Who We Are.
Almost twenty years ago, a local Chapel Hill-Carrboro resident noticed that there were many students walking around Chapel Hill during the hours where they should have been in school. After seeing this repeatedly she started talking to the students that she saw. She learned that they were on out-of-school suspension, receiving limited academic support, with little to no structure during their day and looking for something to do. She made it her mission to provide students on out-of-school suspension with a safe, productive space to remain engaged and create opportunities from their time out of school, instead of facing setbacks.
From this vision, Boomerang Youth Inc. was founded.
Boomerang became an independent 501(c)3 organization in July 2016, separating from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA after 10 years of mutually beneficial stewardship. Today, Boomerang Youth Inc. serves students in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County school districts, providing youth with the support to turn challenges into opportunities, cope with adversity and become resilient, independent young people.
Since 2006, Boomerang has served more than 3,300 students in Orange County, serving all 14 public middle and high schools in both school districts.
Our Mission & Vision.
Our mission is to inspire youth to bounce back from challenges and move towards positive change.
Our vision for our community is one where all youth view themselves – and others view them – as whole and worthy community members.
What We Believe.
Every young person has contributions and strengths that are valuable to our community.
Every young person deserves respect and a safe, supportive and nurturing environment to build life skills and seek support when they need it.
Positive change is a process that takes time, and young people need to have a place they can come back to if they “fall” in order to bounce back (and this may need to happen many times).
We should never give up on any young person; every young person’s strengths are bigger than any mistake.
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