Author, advocate, radio and talk show host Tavis Smiley founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation in 1999 after granting a request from a single mother to have her son, Will, “shadow” him for a day. Judy Williams was seeking a role model for her son, but the experience proved to be just as positive for Tavis.

When listeners of the nationally-syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show heard about Will's experience, thousands called Tavis to request that their daughter, niece or nephew spend the day with him as well. Tavis recognized the need for a leadership program that would allow him to reach hundreds of youth with two objectives: provide training and exposure to opportunities to allow youth to demonstrate their skills as organizers, activists, advocates, and catalysts for social change on behalf of themselves or their community.

Tavis Smiley and Will Tolbert spent a week together after Will’s mother wrote to Tavis seeking a mentor for her son.

YOUTH TO LEADERS

Youth to Leaders (Y2L) the cornerstone program of the Tavis Smiley Foundation was launched in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. in 2000 as one-day leadership conferences. A total of 100 youth attended each conference which featured workshop presenters such as U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, actor Nick Cannon, Sonia Sanchez to name a few. In 2001 the program was expanded to Houston, New York, Oakland and Warren, OH. Since its inception, twenty-three Y2L conferences have been conducted in the 10 cities.

The Tavis Smiley Foundation held its first Y2L National Summit August 7-12, 2003 at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. More than 600 teens from 32 states, the Island of Barbados, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic attended. The Summit programming and its theme “Redefining the Image: Preparing African American Youth for Leadership” was developed by a planning committee comprised of 20 Y2L alumni (ages 14 - 20) from across the country.

The Summit received national acclaim as millions of viewers who tuned into C-SPAN watched live coverage of five “Mega Sessions” (town hall discussions with youth and adults on leadership and community issues). C-SPAN reported that two of the sessions were among its most viewed programs for several weeks.

To date more than 5,000 youth have participated in the foundation's leadership conferences and workshops. Many teens in the program have entered and completed college, organized health fairs and voter registration drives, conducted teen town hall meetings, started businesses and non-profit organizations and interned with city mayors and presidential candidates.

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Tavis Smiley Foundation is to enlighten, encourage and empower youth by developing leadership skills that will promote and enhance the quality of life for themselves, their communities and our world.

Will Tolbert and Tavis continue to stay in touch. Will has now graduated college and is working in Atlanta.

The Tavis Smiley Foundation focuses on youth ages 13 to 18 primarily in urban areas. Sadly the statistics are somber in some communities where more young men are in prison than enrolled in college and teens report feeling powerless to change their surroundings. We exist to help youth expand their horizons by exposing them to experts who teach them about goal setting, team building, project planning, decision-making, advocacy, public policy and leadership so that they may create a positive future. We believe that every child has a talent which can be used to improve their community and our country and that a national network of youth leaders is an essential force to enlighten their communities and affect pertinent social agendas.