“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”

YMWIC thanks the Chester County Department of Community Development for your continuous support. With your help, YMWIC is able to serve Chester County Scholars in our Phoenixville, West Chester and Coatesville Chapters. Thank you for renewing our grant.

The Foundation for Delaware County supports the YMWIC Pre-College summer and school year programs. The Scholars from our Chester Upland, Upper Darby and William Penn School districts benefit immensely. Thank you for your support.

3M has provided funds to support the YMWIC Scholarship Program. We thank you for your generosity and continued support.

We would like to thank The Alliance for Health Equity, in partnership with the Women's League for Minority Education in Coatesville, PA, for supporting the new mental health component which enhances wrap-around services available for the Chester County Scholars of YMWIC.

The West Chester Area Education Foundation is a valued partner that continues to support the Scholars within the West Chester Area School District by providing scholarships for Scholars attending our six-week Summer STEM Programs. Thank you for helping us to provide memorable learning experiences and activities to our Scholars.

Thank you to DePuy Synthes for providing funding for scholarships so that 30 Scholars were able to participate in the YMWIC Elementary and Middle School Summer Programs.

Thank you to the CLA Foundation for your continuous support of the YMWIC Pre-College After-School Programs.

Saint Vincent College has collaborated with the Young Men and Women in Charge Foundation to host an interactive, immersive summer middle school STEM camp since 2013. The College and its Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Computing was recently awarded a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education's PAsmart Advancing Computer Science and STEM Education competition for a project to expand educational access and opportunity and develop a highly skilled workforce in Pennsylvania. This year, the PAsmart Program focused on partnerships that support quality educational opportunities and experiences for K-12 students in computer science and STEM.

Saint Vincent College partnered with industry and school districts near their location in Latrobe, PA, as well as the Young Men and Women in Charge Foundation in developing a program that will provide professional development to k-12 teachers in computer science and cybersecurity, embed computer programming via the Alice programming language into the SVC-YMWIC Middle School Summer Program, and provide a new Summer Program in computer programming for YMWIC high school students.

Planning for these two camps will take place during the summer of 2022, and they will be offered in the summer of 2023. Parents, get an early start. Plan and schedule your Scholar(s) for these two exciting camps next summer!

Dr. Koreem Bell ("Korey") was recognized by YMWIC as our 2022 Community Leadership Award recipient at our 12th Annual Scholarship & Awards Banquet. Dr. Bell is a secondary school counselor at B. Reed Henderson High School in West Chester, PA. Born and raised in West Chester, Dr. Bell attended primary and secondary schools there as well. Upon graduation from high school, Korey matriculated at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where he earned both a Bachelor's in Sociology and a Master's Degree in Counseling, College Student Personnel track. At Shippensburg, Dr. Bell became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and was involved in SU Theatre, the African-American Organization, Men of Culture, and the S.T.E.P. tutoring program. Read more.

When asked to share his educational journey with us, Curtis said, “While going through elementary school, junior high school, and high school, I always enjoyed learning in all subjects. I loved English and writing as well as science and math (I enjoyed history the most), always finding something interesting in the different areas. I also made sure to keep up my health and physical fitness. Exercise for your body and your brain are important.” He majored in Political Science in college where he learned about governments and political systems all over the world and how they operate. He also took many courses in business and economics. Read more.

What a celebration! The YMWIC 12^th Annual Scholarship & Awards Banquet took place on May 26, 2022, kicking off with the procession of our Scholars, who recited their Credo. After two years, we were finally able to celebrate in person with each other at the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel. We had more than 300 attendees that included our valued Corporate and Academia Sponsors and Partners, Award Honorees, School District representatives, supportive community members, Scholars’ family members and friends, Staff members, and our esteemed YMWIC Scholars!

As we all enjoyed a delicious meal, Scholars received an inspiring message from Sabrina Brooks, Senior Manager of PECO Workforce Development, encouraging them to always do their best and work hard as they look forward to future opportunities at PECO or elsewhere. Read more.

YMWIC was proud to host our Inaugural Alumni Retreat in May. We invited close to 60 YMWIC Alumni who are in college or have graduated from college and are pursuing or within a professional career. YMWIC continues to support our Alumni through coaching, educational financial services and career-related support.

