The Kool Boiz Foundation is dedicated to providing educational, financial, and emotional support for boys and young men of color. Founded in 2015, we are a leading advocate for these youths and a catalyst for empowerment and change. Through our college scholarships, mentoring programs, and youth empowerment conferences, we are building future leaders and entrepreneurs.

We believe supporting and empowering boys and young men of color in Youngstown, Ohio will result in collective success for the entire city and region. Like the vision of My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (Established by President Obama in 2014), we also believe “Supporting young people is the most pressing issue and, far more importantly, the most significant opportunity of our time. Our nation is missing out if we do not lift up the assets boys and men of color bring to our workplaces, our families, our communities, and our country” (My Brother’s Keeper Alliance www.mbkalliance.org).

Youngstown, Ohio is one of the poorest cities in Ohio with a poverty rate of 35.2% (13.1% in Ohio) and a median household income of $28,822 ($58,642 in Ohio) according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2019 numbers. Youngstown’s population is 42% Black or African American and 10.9% Hispanic or Latino and has the highest child poverty rate of 57.5% in Ohio based on the estimates from the Census Bureau’s five-year American Community Survey, taken from 2014 through 2018. According to the Urban Institute, “Boys and young men of color face profound challenges growing up in America. They are twice as likely to grow up in poverty as non-Hispanic white males and much more likely to live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. As they move through life, many face multiple educational and economic disadvantages, leaving African American and Hispanic males less likely than their white and Asian peers to have high school diplomas and more likely to be jobless. Even boys and young men of color who don’t face as many disadvantages frequently find themselves negatively affected by social and cultural perspectives, institutions, and systems within the larger society. Understanding the larger context is essential to developing effective mechanisms for removing barriers that are created for boys and young men of color.”

Kool Boiz Foundation 2023 Holiday Party With A Purpose Silent Auction

By Kool Boiz Foundation

Kool Boiz Foundation 2023 Holiday Party With A Purpose Silent Auction

Strong Boys Become Strong Men For A Strong City