PITTSBURGH YOUTH LEADERSHIP
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Mission Statement
Pittsburgh Youth Leadership provides an opportunity for our inner-city, low-income, at-risk participants to develop positive youth leadership skills by accomplishing very demanding goals with a focused, determined attitude, cooperative behavior, and the ability to reach their limitless potential. The primary purpose of Pittsburgh Youth Leadership is to develop, train, supply and lead participants with extremely limited experience, future vision and life direction on multi-week, cross-country bicycle trips.
About This Cause
Pittsburgh Youth Leadership is excited to enter our 18th year in 2023 of training, supplying and leading long-distance bicycle trips for local inner-city, low-income, at risk youth. We strongly believe that our innovative and ambitious programs are working and that our kids are excelling. We have opened the eyes of students with a narrow vision of their futures to reach their individual potential. Why does our program work? We strongly believe that our kids have been able to accomplish tremendous goals by learning the virtues of determination, fortitude, focus, motivation and cooperative behavior. The accomplishment of these goals creates enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence. College is now an accomplishable goal and within their grasp. The high school students on the proverbial fence between a productive life and a criminal life, recognize that they are at the moment of choice and Pittsburgh Youth Leadership is a powerful influence to make the better choice. Pittsburgh Youth Leadership led inner-city, low-income, at risk students on bicycle trips in 2022 to such diverse places as Alabama, Utah, Outer Banks of North Carolina, Jersey Shore and the mountains of West Virginia. A very hardy group completed a 16 day NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming after cycling there from Pittsburgh! Since 2006, we have cycled north to Fairbanks, south to Key West, east as Acadia National Park and west as the Lewis & Clark Expedition finish in Seaside, Oregon. We have been able to offer transformative educational trips to Selma, Alabama and crossed the Edmund Pettis Bridge on 3 trips following Reverend Martin Luther King’s march route to Montgomery. Our participants who had extremely limited experience and vision of nature prior to their Pittsburgh Youth Leadership experiences have cycled in Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, Everglades, Acadia, Badlands, Rocky Mountains, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Congaree National Parks. A strong group of high school students cycled to the summit of the highest paved road in North America at 14,137 feet. A tremendous group of determined and ambitious kids cycled across America from the Oregon Coast to the Jersey Shore. The documentary film about this cross-country journey can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/162197106/23f2682c19. Although we do not hesitate to note our 486,000 miles cycled in 49 states since 2006, Pittsburgh Youth Leadership measures our success in the 98% high school graduation rate, dozens becoming the first in the family to attend college, general lack of involvement in crime and almost every kid employed, in the military or still in school. We are very proud of our kids’ accomplishments and believe we have been a positive influence in their lives. Pittsburgh Youth Leadership has expanded our programs to now include rock climbing, a competitive cycling team, National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) scholarships and an ongoing year round mentoring program. Pittsburgh Youth Leadership requests that the Pittsburgh Foundation consider a 2023 grant. While Pittsburgh Youth Leadership has received national recognition for our cycling accomplishments, including cycling over 506,000 aggregate miles in 49 states, the truth is that the bicycle is merely our “vehicle” to reach inner-city, low-income, at risk youth and to build positive character for future local leaders. Our kids become somewhat a “family” over the years and we all work together to allow these ambitious participants to reach their limitless potential. Pittsburgh Youth Leadership has ongoing programs throughout the year keeping the group together in both educational opportunities and sports activities. We are much more than just bicycle trips. We stay involved in our kids’ lives in a positive manner. Our staff members are all former participants who now act as mentors and role models for the younger kids. Our outreach has greatly expanded, certainly beyond merely the actual bicycle trips.