Executive Summary

LEAP is of the New Haven community – working deeply in 6 high poverty neighborhoods, managing two large historic community centers and 7 school-based sites, and serving over 1500 young people annually. For over 30 years, LEAP has created profound learning experiences outside of school for over 30,000 children and illuminating employment opportunities for over 5,000 youth counselors, including many who now form the fabric of the city and who run LEAP.

LEAP believes in the power of young people to serve as leaders and change-makers. As New Haven’s largest youth employer, LEAP provides local high school and college students with training to build leadership skills and serve as caring mentors for children from their community. As counselors, these young people lead small groups of children through a culturally-affirming literacy curriculum and world-expanding enrichment activities including swim lessons, camping, African drumming, and more.

LEAP’s near-peer mentorship model encourages student engagement and fosters formative relationships that LEAPers carry with them beyond their time at LEAP. Years later, countless LEAP alumni are grateful to their counselors for helping them find joy in learning, grow confidence, and become the leaders they are today. LEAP counselors themselves build profound leadership capabilities through being responsible for the development of the children in their care.

Our theory of community change relies on representative youth-led programming. Our counselors often come from the neighborhoods they serve, upholding community cultures, legacies, and values. This spirit of empowerment and community-based work is reflected in our full-time staff and board, many of whom grew up in LEAP’s programs.

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