• Founded in 1973, Youth Guidance is a private, not-for-profit corporation operating under a 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Youth Guidance depends on the financial support of the Indian River community, a combination of funding from private donors and foundations, United Way and in kind donations from the County.

  We Are Indian River

   A purely local organization, we:

• Design our programs and services to meet the specific needs of kids living in Indian River County
• Draw all our volunteers from Indian River County
• Receive all our funding from sources in Indian River County
• Spend all our program resources here in Indian River County

One Mentoring Relationship at a Time

Youth Guidance is a community-based mentoring program.

The centerpiece of our effort is the mentoring relationship between adult and child.

We deeply believe – and experience has shown us – that a meaningful mentoring relationship has the potential in changing a child’s life. It is the goal and result of all of the programs, events, activities and other opportunities we provide to these underprivileged children.

And once the mentoring relationship is in place, it permanently changes lives!

The programs are all designed to bring children and adults into each other’s lives and to ignite a relationship that matures into a bond founded in friendship, exchange trust and reliance.

Our Strategy

Enrollment - We enroll eligible kids (low-income, single families) into Youth Guidance and offer them a variety of activities and the opportunity to join The Mentoring Academy.

Recruitment – We bring in dedicated volunteers who have the desire to help change a child’s life.

Matching - Our volunteers meet our kids in the Mentoring Academy with hopes to develop a bond that leads to a one to one mentoring relationship.

Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy

The Mentoring Academy began during the summer of 2014.  It is designed to have a small group effect where three to four children are matched with a mentor.  The group mentor guides the children through the activity that is planned.

Our Mentoring Academy is a stepping stone for the one to one mentoring relationships.

The Youth Guidance child sees the adult volunteer not only as knowledgeable and experienced in the activity, but also a prospective mentor.

Both the volunteer and the child have an opportunity to gain a sense of each other’s enthusiasm for a lasting friendship.