From Squash to Scholarships: Expanding Access in LA

Youth economic advancement

Central LA East LA South LA City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit) LAUSD (select only if you have a district-wide partnership)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

In Los Angeles, low-income and first-generation youth face persistent barriers to academic and economic mobility. Many attend under-resourced schools with limited college advising, experience trauma and instability that hinder learning, and lack access to safe, enriching environments outside school. These challenges lead to high dropout rates, low college persistence, and underemployment. Youth of color—especially girls—are disproportionately impacted. Over the past five years, physical inactivity has become a major health equity issue, with fewer than 1 in 4 youth meeting daily activity recommendations—worsening mental health and chronic disease risk. While some programs address academic or athletic needs, few provide long-term, trauma-informed, tuition-free support combining mental wellness, mentorship, college and career readiness, and physical activity. Access Youth Academy fills this gap, building on 18 years of success in San Diego to meet the urgent needs of LA youth.

This grant will support the expansion of Access Youth Academy’s Pathways to Success program in Los Angeles. This long-term, tuition-free youth development model combines squash and pickleball-based mentorship with academic, mental wellness, and workforce readiness support. Building on our successful San Diego program, which achieved 100% high school graduation and 100% college acceptance, we launched a Los Angeles pilot in 2023 in partnership with the Ketchum-Downtown YMCA and Title I schools.

We currently serve 25 students two days per week in East and South LA. With grant support, we plan to scale to 50 students attending four days per week. Over the next 3 to 5 years, AYA will introduce two transformative components: College & Career Success (CCS) and Healthy Minds Matter (HMM). CCS includes personalized advising, FAFSA and application support, career exposure, and alumni mentorship. HMM focuses on trauma-informed mental health education, peer wellness circles, and trusted adult relationships. These elements will complement core services: academic enrichment, squash training, and leadership development.

Programs are delivered year-round through after-school and weekend sessions, with transportation, meals, and equipment provided at no cost. As our LA site matures, we aspire to fully mirror the vision of our 14-year San Diego model—including the potential addition of pickleball—to ensure youth receive comprehensive support from middle school through college and careers.

If successful, Access Youth Academy’s work will help shift the trajectory of low-income, first-generation youth across Los Angeles County. Students who once faced limited opportunity will graduate high school, persist in college, and enter meaningful careers with confidence, mentorship, and debt-free degrees. Our model will reduce disparities in college access, economic mobility, and mental health support—especially for youth of color and girls. Communities will benefit from a growing network of empowered young leaders who return as mentors, professionals, and change agents. By building a scalable, trauma-informed pipeline from middle school through early career, AYA will transform individual lives and strengthen schools, families, and neighborhoods. This work will demonstrate that long-term, tuition-free investment in youth works—and should be the standard, not the exception, in how we serve historically marginalized communities in LA.