Yo Bro Yo Girl Youth Initiative · September 2021–present

On the mat.
At the camps.

I’ve volunteered with Yo Bro Yo Girl two to three days a week since September 2021. I coached free wrestling practices for three years and helped run camps focused on gang awareness and giving youth a safe place to spend their time.

← Back to my experience

How I got involved.

I started volunteering in the kitchen at my local gurdwara, twice a week for three years. I also learned harmonium for six years and taught harmonium and tabla for two. I still go back a few times a month to help, including with turban-tying classes.

At Yo Bro Yo Girl, I took on coaching and camp work. The camps included four month-long summers and four week-long spring breaks. I helped with sports, public speaking, and programs about the pressures around gang involvement.

01 / The program

Eight camps. Weekly volunteering.

The camps combined sports and activities with education about gang involvement.

4

Summer camps

Month-long youth programming

I helped support four month-long summer camps with activities and conversations designed to keep youth engaged, informed, and connected to positive mentors.

4

Spring-break camps

Week-long youth programming

I helped deliver four week-long spring-break camps that extended the same safe, structured environment beyond the summer program.

2–3 days

Weekly service

Youth leader & coach · 2021–present

I volunteer two to three days each week, helping make the program a place where youth can learn, train, and be supported.

5 years

Wrestling experience

Athlete & volunteer coach

I brought five years of wrestling experience into free youth practices, using the sport to teach focus, discipline, and respect.

02 / My role

What I helped with.

Coaching, organizing activities, and supporting youth programming.

Coach

Wrestling practices & sports programming

I coached free wrestling practices and helped lead sports activities that gave youth a positive challenge, a team to join, and an outlet for their energy.

Facilitator

Camp activities & youth engagement

During the camps, I helped keep activities organized and welcoming so participants could move between learning, sport, and conversation with a clear sense of structure.

Mentor

Safety, trust & prevention

I helped support education about gang involvement by contributing to an environment where youth could talk about difficult pressures, learn from adults they trusted, and see other ways to spend their time and build their future.

Communicator

Public-speaking programming

I also helped lead public-speaking programming, giving young people practice expressing themselves clearly and participating confidently in a group.