Apex for Youth Inc

Founded in 1992, Apex for Youth delivers possibilities to underserved Asian and immigrant youth in New York City by recruiting volunteers to be positive role models for them. Through its mentoring and educational programs for students from 1st to 12th grade, Apex volunteers guide and inspire youth to become confident young adults who are ready for college and give back to the community. Today Apex serves over 700 children weekly with nearly 8,000 hours of volunteer serve a year.

Apex currently serves students from 1st to 12th grade in New York City. Our suite of programs begins in elementary school, providing students with structured academic and social activities to improve their communication skills and provide opportunities to interact with adults. In the middle school and high school years, Apex encourages more personalized one-to-one mentoring to build deeper relationships with youth and address their specific needs. High school students also can access more rigorous academic assistance from Apex to prepare them for college.

Through youth developing strong relationships with positive role models who volunteer their service, Apex’s goal is for its youth to become Apex volunteers themselves in the future: confident, college-ready individuals who want to give back to the community.

Programs

The Mentoring Program addresses the personal, educational and social needs of middle and high school students through one-on-one caring relationships with adult volunteers. Mentoring pairs work together to develop and achieve specific goals throughout the school year. Goal-related activities may include working on schoolwork, attending cultural events or participating in sports.

Apex provides workshops to help mentoring pairs achieve goals in three “C” areas: 1) College/academics 2)Confidence/public speaking and 3) Community service. Apex also provides social and recreational group events that expose mentees to new experiences and foster a sense of community among pairs. These programs enable mentees to broaden their horizons, improve academically, build a more positive self-image, develop stronger interpersonal skills and cultivate valuable friendships.

Our Educational Programs include Reading Empowers, which promotes literacy among 1st and 2nd graders; English Excellence Club, which engages students in theater activities to help them develop public speaking and English skills; 4th Grade Prep, which offers extra test preparation for 4th graders for standardized exams; SAT Prep, which prepares students to take the SAT; and College Prep, which helps students work on important elements of the college application process, including personal statements.

Our Athletics programs currently include basketball, which began in January 2011 as a partnership between Apex for Youth, PS 1 and the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. We provide a structured team sports environment for youth and families who cannot afford to access this type of experience otherwise. We also plan regular inter-school scrimmages for the youth.

We currently provide two After School Programs: A School’s Out New York City (SONYC) program to 100 middle school students at P.S. 184 and a program that includes SAT Prep, public speaking and jazz instruction to high school students at Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers.