KIK RISE - Rising Youth Together Through Education and Workforce Development

Healthy Youth. Brighter Futures. Stronger Communities.

Project RISE is KIK’s flagship youth development initiative, designed to equip young people to thrive in school, lead in their communities, and step confidently into the workforce or higher education. Project RISE integrates two powerful, complementary programs that build emotional intelligence, strengthen life skills, and expand work‑readiness opportunities.

KIK Youth Workforce Development Program: This program places youth at the center of meaningful, paid, hands‑on work that directly benefits the environment and the broader community. Through real projects with real impact, young people gain the competencies, skills, certifications, and professional habits needed for future employment. Every experience is intentionally designed to help youth envision—and actively build—their own career trajectory.

KIK Social Emotional Life Skills Program: This evidence‑based, neuroscience‑informed program gives youth the tools to understand themselves, manage their emotions, and make informed decisions that move their lives forward. Seamlessly integrated with the Workforce Readiness Program, it begins by teaching how the brain constructs emotions and how thoughts and language shape behavior. Youth learn the difference between reacting and regulating—and how to choose responses that protect their goals. From there, youth learn to identify and challenge cognitive distortions, the negative thinking patterns that reinforce fixed mindsets and self‑defeating behaviors. This shift toward a growth mindset unlocks resilience, possibility thinking, and the belief that effort creates change.

Building on this foundation, youth master eight essential life‑skills anchors: emotional and anger management, diversity competency, empathy, communication and active listening, problem solving and analytical thinking, initiative, responsibility, and teamwork. These skills determine whether a young person can navigate conflict, collaborate effectively, and lead with confidence. The program also equips youth with critical independent living skills—including financial literacy, obtaining a driver’s license, substance‑use prevention, and basic street law. Academic tutoring, homework support, and guidance on college access and financial aid ensure that every participant is prepared not only to imagine a better future, but to build one with clarity, competence, and self‑direction.