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Young Ladies Conquering Obstacles, Inc. (YLCO)

"Empowered Youth, Tomorrow’s Leaders"

Devoted to empowering youth in the Charleston area, Young Ladies Conquering Obstacles, Inc. (YLCO) is a non-profit organization that provides programs for young ladies, ages 11-18, to enhance their individual, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical development. In January 2008, the program expanded even further to include young men, Young Leaders Conquering Obstacles. YLCO is a community/school based character-building organization that provides positive peer groups for adolescents and creates an environment that raises aspirations and promotes achievement.

Executive Director, Liticia Hairston, started YLCO (originally Young Ladies Christian Organization) in 1999 to involve girls ages 11-14 from the Church of Christ at Azalea Drive, Jenkins Orphanage, Brentwood Middle School and Delta Academy. Three years later, Youth in Action, which addressed the concerns of 15-18 year olds, evolved to accommodate the young ladies, who aged out of the first program. In 2003, the name changed to Young Ladies Conquering Obstacles.

YLCO works with Charleston County youth and primarily involves African-American females and males from low to moderate-income families with limited social or economic opportunities or both. Participants can never have been pregnant. YLCO offers opportunities to participants who might otherwise be excluded because they lack the financial resources and opportunities to participate in educational and recreational field trips, college tours, as well as social culture events.

Upon joining YLCO, participants are assigned a mentor, who they work with closely during their involvement in the program. The mentors are volunteers who represent all sectors of the community. Serving as role models for participants, mentors work hand-in-hand with the mentees to ensure they receive the knowledge, tools and resources the program offers. YLCO mentors also encourage their mentees to take part in healthy social activities, positive community involvement, and educational enrichment programs. Discussions and guidance on conflict resolution, physical fitness, friendship, self-respect, STIs, teen pregnancy, cultural enrichment, and career awareness are also provided to the YLCO participants.

YLCO offers many different opportunities for the mentees to see new places, meet new people, learn about different cultures and ideas, attend cultural events, including theater, dance performances, concerts, and exhibits. Whether exploring their own neighborhoods, going on overnight trips, participating in community service projects, or attending an afternoon tea, concert, ballet or play, the mentees are continually expanding their horizons. They participate in community service projects, which allow them to become contributing citizens by placing them in a helping role versus their more traditional role of the one in need of help. These activities are based on research that suggests that children who engage in healthy social activities, community involvement and educational enrichment are less likely to engage in antisocial and unhealthy behaviors and be influenced by negative peer pressure and more likely to stay in school.

YLCO’s vision is that their participants will excel academically, respect self and others, be self-supporting, self-sufficient, community volunteers, positive role models and productive citizens. To celebrate the accomplishments made during the school year, YLCO sponsors a banquet to recognize mentees, mentors and community partners.

Overall, YLCO instills the importance of overcoming environmental barriers to become self-supporting adults, good family members, and responsible community citizens.

To become involved with YLCO or for more information, please visit www.ylco.org or call 843.744.5510.