We assembled a panel of industry leaders for the Retreat who provided our Alumni with an enriching experience designed to support them with their current and future endeavors. The event was held at the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel; breakfast and lunch were provided.

Our Alumni were provided with the opportunity to network among peers, mentors and YMWIC partners. Thank you to our panelists and YMWIC Board Members, Vincent Ross of Bayer U.S., Divya Tolani of WSFS Bank, Gilbert Davis of CHOP, Preston Hawkins of Day and Zimmerman and invited guests. We look forward to assembling our Alumni annually for this very successful event.

YMWIC was invited to be part of a dinner hosted by Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.  At this inaugural Partner's Dinner, representatives of businesses who have offices on the Cheyney campus had the opportunity to network.

Aaron A. Walton, President of Cheyney University, addressed the group. University personnel identifies new opportunities with underutilized facilities, where new partners can create economic value on Cheyney’s campus and incorporate students into their programming. The vision is to create and establish Cheyney University as a top post-secondary destination at which to learn, live, work, and create.

The YMWIC Varsity Robotics Team participated in the annual Greater Washington DC/Virginia Regional Botball Robotics Tournament. Mr. Roberts, Dr. Hampson, and a team of nine Scholars set out in the YMWIC Foundation van on May 13^th for a road trip to Great Mills High School in Maryland. A total of nineteen teams of excited and talented youngsters participated in the tournament. Each of the teams designed and built two robots for the competition. Many of the teams were new this year and had to learn the basics of programming and/or mechanical design at the same time as they worked on the competition robot. Read more.

YMWIC female Scholars in 5th through 10th grades recently participated in the Girls Exploring Tomorrow’s Technology (GETT) Conference. Our Scholars joined other students from around southeastern Pennsylvania to explore hands-on activities and connect with their passion for STEM, interact with women in STEM careers, and ask lots of questions.

Three of our dedicated YMWIC parents, Ayesha Ganges, L’Tanya Reyes, and Aisha Komara, volunteered to chaperone our Scholars. We thank them for leading this activity. In their own words, here is a summary of the day. Read more.

Elementary school-aged Scholars in YMWIC participated in six fun-filled educational weeks in this year's YMWIC STEAM & Language Arts Programs. They enjoyed interesting hands-on learning experiences which included computer science, robotics, language arts, reading, and art. Scholars learned the YMWIC Credo, recited it daily and completed science projects, which they then presented to the group.

In addition, they had loads of fun including field trips to Tyler Arboretum, Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey, Linvilla Orchards and Longwood Gardens as well as enjoying a day at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, where YMWIC headquarters is located. Scholars also tie-dyed t-shirts, took nature walks, played lots of games, and made new friends. Read more.

Saint Vincent College has collaborated with YMWIC to host an interactive, exciting summer middle school STEM camp since 2013. The YMWIC 2022 Middle School Summer Program was open to all 6th and 7th grade Scholars. They enjoyed a four-day residential (overnight) camp experience at Saint Vincent College. During the Saint Vincent College STEM Camp, Scholars were exposed to the college experience as they resided in the dorms on campus, ate their meals in the college dining halls, worked with college professors, and learned about different science topics in state-of-the-art facilities at the college. Even though highly structured and supervised, this immersive experience allowed our young Scholars to begin imagining and preparing themselves to be college students. Read more.

A group of Coatesville High School Upward Bound Scholars took part in our Summer Program. In addition to brushing up on academics, Scholars participated in a combination of learning and fun experiences including STEM-related activities, robotics labs, development of practical and professional skills, and the development of leadership qualities. The Program included daily lunch, academic preparedness, mentoring, leadership development, networking, sports, golf every Wednesday, and much more. They completed research projects on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in society and the workplace. Read more.

Coatesville Chapter: Vicente Montes Ocampo, a member of our Coatesville Chapter, attends Coatesville Area Senior High School, where he is in the 11th grade. This has been his second program year with YMWIC, saying that it is a great program that provided many opportunities to work and learn. He encourages younger Scholars or those who are considering YMWIC to get involved in as many things as possible and learn how to network with people.

