I’m El Simpson, founder and Executive Director of Youth Empowering Society. We’re preparing a 90-day Cleveland cohort for 15 young adults ages 18–24, focused on practical skills for money, work and everyday life.

Participants will practice making a personal budget, communicating in the workplace, preparing for interviews and identifying a next step toward employment, education or training. Our planned schedule is three three-hour sessions each week. January 4, 2027 is our planned start, subject to confirmed funding, staffing, location and final arrangements.

Our first fundraising checkpoint is $2,500 net toward two unfunded parts of the approved cohort budget: $1,500 for student manuals and instructional materials, and $1,000 for transportation and attendance support. These are shared program costs. A gift supports the cohort rather than a guaranteed benefit or payment to a particular participant.

The full cohort budget is $15,000. Reaching this first checkpoint will help us prepare, while we continue securing the people, place and remaining funding needed to deliver the program. Additional gifts would support other approved cohort costs under the gift terms published with this campaign.

Please contribute an amount that works for you. We’ll share progress on funds received, the remaining need and program readiness. If our timing changes, we’ll explain the change. We’ll report actual participation and completed work when the program runs; participation does not guarantee a job, credential or increased income.

Thank you for helping us prepare a practical next step for Cleveland’s young adults.

El Simpson
Youth Empowering Society

Gift terms

Gifts support the planned Y.E.S. Cleveland cohort. Our first priority is $2,500 for manuals and instructional materials ($1,500), and transportation and attendance support ($1,000). Additional gifts support other costs in the approved $15,000 cohort budget.

We will hold campaign gifts unspent until sufficient funding, staffing and a usable venue are confirmed. We will review readiness by December 14, 2026. If the start is delayed or the cohort is canceled before funds are used, we will explain the change and offer refunds of gifts to Y.E.S.

Optional Givebutter tips are separate from gifts to Y.E.S. and are not included in these refund commitments. Requests to refund a platform tip are handled by Givebutter.

Help 15 Cleveland young adults prepare for work and everyday life

Help Youth Empowering Society prepare practical learning materials and attendance support for a planned 90-day Cleveland program for young adults ages 18–24.