ABOUT IYO

The International Youth Organization (IYO) is one of the leading, multi-service, community-based, non-profit agencies serving disadvantaged youth and their families in Newark, New Jersey and surrounding communities, since 1970. IYO is Essex County's largest private service provider for youth and young adults, ages 16 to 25, who are out of school, out of work and without a high school diploma, and it has administered programs, such as the State's New Jersey Youth Corps, for this population with years of satisfactory results. IYO is a charter member of the Essex County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and has a long history of collaborations with social/human services agencies on the local, state and national levels. IYO promotes the positive growth and development of youth and their families through structured recreation, academic tutoring, computer training, counseling, adult basic education, employability / life skills, environmental activities and training and community service. IYO is regarded as a beacon of hope and "last chance" for many who seek help.

"It's attitude – not aptitude – that determines altitude."

 

IYO's mission is to empower disenfranchised youth and their families to take responsibility for themselves and their community through programs and services that promote positive social and civic values; to create opportunities for self-improvement through academic instruction, employability training, community service, and to implement intervention strategies to foster family stabilization and neighborhood preservation.