Pro-Youth Mission: Pro-Youth's mission is to help youth succeed academically, socially, and emotionally by providing a safe, healthy, and supportive learning enviornment during out-of-school time. Pro-Youth creates and delivers programs throughout Tulare County that positively impact the lives of youth and equip them to make good life-long choices.

Pro-Youth Vision: Pro-Youth strives for a day when every child in Tulare County has access to high quality out-of-school programming. Pro-Youth is committed to connecting and mobilizing parents, alumni, and the local community to champion our children's future.

• The HEART Program is the out-of-school time program of choice.
  • Promotes a safe haven where every child is enriched and guided to demonstrate good stewardship, citizenship, and leadership in partnership, with their family, school, and community.
  • Increases school attendance, academic success, and gratuation rate.
    
• Provides curriculum and training to other out-of-school time professionals.
  
• Actively encourages Family Literacy by promoting and educating parents through programs such as Parent Institute for Quality Education and Parents and Children Together.
  

Amid growing community concerns surrounding youth gangs and violence, Lt. John Gomes of the Visalia Police Department conducted a meeting of civic leaders in 1991. Visalians for a Gang-Free Community (VGFC) emerged to assist parents in identifying signs of gang involvement in their children’s lives and activities. Starting with all volunteer workers and a modest $2,600 annual budget, VGFC worked with the Juvenile Court, Tulare County Probation, Visalia Police Department, Visalia Unified School District (VUSD), Health and Human Services, Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE) and the Visalia Times- Delta. VGFC formed a parenting steering committee based on the Los Angeles model of Soledad Enrichment Action Inc. (SEA). The 26-week parenting classes were offered and highly encouraged for parents of adjudicated youths by Superior Court Judge William Silveira. With the assistance of the Probation Department and two case workers from Tulare County Health and Human Services, weekly classes were held at Holy Family Church, considered neutral territory at the time by gangs.

In 1993, VGFC changed its name to Pro-Youth Visalia and was granted a 501(c)(3) non-profit status. All services were donated and many of the expenses of the enterprise were contributed by the founders personally. Richard Isham served as pro bono legal counsel. Dropping the word “Visalia” from the corporate name in 2000, Pro-Youth became a broader organization with a county-wide presence. Pro-Youth initiated and spun off several programs to other agencies which are still functioning today: Character Counts!, Pro-Youth Neighborhoods, and Soledad Enrichment Action (SEA) – now known as Parents Helping Parents. Founding Director Laurie Isham traveled to both ends of the state to review the ways in which other cities addressed youth violence during the after-school hours. Isham’s research convinced her that after-school programs with supervised extra-curricular learning opportunities offered sound alternatives to the bleak outlook and hopelessness for many young people who had no safe place to spend their afternoons.

Although the operating budget rose to $21,327 in 1994, Pro-Youth still had no employees. A gang response conference attracted 400 concerned community members. Tulare County Office of Education Superintendent James Vidak, together with ethics expert Michael Josephson, initiated pilot programs with three court schools. The community responded enthusiastically. Founder Michael Josephson offered the program Character Counts! which was initiated and implemented by Pro-Youth and has become a lasting TCOE project in schools throughout Tulare County. Looking back, it was in 1993 that we added education as a delivery mechanism to further the core goal. This was also the budding of our relationship with the community, TCOE, and VUSD, which was destined to bear fruit many years later.

Tragically, the community was galvanized in 1995 when citizens Kelly Scott and his two year old daughter were caught in gang crossfire in Visalia at approximately 6:00 p.m. Kelly died the following day. As part of the community outcry in a series of summits sponsored by the City of Visalia and the Visalia Times-Delta, children resoundingly spoke out: “We need a safe place to be after school.” A momentum was started that never faded. In 1995, Kaweah Delta District Hospital sponsored the first fund-raising event, a Chinese New Year’s Run, benefitting Pro-Youth. The following year, the Pro-Youth signature event was renamed the Kelly Scott Memorial Walk/Run which received tremendous community support.

After many community summits, the notion of providing after-school programs took center stage. The result was the implementation of an after-school enrichment program known as HEART – Homework, Enrichment, Acceleration, Recreation, and Teamwork. Based on the generosity of local community supporters, Pro-Youth / HEART opened its doors in 1998 with a commitment to help 220 children at three school sites succeed academically, socially, and emotionally by providing a safe and supportive atmosphere. Persistence paid off, and the first of many state grants was obtained with the assistance of TCOE. Pro-Youth also generated $150,250 in local cash matches, a requirement of the governmental grant funding. With a quarter million dollar budget, Pro-Youth / HEART continued to raise community funds with the 4th annual Walk/Run and received additional support of $10,000 from a Rotary Children’s Opportunities Grant. By the year 2000, Pro-Youth / HEART was serving 1,100 children at eight school sites with a budget exceeding $1,000,000.

Thirteen years later, Pro-Youth/HEART has gained a state-wide reputation as a highly successful and exemplary model of after-school programs. HEART serves over [an error occurred while processing this directive] students every school day at [an error occurred while processing this directive] schools which now includes three local high school sites. The HEART Program is offered free of charge and is making a significant difference in these young lives. HEART employs approximately [an error occurred while processing this directive] caring, committed, and trained staff providing positive role models for the children through a structured program of homework and tutoring support, academic focus in English and Math and enrichment activities from dance to computers as well as behavior improvement programs that address bullying, gangs and positive behavioral change. Family Literacy has become an integral part of the HEART Program, promoting parent involvement and educating parents through programs such as Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) and Parents and Children Together (PACT). HEART faces a future filled with promise as it moves forward with changing communities, one child at a time. Through strong commitments and support from Kaweah Delta Health Care District, TCOE, and VUSD, the HEART Program is able to offer exceptional programs to children and families in our community.

Through the leadership and dedication of our Board of Directors, HEART is able to move forward in its quest to serve the after-school needs in our community. HEART faces a future filled with promise as it moves forward with changing communities, one child at a time. Through strong commitments and support from TCOE and VUSD, the HEART Program is able to offer exceptional programs to children and families in our community.

Pro-Youth / HEART, as the Program has come to be known, faces a future filled with promise. Elementary school students who participated in the Program have graduated from high school and college to return to work in the HEART Program. After-school programs are making a significant difference and continue to offer security to students willing to learn to make good choices for their future. Community partnerships are the foundation of HEART. With the help and financial support of community members, HEART is able to keep children safe from gangs, enhance their education, and provide them with hope for a brighter future. HEART builds a better tomorrow by investing in children today.