"You're the Bomb Diggity!" - Metropolitan Equestrian Team

The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) was a new program in 2019. Metropolitan Equestrian Team (MET) is one of 52 organizations that participates in youth employment through RTS as a worksite, and hosted four high-school youth over the summer. 

MET is a nonprofit headquartered in Brooklyn that provides young aspiring athletes in grades 3-12 with the opportunity to participate in horseback riding as part of the MET Team. Over the summer, SYEP youth were tasked with projects that would help develop the Equine Opportunity Program, which brings horseback riding opportunities to children regardless of socioeconomic status. 

The SYEP team identified ten nonprofits across the US that they felt would benefit from equestrian sports. Through research, teamwork, and hard work, the youth presented their findings and why they believed the nonprofits would benefit from bringing horseback riding opportunities to these communities. As a direct result of the work performed by the SYEP youth, the Equine program quadrupled in under a year and expanded to cities across the country.
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Abrahim, one of the youth from SYEP, describes his experience, “It made me more mature and taught me how to handle different work and time management. It taught me how to talk to different people and how to handle stuff - if I have a problem, I know who to talk to and how to talk to them.” 

“It took a lot of time over the summer,” says Jane DaCosta, MET Founder and Executive Director, “but I wouldn’t take it back for the world.”

Jane DaCosta and Abrahim, SYEP & WLGP youth participant

Sometimes the children will teach you what you really are. They’re really the voice in what we need to do for the people of this country. There’s a sense of philanthropy in every child. You just have to dig it out of them. 
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- Jane DaCosta, MET Founder & Executive Director

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If you would like to sign up to be a worksite through Roads to Success and host one of our teens through the Summer Youth Employment Program this summer (at no cost to you), please contact calvin@roadstosuccess.org​. Learn more about our Youth Employment Program.