Jamaican Youth Charity Organisations YUTE And YOU Announce Merger
Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE), an organisation targeting employability and holistic youth development, and Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU), have formally merged.
The merger, involving the acquisition of YOU by YUTE, was formalised April 15 with the official signing of the legal agreement.
Signatories were YUTE Chairman Joseph M. Matalon; YUTE Executive Director, Alicia Glasgow Gentles; YOU Founder/Chairperson, Betty Ann Blaine and YOU Executive Director, Georgia Lewis Scott.
“It is vitally important that positive services for vulnerable young people be maintained despite current economic challenges,” Matalon said, “Jamaica cannot afford to lose the valuable progress which has been achieved in custom designing these initiatives to our own national needs, not to mention the experience we have gained in their effective implementation.
“Partnerships such as this one between YUTE and YOU will enhance sustainability of such efforts, enrich the individual teams and programmes, and maximise scarce resources, for the benefit of our youth and the country as a whole,” he said.
Founder/Chairperson of YOU, children’s advocate Betty Ann Blaine said that the two partner organisations are ‘of one mind’ in their objectives.
“It is important to note that YOU and YUTE share common interests and values regarding young people, and mutual objectives about their futures,” she said.
“We love young people, we believe in young people, and we are dedicated to making Jamaica a better place for children and youth. So the hope is that with this united front, this coming together of two significant organisations, we will be able to further expand our programmes, particularly the mentoring programme.”
YUTE Executive Director, Alicia Glasgow Gentles pointed out that the merger would see YUTE taking control of YOU’s physical assets, brand identity and intellectual property, including its flagship mentoring programme and other selected programmes, which would be delivered by YUTE.
“YOU’s work will continue on through YUTE as we will continue to offer critical One-To-One Mentoring, Peer Mentoring, Group Mentoring, Parent Mentoring and Business Mentoring together with other support services to our own beneficiaries, as well as to other NGOs and private sector companies.”
Lewis Scott informed that YOU has been serving 3,600 – 4,500 youth on an annual basis, including parents and adult mentors. Through the Consultancy Programme, YOU also trained 46 professional associations, churches and other groups and institutions wishing to establish mentoring programmes, and provided mentoring services to YUTE in its first phase.