MVP Foundation

MVP Foundation is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of young men through leadership development. Arizona youth between the ages of 11 and 14 are provided with educational opportunities, interactive programs, mentorship, and resources that foster positive connections between youth, their families, and the greater community. The MVP Foundation motivates maricopa county-based 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys to develop personal life skills which lead to positive decisions and productive behaviors as they continue to grow into young adults. Through an annual leadership academy, leadership skills and teamwork are taught through sports clinics, group activities, and counselor-led quality time teaching. Founded in 2011, MVP, has nurtured over 4,000 boys. MVP life skills are taught at the leadership academy at lost canyon in williams, az during the month of november. Through following a simple code of conduct monitored by teachers, administrators, coaches and parents prior to camp, boys are eligible to attend the academy at no cost. Participant youth are then encouraged to register for our partner organization the be a leader Foundation's ongoing programs following the leadership academy.right to privacy laws mean that tracking our boys' success rate is reliant on teachers, administrators, parents, and our academy participants to provide feedback. Since we began our partnership with the be a leader Foundation in 2018, we have been able to track the progress of our MVP students who have signed up for the balf program. One of the primary goals of the leadership academy camp is to serve as a bridge for boys to participate in be a leader Foundation programming. In 2019, balf served over 8300 students with over 72% enrolling in post-secondary institutions compared to 53% statewide average. To date, about 40 MVP academy boys have joined the balf program. Our goal is to increase this number.mvp Foundation is dedicated to better understanding the impact of the leadership academy and to making continuous improvements based on feedback. Simple surveys measure increases in leadership skills, selfcontrol, coping skills, and communication, as well as the youths' drive and ambition to be successful and move forward with their education. Anecdotally, we see enormous changes in them over the course of the camp experience. We see boys transformed during the weekend with new hope and confidence reflected. We see tremendous changes in how they interact with one another and how they express themselves. We see many boys who come to camp for the first time as 6th graders who change over time - they understand how they can achieve their dreams through education and hard work. Several boys who attended the leadership academy have returned as team leaders.