OBJECTIVES

Become familiar with the Challenge program and team. Begin developing a network of mentor resources and peers.

KEY POINTS

Begun in 1993, the National Guard Youth Challenge Program (NGYCP) has graduated over 175,000 young adults and employs thousands of men and women who serve the mission of Challenge and work to give youth a second chance. Although you may have never heard of the NGYCP, chances are you’ve benefited from the program. Perhaps the skills and opportunities provided to program graduates have helped your town keep a teen away from delinquency. Or perhaps your community has been a recipient of some of the programs’ over 5 million hours of service to community.

Supporting staff and cadets are the countless number of mentors, volunteers, parents, siblings, and informal cheerleaders who inspire, motivate, and encourage progress. NGYCP is glad to have you as a part of the ever-growing team. Our mission would be impossible without you.

The National Guard Youth Challenge Program (NGYCP) is a free, co-educational, preventative program for high school dropouts aged 16-18 years old. The mission is “to intervene in the lives of at-risk youth and produce program graduates with the values, skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed as adults.” The program accomplishes this mission through a structured 17 ½ month program that gives youth the opportunity to improve life skills and employment potential through development in core component areas.

Throughout this online training series you will notice that you can use social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or a variety of others to build a virtual community of mentors. You can find additional mentor information/resources on our website under mentors.