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YouthBuild Louisville

Young Adult Development in Action, Inc., Lynn Rippy

Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Formed in: 2001
yblky.org
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My successes.

In 2000, Lynn Rippy recognized a need in the community and learned about YouthBuild USA. With a grant from the Louisville Metro Government, Lynn and Marsha Weinstein drafted a program for youth called Young Adult Development In Action. The program was able to attain affiliate status to become the YouthBuild program and began its first class in 2001.

 

Since 2001, YouthBuild Louisville has been heavily involved in the revitalization of Louisville's Smoketown neighbourhood. They built an Education Building and Shop in Smoketown and added several community amenities including more than 150 street trees, and a new park that was repurposed from two closed-down liquor stores.

 

This year, YouthBuild Louisville will complete its campus which will add 8,000 additional square feet of space to the Education Building, increasing its capacity to serve young adults, build partnerships, and provide a job centre for participants and community residents.

What inspired you to start your business?

2011 SCORE Award - Outstanding Non-Profit Organization

Since 2001 YouthBuild Louisville (YBL) has been providing a lifeline for at-risk youth. YBL works primarily with high school dropouts, ages 16-24, many of whom are part of the juvenile justice process and possess little education beyond 6th-grade math and reading levels. Caring for their Louisville community and refusing to simply stand by as young lives were in limbo, Lynn Rippy and her co-founders mobilized into action. 

YouthBuild Louisville provides meaningful purpose to students who split their time between construction sites, building affordable housing for homeless and low-income families, and a classroom, where over 85% earn their GED or high school diploma. YBL’s impact over the last three years has changed the face of the Louisville community. During this time, 12 new houses have been built, 79 homes were rehabilitated, a historic church renovated, 3 miles of trails in local forests and 3 environmental education shelters were redeveloped, and they have planted and maintained hundreds of trees throughout the community. 

YouthBuild Louisville’s impact is recognized through opportunity, training, resources, and vision, and evidenced by former students who are now aspiring business owners being mentored by SCORE.

How SCORE helped.

YouthBuild Louisville pursued mentoring from SCORE when they began expanding their business plan for the many new community programs they were implementing. Mentors Don Keller and Michelle Redmon helped YBL's Board of Directors reorganize their thoughts from a financial perspective so that they were able to achieve their program additions and goals for program development.

CONNECT
712 H St NE PMB 98848
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Washington, DC 20002
(502) 888-4543

Copyright © 2024 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

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