About Youth Venture
Our Vision & Mission
Our History
According to a survey of California teens, 3 in 10 are left unsupervised three or more days per week. Unsupervised teens are more likely to get into trouble than supervised. During the school week, the hours between 2pm and 6pm are the prime time for juvenile crime.
Youth Venture is a nonprofit, volunteer based, after-school program founded in 1992 by Pastor Mark Hoffman and Foothills Christian Church to reach at risk youth from 5th through 12th grade and provide a safe space for these teens during these hours.
In the past 20 years, over 10,000 youths and over 1,000 volunteers have participated in Youth Venture. Many kids spend more than 20 hours per week at Youth Venture teen centers, which provide a safe environment, games and recreation, and a positive peer group – all under adult, Christian supervision. Youth Venture, operating in East San Diego County, offers on-on-one mentoring and leadership development with trained adult mentors using acclaimed Youth Venture curriculum. It has received commendations from the City of El Cajon and the San Diego Board of Supervisors. It has also received the California State Assembly Proclamation for excellence and The Channel 10 Leadership Award.
Our Mission
Equipping youth for the future by discipling them through the transformative power of the Gospel.
Our Vision
To give teens a safe space where they can learn, grow, and apply Biblical principles of character in order to become successful adults.