Teens and the YES story

Guns in school. Drugs. Gangs. Loneliness and AIDS. Can we give teens more than simple clichés? Can we give them something that works?

That's just the question a group of youth leaders asked themselves. The answer? YES -- Youth Entertainment Studios, a youth development program that surrounds teens at risk with positive ideas and people.

Here's how it began: In 1991 the youth leaders challenged a group of teens from a public housing community to work together to make a music video with a positive message. They did. The teens' music video, Steppin' Into The Light, was so powerful it aired on Black Entertainment Television, The Family Channel and other national networks.

Shortly after this YES was born. Today, through digital multimedia studios,and summer camps teens have a way off the streets. And it's working!

YES was started with the help of teens. In fact, a teen came up with the YES name. Today YES teens pour their imagination, sweat and hearts into every project.

Teens made the award-winning Steppin' Into The Light video using hip-hop music to send an anti-drug message. The idea for YES grew from that point.

YES Unlocks Teens' Potential

YES is at the forefront of youth development and offers a model that is productivity-driven, rather that activity-oriented. YES gets teens to set goals, work on them and then make them happen. We do this by:

• Providing teens a safe place to works as a team on creative projects and be mentored by responsible, caring adults.
  
  
• Teaching teens hands-on media production, technology and business skills.
  
  
• Inspiring teens to value character and spiritual growth.
  
  
• Showing teens how direct their creativity and make entertainment products to be proud of.
  
  
• Motivating teens to think like business people by giving them tools to sell their products.

Who Runs YES?

YES, headquartered in Virginia, was founded in 1994 by S. Harry Young, Danene Washington, Mark Reeves and Sandrie Serrano. Today, YES is managed under the authority of the YES Board of Directors. YES Staff include:

• S. Harry Young, former VP of Original Programming and Production with The Family Channel, MBA from Harvard Business School
  
  
• Danene Washington, Professor, Speech Communication, Norfolk State University, TV producer, MA in Dramatic Communication from Regent University
  
  
• Mark Reeves, Teacher, Oscar Smith High School Chesapeake, VA, MA in Communication from Regent University
  
  
• Dayla Brown, BA from Brown University, MA in Communications from Regent University

For teens growing up in low-income neighborhoods, YES is a dream come true. An oasis where hope, culture and technology combine to present teens with a safe place to exercise their creativity.