About The Youth Life Skills Institute

At the Youth Life Skills Institute, our vision statement is "We transform the lives of young people." Our mission is to "Connect, engage, and facilitate the participation of school-aged children in life skills' programs that enrich, empower, and enlighten their lives".

By enriching Youth with life skills it will help them cope with the daily challenges of life and enhance their future success and quality of life as productive citizens in our society.

A critical part this mission also includes scholarships primarily to help high school graduates achieve their career life skills goals at postsecondary education institutions.

One of our guiding principles is to not "reinvent the wheel". Collaboration and partnerships with other organizations of similar mission bring the benefit of synergy – the sum of the whole is bigger than the sum of each part. Others benefits include shared resources, overcoming shared obstacles, increased community awareness and having the benefit of more grant opportunities as well as building a bridge for more exposure and more positive impact on young people lives.

Our History

The Youth Life Skills Institute, Inc. (YLSI)  was incorporated in the State of North Carolina on March 23, 2009 and is a result of a Youth Initiative of Alpha Pi Lambda Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. It is rooted in the fraternity’s aims, “Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love for all Mankind” and is an Alpha Pi Lambda implementation outgrowth of the fraternity’s national programs "Go To High School, Go To College" and Project Alpha.

On June 30, 2010 the Youth Life Skills Institute received it tax exempt status as a public charity from the Internal Revenue Service, EIN 27-1050401.  This opened the door to solicit donations from the general public and the possibilities to receive grants or aid as a means of raising funds. There are tax exempt benefits available to individual donors and corporations in most cases thereby incentivizing people to contribute to nonprofits.

Since its incorporation, YLSI has successfully implemented various youth programs and collaborations. Visit the Youth Programs page to learn more.