Center of Our Lives (COOL) Youth Center

The COOL Youth Center is a neighborhood-based, family oriented program that provides academic enrichment, social and emotional development, and life skills training for youth ages six through 18. The COOL Youth Center serves youth by providing a place where caring adults can create relationships that build trust. By learning important life skills at COOL, these children are able to become contributing members of our community.

The majority of our families are led by single mothers and 98% of our families have annual incomes of under $35,000. We know that an investment in youth through high-quality after school programming will provide positive impacts later in life in the areas of school performance, social and emotional development, preparation for the work force, and better health.

According to the Minnesota Summit on Afterschool Learning Opportunities, each year youth have nearly 2,000 hours of discretionary, non-school, time—roughly the equivalent of a full time job. What these young people do with that time is critical in developing their futures, success in school, and on their impact on our society. After-school programs like the COOL Youth Center are critical to the success of at-risk youth. After ten years of research, the Harvard Family Research Project indicates that youth that participate in quality after-school programming like the COOL Youth Center will have positive outcomes such as:

• Better attitude toward school and higher educational aspirations
• Higher school attendance rates and better performance in school
• Lower drop-out rates
• Improved homework completion
• Decreased behavioral problems
• Increased self-confidence and self-esteem
• Lower levels of depression
• Avoidance of drug and alcohol use
• Decreases in delinquency and violent behavior
• Avoidance of sexual activity
• Reduction in juvenile crime

According to Wilder Research, targeted after-school programs like the COOL Youth Center return a savings of over $4.89 to the community for every dollar invested in youth.