How Your Love Creates Hope for Young Lives in Your Community

On International Youth Day, See the Beautiful Transformation of Your Compassion

Today, August 12th, the world recognizes International Youth Day - a moment to focus on young people who need what you've already been providing: genuine care, real opportunities, and someone who believes in their potential.
 

The Reality Youth Face in America

The statistics paint a sobering picture of American youth facing significant challenges. Over 20,000 young people age out of foster care each year¹ without the family connections or resources they need to succeed independently. On a single night in January 2024, 38,170 unaccompanied youth experienced homelessness in the United States, a 10% increase from 2023.² These young people are often cycling between temporary shelters, friends' couches, and unsafe situations.

After school hours present another challenge: 15.1 million children return home to empty houses³ with no adult supervision. The National Center for Education Statistics shows that these unsupervised hours often correlate with declining academic performance and increased participation in risky behaviors.
 

Your Compassion Creates Beautiful Change

Through Salvation Army youth programs across the Eastern United States, your kindness reached 650,000 young people last year. Your love creates transformation in ways both immediate and lasting:

After-School Programs: In 47 locations, children find safe spaces to complete homework, develop new skills, and build healthy relationships with caring adults. Your generosity provides tutoring, mentoring, and nutritious snacks for children who might otherwise spend afternoons alone or in unsafe environments. Research shows that children attending high-quality after-school programs over two years achieved math gains of up to 20 percentile points, and reading gains of up to 12 percentile points, compared to their peers who were unsupervised after school.⁴

Summer Camps: Residential and day camps serve thousands of children annually, providing outdoor experiences, character development, and spiritual growth opportunities. Many children attend camp free of charge because of your compassion.

Transitional Living Programs: Young adults aging out of foster care find stable housing, job training, and educational support through programs you make possible. These young people develop independent living skills while receiving the encouragement they need to build successful futures.

Youth Emergency Services: When young people face homelessness or family crisis, emergency shelters and support services provide immediate safety and long-term case management to help them stabilize their lives.

Mentoring That Transforms Futures: According to research youth with mentors are 52% more likely to stay in school and complete more homework assignments than those without mentors.⁵ Through your generosity, caring adults invest in one-on-one relationships that help young people navigate challenges and discover their strengths.
 

The Ripple Effect of Your Care

When you nurture one young person, you're influencing their entire future, their potential career, family, and contribution to their community. The teenager who finds stable housing through your generosity may go on to become a teacher, nurse, or community leader. The child who receives tutoring in our after-school program may discover a love of learning that reshapes their academic trajectory.
 

A Global Perspective, Local Transformation

International Youth Day reminds us that young people worldwide share common needs: safety, education, opportunity, and caring adults who believe in their potential. While the awareness is global, your compassion creates solutions right here in your community.

According to the Afterschool Alliance, every $1 invested in afterschool programs returns at least $3 by improving youth earning potential, academic performance, and reducing crime and juvenile delinquency.⁶ Quality youth programming doesn't just help individual children, it strengthens entire communities by ensuring the next generation has the tools they need to thrive. Your generosity addresses systemic challenges with personal, caring solutions.
 

How Your Continued Love Makes a Difference

$50 helps provide one child with a full month of after-school programming, including homework help, mentoring, and nutritious snacks

$125 helps sponsor a child for a week of summer camp, including all meals, activities, and programming

$250 helps support a young adult in transitional housing for one month, including case management and life skills development
 

Your Legacy of Love

Every young person who finds stability, discovers their potential, or builds a meaningful future through Salvation Army programs carries forward the love you've shown them. They become parents who value education, employees who contribute to their communities, and neighbors who care for others in need.

On this International Youth Day, thank you for being the reason young people in our communities have hope, opportunity, and bright futures ahead of them.
 

Continue Nurturing Young Lives

¹ Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2024). The AFCARS Report #28 - Preliminary FY 2021 Estimates. 

² U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress 

³ Afterschool Alliance (2020, PDF). America After 3PM: Demand Grows, Opportunity Shrinks. 

⁴  Afterschool Alliance Research Brief (2021, PDF) - The evidence base for afterschool and summer

⁵ MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership - Academic Achievement Brief (PDF) 

⁶ Afterschool Alliance (2025, PDF) - Afterschool Programs Streghten the Economy