and media announcements.

 

Special efforts will be made to include students who are disenfranchised by circumstance: Youths who are living in poverty and at-risk; youths who don’t perform well in traditional education settings; and youths with various learning disabilities and special needs.

 

While these youths may have difficulties fitting within the rigid structures of societal norms and are often dismissed of having strong potential, they nevertheless, can also be inquisitive, smart —even brilliant and gifted. The key to identifying their exact capabilities is in finding the ways to lift the veils that cover their fullest potential.

 

The WYE Project is to be fully inclusive, with youths of advantage, and the disadvantaged, working together to achieve common goals. A vital aim of WYEP is to help youths in need of academic guidance and mentoring to successfully get placed on good pathways to productive futures in the community as adults. Not only does the community benefit in turn, but society benefits as well.