Our goal is to launch WILL youth into a future that they could not imagine before they participated in the program, and to compliment traditional classroom education with high-quality, diverse experiential learning opportunities to develop inherent strengths, decision-making and leadership and life skills for students to learn and be effective and successful as they move forward in their lives.

The Four Program Pillars support and provide structure for the WILL Experience (curriculum):

Leadership & Self-Empowerment: WILL encourages and provides the platform for individual leadership, self-esteem, and confidence growth to help WILL youth push beyond perceived limitations to increase their understanding and appreciation that each has the power and the ability to determine his/her life trajectory, to self-advocate, and to make decisions that lead to self-determination and self-sufficiency.

Critical Life Skills Development:  WILL develops critical life skills, which are under-emphasized or not taught in school, such as financial literacy; accountability for behavior; communication skills; the importance of saying “please” and “thank you;” and how to make healthy nutrition decisions, set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) goals, and create action plans to achieve them.

Environmental Awareness & Stewardship: WILL helps youth become aware of the world around them and to be better stewards of the environment.

Cultural Awareness & Appreciation: WILL youth learn to be receptive to, to appreciate, and to respect diversity and differences in others (e.g., race, gender, religion, country of origin, sexual orientation, and beliefs).

“The WILL program is really amazing. It gives you the opportunities to do things and go places you will never imagine you could.” – Nancy