How it started
It started with helping our parents
YEP was founded by two young people who spent years helping their parents learn English and computer skills. They realized how common that was in families like theirs, and that it could be a better kind of classroom: young people teaching 1-on-1, whether it’s their own parents or other adults and seniors in their community.
In September 2010, we tested the idea in Toronto with just 20 participants. Within a year, the program was on the front page of Toronto’s most-read newspaper, and YEP became the youngest organization ever to receive an Innovation Award from the United Nations.
What started as one small pilot has grown into an international movement. YEP programs have run in Niger, Ethiopia, Spain, Poland, and now Indonesia. During the pandemic, over 1,000 young Canadians stepped up to teach isolated adults and seniors.