He has most enjoyed robotics and the annual Botball Robotics Tournament, in which he has competed as a member of the YMWIC Varsity Robotics Team. Read more.

Phoenixville Chapter: Scholar August Kollar is completing the 4th grade at Manavon Elementary School. He has been a member of YMWIC for a year. August most enjoys the science workshops he participates in at YMWIC and likes that the Foundation makes teachers and working professionals available to him who can answer his questions. He would tell younger or new YMWIC Scholars to take advantage of all of the learning opportunities. To others who don’t yet know about the Foundation, he says, “YMWIC is a great organization if you like science. Check out the workshops, you can learn even more about science.”

August sings in his school chorus and plays the saxophone, recorder and piano. In his spare time, he enjoys playing and building new structures in Minecraft Education Edition, playing piano, reading, and playing outside with his friends. When he graduates from high school, August would like to attend Drexel University or Rutgers University and become an FBI Field Agent.

Upper Darby Chapter: Kadi Sore is an 11th grade Scholar at Upper Darby High School enjoying her first year with YMWIC. She appreciates the many opportunities the Foundation provides for Scholars and how YMWIC membership helps her feel better about herself (improved self-esteem). She advises her peers who may be interested in YMWIC to join even if they are not interested in STEM subjects, because there are so many other opportunities. Kadi's advice to younger Scholars, "Take advantage of the help and resources this program offers! You will need it in the future."

Kadi would like to attend either Penn State University, Thomas Jefferson University or Drexel University after graduating high school. In her free time, she enjoys reading.

West Chester Chapter: Sydney Holland is a 10th grade Scholar at Garnet Valley High School. She joined YMWIC when in the 9th grade and enjoys all Program activities. She notices how much her public speaking skills and confidence have improved since becoming a member.

Sydney would like to attend the University of Maryland and become a teacher.  She believes that being a member of YMWIC is a great opportunity for other students and that they will be helped and supported with their current academics and future plans. Sydney enjoys dancing and likes to read and draw in her free time.

For Workshops #16, our STEM Educators, Wanda Allaire and Dr. Naomi Hampson, switched the groups they usually work with, continuing what they began in Workshops #15. Naomi taught the 3-6th grade Scholars about Digital and Analog Signals, and Wanda did experiments with the 7th and 8th grade Scholars on Cryptography and Cyber Security. High school Scholars had the opportunity to work with Dr. Brandon Mitchell (at right) from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, who used fascinating exercises to explore the Physics of Sound with them.

Dr. Hampson and Ms. Allaire collaborated for Workshops #17 to guide Scholars in Learning About Pressure and Buoyancy. Read more.

The Chester Upland Chapter volunteered at the J. Lewis Crozer Library for their Community Service project. Scholars dusted bookshelves, alphabetized card catalogs, and updated the library’s bulletin board. The Scholars had an enjoyable learning experience and were happy to contribute their time to the local library in their community.

For another Community Service project, The Chester Upland Chapter completed a joint community service project with the Chester Eastside Club. The Scholars had the opportunity to help them prepare their community garden for the upcoming growing season. They learned about composting, watered and planted plants, prepped the garden beds, and got to explore and learn about the soil and the bugs and insects that help it flourish. Read more.

We salute our Senior Scholars as they prepare for the next chapter of their lives. Following is a list of their post-secondary plans:

Sahdayah Addy - College & Major: Neumann University; Psychology/Pre-Med

Karen Aguilar - College & Major: West Chester University of Pennsylvania; Psychology

Stefan Fialkowski - College & Major: Delaware County Community College Associate Degree

                Drexel University; Graphic Design and Materials Science

Naomi Fuiman - College & Major: Delaware County Community College Associate Degree

                Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Graphic Design

Alexandra Galan Dominguez - College & Major: West Chester University of Pennsylvania;

Exercise Science-Physical Therapy

Brittany Hoopes - Post-Graduation: YMWIC Workforce Readiness Program

Daniel Mena - College & Major: York College of Pennsylvania; Cyber Security Management

