Our Mission
To inspire and educate youth through career exploration, mentorship, and wellness.
our vision
To be a high-impact network for historically marginalized youth focused on community care.
CAREER EXPLORATION
MENTORING
WELLNESS
Our Impact
19+
YEARs in service
Adelante Youth Alliance (AYA) (formerly known as the Pasadena Youth Center) was established in 2001, as a non-profit organization to offer disadvantaged youth positive development programs. AYA’s mission is to inspire and educate youth through career exploration, mentorship, and wellness.
350+
volunteers
Professional and community volunteers donate their time and expertise to support our programs and students. Mentors create and promote a college-going culture and model of excellence.
3,200+
annual conference participants
Through our Adelante Mujer/Adelante Young Men Conferences, youth discover a roadmap to a successful future, as they learn firsthand about a variety of professions and how to attain a career in them. With this focus on education, the conferences encourage students to strive for higher learning – getting into and graduating from college.
About Us
AYA has been instrumental in providing thousands of youth with the support, resources and role models needed to believe in their own abilities and achieve their full potential to become productive members of their communities – willing and able to give back.
In response to a dramatic increase in local youth violence and high school drop-out rates in 1995, Pasadena Youth Center (PYC) was conceived. Established in 2001 as a 501 c(3) community-based non-profit organization. Our goals are to help youth succeed, with programs designed to enhance academic, social and professional competence, while learning valuable life and job skills.
In 2014, Pasadena Youth Center’s name was changed to Adelante Youth Alliance (AYA) to better reflect our vision and how we achieve that vision – advancing youth together - with our allies, sponsors and volunteers.
Who We Serve
Our programs serve youth, ages 12-24. Over 85% of our student participants qualify for free or reduced lunch and 91% of our students attend Title 1 schools.