Programs & Services

Youth Development Academy

ShareFest believes there is an enormous need for kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods to have a safe, fun environment where they can escape from the influence of gangs and drugs and begin learning habits that will help them become community leaders.

On July 7, 2008 ShareFest began its second summer Youth Development Academy (YDA).

The 4-week camp is designed to give at-risk, middle school aged kids a chance to participate in sports, theatre, art, reading, team-building, games, relays and more educational activities that lead them away from the destructive lifestyle that is readily available to them.

The YDA’s curriculum incorporates topics such as health, nutrition, character building, decision-making, self-awareness and leadership.

With more than 700 gangs in L.A. County alone, there is more than enough opportunity for youth to be pulled into a dangerous lifestyle. ShareFest intends to do to exact opposite and foster a healthy lifestyle built around an active community. 

Youth in lower income areas need summer alternatives to TV, video games, and cell phones. At this critical time in their lives these kids need options outside the home that don’t involve gangs, drugs or other distractions. ShareFest’s YDA will provide them with these options during the peak summer months in which crime and gang activity typically increases in their communities. At an age where they begin taking responsibility for their own lives, ShareFest will teach them how and encourage them to make healthy decisions.

By showing them that people in their own community care and equipping them with lifelong tools, ShareFest gives these kids a better chance at shaping their own future and having an impact from the inside out on the needing neighborhoods around them.