“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”

~ Henry Ford, American industrialist and founder of Ford Motor Company

The Foundation for Delaware County awarded us with a three-year Impact Grant which will support the YMWIC Pre-College Summer and After-School Programs. We sincerely thank The Foundation for Delaware County for their generosity and welcome this exciting partnership.

We thank PNC Bank for their generous support of the YMWIC 2023 Summer STEAM Camps currently taking place in the Coatesville Area, Norristown Area, Phoenixville, Upper Darby and West Chester Area School Districts.

YMWIC would like to thank The Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation for their generous contribution in support of our Pre-College and Pre-Apprenticeship Programs.

The Alliance for Health Equity in partnership with Insight Resources and The Women's League for Minority Education in Coatesville, PA, is continuing their support of the mental health component of YMWIC programming which enhances wrap-around services available for our Chester County Scholars and families. We thank you for your continued support.

YMWIC has received an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant from Chester County, PA. The focus of this grant will be on academics and career development for Scholars in our Coatesville and West Chester Chapters.

We thank the West Chester University of Pennsylvania Center for STEM Inclusion for a TRIO Grant to sponsor our Upward Bound Summer Programs for Scholars in the Coatesville Area and Upper Darby School Districts.

I attended public schools in Bucks County (Neshaminy High School) and left high school a year early to attend La Salle College (now La Salle University) in Philadelphia. In my third college year, I studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. After graduating from La Salle, I enrolled as a graduate student at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. I was awarded a master’s and doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins. As an undergraduate, I was a chemistry major. In my post-graduate studies, I specialized in physical chemistry, which is one of the five chemistry subdisciplines (the others are analytical chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, and organic chemistry). My Ph.D. thesis was about catalysts. Read more.

Bi Gui Liu, Saturn Scholar; Jonathan Thomas, Neptune Scholar; and Dylan Nichol Berry, Pluto Scholar (pictured below, left to right).

Our graduating seniors were congratulated and encouraged; and, with special thanks to our Sponsors, Partners, Supporters, and Donors, we were able to award them with scholarships, contingent upon them remaining matriculated full-time in a college or university and maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA each semester. Read more.

Coatesville Chapter: Armon Burnett is a 5th grade Scholar at Avon Grove Charter School who joined YMWIC this Program Year. He has enjoyed making new friends as a member and say to others who are considering YMWIC, “Don’t be shy; everyone is very nice, and it is a great Program!”

Norristown Chapter: Dayanis Morales attends Norristown Area High School where she is in the 9th grade. This is her second year as a YMWIC Scholar. She says, “I love spending time with others and creating everlasting relationships and memories. My membership in the Foundation has helped me grow as an individual and increase my social skills.” Dayanis is one of our Junior Editors who writes articles for the YMWIC monthly newsletter. You can read her narrative stating her case to fellow students as she ran for President of DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) at NAHS. By the way, SHE WON!

Her advice to potential YMWIC Scholars is, “YMWIC is a great Program that will not only help you during the College Application Process but will also assist in developing essential skills that are critical in life outside of school.”  Read more.

Phoenixville Chapter: Dylan Nichol Berry attends Manavon Elementary School where she is in the 5th grade. This is her second year as a YMWIC Scholar. Dylan Nichol most enjoys participating in Community Service events with other Scholars in the Phoenixville Chapter. She has made many new friends and would tell her peers that YMWIC is an awesome Program. Her advice is, "Do your best; and don't give up, even when the going gets tough."

Upper Darby Chapter: Boluwatife (Bolu) McKenna is one of our graduating seniors! She is in the 12th grade at Upper Darby High School and also attends Delaware County Technical School (Medical Career Program). Bolu joined YMWIC last Program Year and has found that she most enjoys the annual Science Expo, “I enjoy public speaking and science-related topics. The annual Science Expo allows me to research a topic that interests me and share that interest with others. The science boards also allow me to express my creativity. It is something I eagerly looked forward to.” She says that being a member of the Foundation has helped her build a network and prepared her for what it's like in a professional setting. Her advice to younger Scholars in the Program, “Always put 100% into what you do, and you will succeed.” Read more.

West Chester Chapter: Cristian Galan-Galan, a second year YMWIC Scholar, is currently in the 7th grade at Collegium Charter School. He very much enjoys robotics and is a member of the YMWIC Robotics Team. Cristian would tell potential Scholars, “YMWIC is a really good Program to learn new skills and practice your existing skills, and always do your best.”

William Penn Chapter: Terrence Patterson attends Lower Merion High School where he is in 11th grade. He loves math. Terrence enjoys being able to learn the basics of socializing, understanding cultural norms, and navigating successfully in all environments. With a charismatic personality, he gets along with people of varying ages and backgrounds. Terrence sees himself as a "jack of all trades" and wants to experience life to its fullest potential.

YMWIC has helped Terrence change his way of thinking about education and understanding other viewpoints. After high school, he would be interested in studying architecture in college. Eventually, he would like to start and run his own business. Read more.

All Chapters gathered together at YMWIC Headquarters for Workshop 15, where we had special guests with important messages on deck to address two groups. The first group, comprised of 3rd through 10th grade Scholars, participated in a lively and interactive conversation about Bullying and Cyber Bullying with Jimmy White, IV, Complex Director of Engineering for the W and Element Philadelphia Hotels. He also holds the titles of Professional Speaker, Award-winning Youth and Veteran Advocate, Minister, Husband and Father, and George W. Bush Center Presidential Scholar.

