New Fishers Youth Initiative will serve all HSE Schools students

Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI) and Fishers Youth Assistance Program (FYAP) have combined forces to form Fishers Youth Initiative (FYI), a new nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that young people within the Hamilton Southeastern School District have every opportunity to build a positive future.

By merging their strengths, YMI and FYAP aim to magnify their impact by serving more children and families through a comprehensive network of programs and services designed to help youth navigate life’s challenges.

“Our shared mission has always been to support young people in our community,” said Matt Schlueter, co-chair of the new FYI Board. “After closely partnering on various initiatives in recent years, we saw an opportunity to partner more formally through this new nonprofit organization. We are so excited about the prospects of reaching more youth in our community.”

YMI has provided successful student mentoring programs for years, while FYAP has focused on early intervention referral services that connect youth and their families to critical resources. Fishers Youth Initiative will:

• Enhance services to expand and strengthen programs to serve children and families better.
• Streamline access by offering a one-stop shop to address the needs of youth within the community.
• Build a unified network by fostering collaboration among compassionate individuals and organizations dedicated to helping young people thrive.

“We are grateful for the support of the many volunteers, donors and key community partners who believe in the missions of both of our predecessor organizations,” FYI Board Co-chair Anderson Schoenrock said. “We look forward to building on our past successes with an eye toward supporting Fishers youth for years to come.”

FYI will continue delivering the same programs its predecessor organizations have historically provided. This includes YMI’s mentoring program, Snack Attack and the Summer Meals Program. Additionally, FYI will continue to work in collaboration with Early Intervention Advocates appointed by Hamilton County as part of the Youth Assistance Program.

In the coming weeks, a new brand and website will launch with information on joint programs and fundraising opportunities to support youth in Fishers. In the interim, both organizations’ websites – ymionline.org and fishersyap.org – will continue to direct people to current programs and referral links.

Supporters of YMI and FYAP and interested members of the community are invited to attend a launch reception for Fishers Youth Initiative at 8 a.m. Monday, March 17 at the Fishers Municipal Center Theater. Registration is requested at this link.