Empowering Growth Through Action
By: Asrar Abdulla
Photo by: Asrar Abdulla
Turning Support into Success for Stockton’s Young Men
Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) is a nonprofit organization founded to address the educational and social challenges faced by young men of color. The main goal of this organization is to increase school graduation rates, college enrollment, and long-term success. This would be achieved through providing structured mentorship, academic guidance, and exposure to higher education. The mission of IYT is to increase the number of young men of color to attend and graduate from colleges and universities. Their vision is a nation in which young men of color are overrepresented in higher education, underrepresented in the criminal justice system and leaders in their community.
IYT was built on the conviction that when young men are given the right support, they can rise above systemic barriers and achieve their full potential. Across the Central Valley, IYT partners with 30 sites to support 1,900 IYT Brothers, guided by 36 mentors who provide consistent mentorship, leadership development, and college-readiness support. Here in Stockton, IYT is proud to partner with schools across the community with schools like Stagg High School, Edison High School, and John Adams Elementary School, among many others, to support students through leadership development, weekly study halls, workshops, and mentorship sessions. Mentors like Kyle Harris, an IYT Program Manager in Stockton, are central to the program's local impact, providing encouragement, guidance, and real-life insight to participants. Through strong mentor-student relationships, IYT creates a supportive environment where young men feel motivated, valued, and empowered to plan for their futures.
IYT also emphasizes exposure to higher education. On March 7, 2026, the program will take students on a field trip to Fresno State, allowing them to explore a university campus and learn about college life. Experiences like this help make higher education feel more attainable and reinforce IYT’s mission of building a brighter future for Stockton’s youth. As IYT continues to grow in Stockton, its success depends on the continued support of the mentors, community members, and local leaders. Community involvement plays a crucial role in expanding opportunities for Stockton's youth, whether by volunteering or mentoring. Programs like IYT remind us that when a community comes together to invest in its students, it invests in its future.