Mr. White created a great rapport with more than 50 Scholars sharing his own stories about being bullied when he was a young student. He taught them valuable lessons about multiple bullying-related topics including the spreading of rumors and how untrue and hurtful they can be, turning their peers who are not nice to them into their "frenemies," the permanence of negative postings on social media, and standing up to bullies.

Scholars enjoyed taking part in conversations, skits and activities, and learned about appropriate and proportionate responses they can make to bullies and how to be there for their friends who are experiencing bullying. These poignant lessons will stick with Scholars for years to come.

At the same time, 11th and 12th grade Scholars along with all parents and guardians in attendance were in the 2nd Floor Conference Room receiving valuable information about the importance of our Mental Health in an informative presentation facilitated by Dr. Ebonnie Vazquez, Ph.D. and MSW. Dr. Vazquez is a co-facilitator and trainer for Insight Resources, which is a company that offers an array of training including Diversity, Mental Health, De-Escalation, and Team Building. She currently teaches undergraduate social work at West Chester University. Accompanying her was Mrs. Sandra Simmons, CEO of Insight Resources. Read more.

For their fourth Community Service event on May 4, 2023, the Phoenixville Chapter of YMWIC partnered with Trellis for Tomorrow, a Gardening Management Program that provides fresh fruit, vegetables, and meals to neighbors in need. Read more.

by Kimora White – Norristown Chapter

What is autism? Well, autism (also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD) is a condition that is caused during brain development. People with autism often have problems with social interactions. They can have limited abilities when it comes to behavior and socializing, depending where they are on the spectrum. Read more.

The 2022-2023 school year has been my first year being a part of DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), and I have grown to love it. You don't pick DECA; DECA picks you. Then, before you know it, you somehow end up at Disney World hanging out with all your friends and enjoying adolescence. But, of course, before you get to that stage, you need to go through a series of competitions and need a leader to help you achieve that. As a potential candidate for this position, I want to be able to improve the DECA experience to everyone and together be able to #ExperienceTheDifference. Read more.

Dulce, born in Mexico and raised in West Chester, PA, graduated from West Chester East High School and TCHS B (Technical College High School Brandywine) in 2020 where she was very involved in academic clubs, honors society, and community organizations like YMWIC. Read more.

Sarah and Addi have taken part in Community Service events with their Chapter and enjoy giving back to the community. When asked what she would say to other families who are considering YMWIC, Sarah says, "Come see what we're about! I dare you not to like it!"

Time has run out! YMWIC 2023 STEAM & Language Arts Camps, which are exciting, educational, and fun-filled six-week experiences for rising 1st through 8th grade junior Scholars as of September, 2023, are having great experiences exploring new concepts in math, chemistry, biology, computer science, robotics, language arts, reading, art, and much more!! There will be weekly field trips. Previous educational trips have included The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Zoo, Camden's Adventure Aquarium, and The Academy of Natural Sciences -- all included with registration!

Young Men and Women In Charge Foundation, Inc. is currently hosting our 2023 YMWIC Upward Bound Summer Program for 8th through 11th grade students who meet Upward Bound requirements and attend schools that are part of the Upper Darby and Coatesville School Districts. This six-week experience will enrich, expose and prepare Scholars for college; while providing insight into future employment opportunities. They will experience projects in the arts, entrepreneurship, mentoring, leadership, golf and much more. Every Upward Bound member who is an Upper Darby School District student will receive a CASH STIPEND.

Be sure to calendar the date to join us on Monday, August 21, 2023, at the fabulous Penn Oaks Golf Club in a Scramble Golf Tournament and Fundraiser to support our Scholarship Program for the Young Men and Women In Charge (YMWIC) Foundation, Inc. You will meet our Scholars, network, and have fun as you help us raise Scholarship funds.

Golfers will receive gifts and enjoy an open buffet lunch and an open buffet dinner. There will be prizes for our guests and winners. For non-golfers, please join us for the evening banquet and networking dinner event, which will include a delicious buffet dinner and much more. To sign up for this exciting event, click here.

What an exciting Program Year it has been. You can stay on top of what YMWIC Scholars are doing by following us on both of our social media platforms, Instagram and Meta (formerly Facebook). This is a great way to receive constant updates on what’s happening at YMWIC. All you must do is go on your Instagram and/or Meta (Facebook) app and type YMWICscholars. Once you see our logo pop up, click Follow. Drop a Comment to say hello! Welcome to our social media family! Looking forward to seeing you join in on the fun.  

To connect with us online on Meta/Facebook select this Link! To stay up to date with what’s happening at YMWIC via Instagram, you can select this Link.

Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC): YMWIC Foundation, Inc. is eligible to receive funds from the EITC Program which is administered by Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development. We thank those businesses that donate their EITC funding to YMWIC Foundation and encourage others to consider directing funding to our impactful community nonprofit that provides college and career preparation for K-12 students; empowers their families; counseling, financial support and internships for YMWIC college alumni; and enriches our communities by developing a talented and skilled workforce. Please contact Rick Roberts at (610) 340-2844 if you would like to consider our YMWIC Foundation, Inc., as the recipient of your company's EITC funds.