When Laura Keefe was teaching at Marietta High School, she recognized this reality: The Franklin Road neighborhood, where many of her students lived, carried a reputation that didn't match the truth she witnessed daily. It was a place of vibrant families, resilient kids, and a community hungry for connection.
"Every day in my classroom, I saw bright, resilient kids with so much love for where they lived," said Laura, co-founder of YELLS. "The outside world was focusing on a reputation, yet I was looking at a community full of potential. They just needed a platform to lead."
That conviction led her to co-found YELLS
— Youth Empowerment through Learning, Leading, and Serving — in 2008. What
started as a neighborhood mentoring program has grown into a thriving 501(c)3
nonprofit that runs daily afterschool programs, teen leadership workshops, and
community-building initiatives for youth across Franklin Gateway in Marietta,
GA.
From the beginning, YELLS was built on a
simple but powerful idea: When young people take ownership of their community,
the impact runs deeper. The flagship Mentoring Program paired high school
"Bigs" with elementary school "Littles," giving older
students the chance to lead service projects right in their own neighborhood.
Community gardens, block parties, and planting days followed — all shaped and
led by the youth themselves.
When the Franklin Road Boys and Girls
Club closed its doors in 2010, the City of Marietta turned to YELLS to fill the
gap. The daily Afterschool Program launched, drawing more families in and
creating the deeper, sustained relationships that make lasting change possible.
By 2014, the Community Action Café gave high school teens a space to build
leadership and career skills as active community organizers.
One of YELLS' most remarkable
achievements came in 2017, when teens stood before the Mayor at a
youth-moderated town hall and made their position clear: This is our
neighborhood. We don't want just a quick fix — we want to rebuild. Their
advocacy helped shape the renaming of Franklin Road to Franklin Gateway, a
title the youths themselves approved.
That spirit lives on in students like
Bridget, who joined YELLS as a quiet, reserved high schooler and went on to
earn a full scholarship, start a chapter of HOPE at Marietta High School, and
served on the YELLS board for nearly a decade.
Laura left the classroom to grow YELLS
full-time — and the organization hasn't stopped expanding since. Through
partnerships with Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, Life
University, S.A. White Oil, Home Depot, Assurant, and others, YELLS continues
to give Franklin Gateway youth the tools, skills, and confidence to lead.
"Our youth aren't waiting for the
future. They are actively reshaping the Franklin Gateway community today."
To learn more or get involved, visit yellsinc.org.
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