Young Men United goes beyond college prep to provide life lessons, community support

Mentorship. Scholarship. A safe space and a network of support. Metro United Way’s Young Men United program provides that to young men of color ages 16 to 24 to aid them in their educational journeys and help them navigate life’s challenges.

The program focuses on this population because they are the most underrepresented in higher education. And that’s not about ability or knowledge – it’s about a lack of community support.

Enter Young Men United.

At a base level, the program provides college scholarships that young men of color can spend how they see fit—on books, tuition, car payments, groceries, etc… But it is not merely a scholarship program; Young Men United is a comprehensive support system that carries on for years of each participant’s life, beginning in high school.

The program works with a cohort of high school juniors and seniors at the W.E.B. DuBois Academy in Louisville. Metro United Way has been supporting the school since it opened in 2018 and chose to start the Young Men United program there because both the school and the program focus on supporting young men of color. The cohort meets twice a month during the school year. In 2024-25, there were 19 seniors in the cohort and 7 juniors.

Through intentional supports, Young Men United ensures the students are not just educationally prepared for life after high school, but also socially, emotionally, and mentally prepared to achieve their potential.

The aim is for the young men to explore who they are and who they want to become.

“My biggest goal is to build relationships with the young men, and everything is an umbrella under that,” Elliott Kelly Jr., Metro United Way’s Senior Manager of Equity, explained. “We work on social development and identity building, as well as building a framework to support them after they graduate high school.”

Sessions at the DuBois Academy cover many topics, including practical things like FAFSA help and connection to job opportunities, more scholarships, and other resources. The sessions also work on the building of soft skills like communication, time management, love and relationships, and empathy. Young Men United creates a space where students can learn life lessons outside of the curriculum, as well.

“No one really taught me how to regulate my emotions (until now),” participant Nehemiah Clements said. “Being in Young Men United, seeing father figures, big brothers, uncles—seeing young men know how to act—it gave me something new to look forward to and see.”

“It means the world to me,” Elliott said, “having a safe space to teach them how to achieve, but also make space for the imperfections, as well. (We’re) holding them to a standard of excellence and not perfection.”

These lessons build community and trust. And the experience helps open the young men’s eyes to all that is possible for them in life.

Nehemiah admits he wasn’t always planning to go to college, but Young Men United helped him realize he wanted to pursue higher education.

“They let you know you’re worth something,” Nehemiah said. “You can make it in college. You’re going to be alright.”

Another major piece of Young Men United is one-on-one mentorship, which begins in high school but really picks up during the students’ college years. Elliott will consistently check in with each young scholar to offer support, helping ensure they have what they need to thrive and, ultimately, graduate college.

That mentorship is a highlight of the program for one participant’s mother.

“It gave my son a chance to see positive, successful men that not only look like him but have walked the same roads he finds himself on,” Terri White said. “He will leave (for college) knowing and assured that he has a support system back home that he can reach out to when in need.”

On top of the in-school lessons, Young Men United has also taken students on college visits to HBCUs in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. The program ensures young men are ready to make the dream of college a reality. And they are!

In 2025, 100% of seniors in the Young Men United cohort were accepted to college and will attend in the fall. They’re going to 14 different schools—from Morehouse College, an HBCU in Atlanta, to the University of Louisville, Bellarmine University, University of Kentucky, Western Kentucky University, Columbia University, Kentucky State University, Jefferson Community & Technical College, North Carolina A&T, and others.

The real success doesn’t lie in statistics, however. It’s how the students say the program has impacted their lives in positive ways.

  • “Thank you to Mr. Elliott Kelly, he’s so welcoming, so warm—somebody you can actually talk to. I’ve had his number from like the second day we met,” participant Jose Rubio Alvarez said. “It’s amazing and (the program) really enlightened me on what to do in college.”

  • “It’s just a great program,” another participant, Malachi English, said. “The scholarships are great because college is extremely expensive, and they’ll help with that. But they also help build your community. They help Black boys grow, and that’s needed.”

  • Nehemiah added: “Young Men United helped me to realize my worth, my purpose… Plenty of opportunities are going to be presented to me and now I’m willing to take them and I’m ready for them.”

 

This fall, Nehemiah will attend Bellarmine University where he’ll study business and entrepreneurship. He is also interested in culinary classes and plans to go to a barber school after college. His goal in life is to create for himself what he said he didn’t always have growing up: comfort and stability.

Malachi is heading to Morehouse College to study communications. He aspires to use his voice in a powerful way to motivate others and make the world better.

Jose is going to the University of Louisville. He’s majoring in business administration with a minor in Pan-African studies. His dream is to be a founder and owner of a business. He said Young Men United prepared him to follow that dream, and he encourages others to get involved with the program.

“If you do it, I bet it will change your life for the best,” he said. “It’s definitely changed mine.”

The transformational work of Young Men United is just getting started! Metro United Way is dedicated to cultivating a supportive and encouraging space for young scholars of color for years to come.

If you’re interested in investing in this initiative so it may grow to serve more young men, click or tap here.

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