Isabella Mena - College & Major: Temple University; Psychology

Diana Morales Viveros - College & Major: The University of Hartford; Architect

Aidan O’Neel - College & Major: Undecided; Computer Science

Pablo Quintero - College & Major: West Chester University of Pennsylvania; Computer Science

Esteban Ramos-Vilches - College & Major: Penn State University Main Campus; Undecided

Ta’Mia Satterwhite - College and Major: Montgomery County Community College

Steven S. Scherzer, Jr. - College & Major: West Chester University of Pennsylvania; Business

               Management

Lauren Sitek - College & Major: Drexel University; Biology & Pre-Med

At YMWIC, we consider our Alumni to be our greatest ambassadors. After high school when they graduate from the Foundation, we follow and support them through college graduation (undergraduate and graduate degree programs) and their careers. We are excited to share our latest Alumni News!

Raisa Sabiha is a 2021 alum of the Norristown Chapter. She is currently at Chestnut Hill College studying Biology with a Math Minor and plans to go to Medical School. This summer, she will be interning at Johnson & Johnson working in a lab with the Cell Culture Department doing research on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases. This year, Raisa also joined the Sigma Zeta National Science and Mathematics Scholar Society Scholar’s Program.

Matthew Wilford, a 2020 YMWIC Norristown Chapter Alumnus and a rising junior at Cheyney University, has secured an internship at Comcast this summer as a Software Developer. He will be working in one of their Philadelphia Offices.

This month, we salute Michael and Crystal Washington. Their children Derrick and Jada are members of our William Penn Chapter. When we asked them why they decided to join the Program, they said, "We honestly loved what YMWIC had to offer. We attended a workshop and were sold from that point. The skills our children have developed already are great to see!" They have observed that their children have much more confidence since joining YMWIC.

Michael and Crystal are very active in their chapter. They have enthusiastically volunteered their time and resources including: College Tour Chaperones, Parent Liaison Group Members, Community Service Events Parent Leaders, and Workshop Assistants. They say they love interacting with the other Scholars and parents in the Program.

To other families who are thinking about joining YMWIC, they say, “YMWIC is a great Program to be involved in. Your children will continue to grow while participating in activities, and you will grow along with them. It is something for children and parents to do together.”

The 9th Annual YMWIC Scholarship & STEM Golf Classic is fast approaching! Join us on Monday, August 29, 2022, at the fabulous Penn Oaks Golf Club in a Scramble Golf Tournament and Fundraiser to support our Scholarship Program for the Young Men and Women In Charge (YMWIC) Foundation, Inc. You will meet our Scholars, network, and have fun as you help us raise scholarship funds.

Golfers will receive gifts, an open buffet lunch, and an open buffet dinner. There will be a Silent Auction and prizes for our guests and winners. For non-golfers, please join us for the evening banquet and networking dinner event, which will include a buffet dinner, live jazz, and much more. You can click on this link to register.

Registration has begun for the YMWIC 2022-2023 Program Year!

If your child is a rising 3rd - 11th grade student in the Chester Upland, Coatesville, Norristown, Horace Furness High School in Philadelphia , Phoenixville, Upper Darby, West Chester, or William Penn School Districts, and you are interested in having them becoming a part of the dynamic and rewarding YMWIC Pre-College After-School Program, click this link and complete the Student Form. A member of our staff will contact you.

All returning Scholars can click these links to complete the 2022-2023 Program Year Online Scholar Application and the Scholar Personal Statement Form.

Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC): YMWIC Foundation, Inc. is eligible to receive funds from the EITC Program which is administered by Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development. We thank those businesses that donate their EITC funding to YMWIC Foundation and encourage others to consider directing funding to our community nonprofit that provides college and career preparation for K-12 students; empowers their families; counseling, financial support and internships for YMWIC college alumni; and enriches our communities by developing a talented and skilled workforce. Please contact Rick Roberts at (610) 340-2844 if you would like to consider our YMWIC Foundation, Inc. as the recipient of your company's EITC funds.

Amazon Smile and YMWIC: Using Amazon Smile costs you nothing but can make a world of difference to our Scholars and the resources we provide. When you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. When making online purchases from Amazon, simply search for YMWIC Foundation or YMIC Foundation. Your product cost will not increase when donating to YMWIC.