Who We Are

We see it in every young person we meet. The Power Within.

Youth Empowered to Prosper began with the belief that young people possess the power to change their lives and the world for good. Yet so many are struggling without the guidance they need to discover, ignite and apply their innate power to succeed. We seek out promising young people and overlooked potential, helping youth recognize their own unique ability to grow as leaders for the benefit of self, family and community.

The YEP Story

Youth Empowered to Prosper launched as an organization in 2018 by Craig Cobb, a local pastor in Palm Beach County, and his wife Lisa, after several homeless youth from the Lewis Center shelter began attending City of Faith church. Through a grass-roots initiative to help, the congregation began to pool resources to shelter some of these youth and provide funding to secure apartment rentals. Efforts to support the youth naturally evolved into a mentoring program that strengthened their chances for success in every way.

Youth Empowered to Prosper began its first formal relationship with a Title One school in Palm Beach County in August of 2019 by delivering our mentorship program Young Women Who Win. This signature program is now located in five schools, and YEP recently formed a partnership with Childnet to serve the program to youth in foster care as well. 

Through mentorship and leadership development, our youth are better equipped with coping mechanisms, problem-solving skills and self-awareness. The education and guidance offered by YEP volunteers transform the mindsets of our youth from at-risk behaviors to becoming motivated leaders in the community

Youth Empowered to Prosper advances racial and ethnic equity for the youth we serve by ensuring that our policies, planning and advocacy efforts reflect justice for all. We promote racial and ethnic equity with intention through the following:



• Advocating for the awareness and eradication of intuitional and structural racism in the systems we influence
• Ensuring YEP's culture promotes an understanding of implicit bias within a historical framework of racial and ethnic inequities 
• Examining YEP's policies and procedures using a racial equity lens that implements fairness and parity
• Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities within our power to increase equity, access, opportunity and, ultimately, positive youth outcomes
• Serving our community's youth by actively engaging their families, leading by listening to their needs, and reflecting programming and services that further social and institutional change