The Junior Leadership Academy is Taking Shape!

We are thrilled to announce that we have secured a wonderful location for the Junior Leadership Academy! The Sede Social Santa Lucía, a vibrant community space similar to a YMCA, will serve as our home base. This location is ideal for our mission, as it’s:

• Within 1 kilometer of 5 public schools, offering access to thousands of students.

• Close to parks, perfect for outdoor activities and leadership-building exercises.

• Just a few blocks from two metro stations, ensuring accessibility for students, their families, staff and volunteers.

We’re moving at an incredibly fast pace, and things are really falling into place! We recently conducted interviews for our Program Coordinator position and found two amazing candidates. They were both such a great fit that we decided to bring them both on board!

Daniel will join us as our Assistant Program Coordinator. He is currently studying psychology at a local university and has worked in numerous volunteer roles with teens and at-risk communities, including a youth jail in Medellín. He has seen firsthand the challenges we aim to prevent, and we are thrilled to have him supporting the boys on program days

Camilo, a psychologist from Medellín, will serve as our Program Coordinator, leading the program launch three days a week. He has extensive experience working with students across the city who struggle with school attendance, acting as a case manager to understand the root causes. His expertise makes him a perfect fit for this role.

We are also actively building partnerships with local universities to host psychology intern students, further strengthening our ability to support the youth in our program. Your Help Can Make a Difference We are taking a step of faith in launching everything, but we really need your support to ensure this launch is a success! If you’ve been on the fence about donating, waiting to see if we were serious—now is the time! Ha ha.

Your donation will go directly toward:

• Preparing the space for our activities.

• Securing program supplies.

• Supporting our new program team and psychology interns.

Together, we can create a lasting impact for the youth of our community. Click here to donate now and be a part of this exciting journey!

DONATE

Meet Executive Director - Scott Impola:

Between 2015 and 2020, I worked as the Executive Director of a youth empowerment organization in Miami helping hundreds of vulnerable kids and teens in the neighborhood of Little Havana. During this time, we saw a 50% reduction in PTSD symptoms (nearly 70% of our youth had PTSD levels of trauma, many coming from very difficult countries such as Nicaragua, Guatemala, Venezuela, etc.) of youth attending our programs from fatherless homes.

In 2020, I relocated to Medellin, Colombia, and soon realized that there was an urgent need for the type of mentorship and guidance that I had been providing to youth through my former organization. This is how the Junior Leadership Academy Medellin was born.

“It is easier to build strong boys, than repair broken men.”

Frederick Douglas

Warmly,

Scott Impola

Founder, Junior Leadership Academy