Our Mission
Our mission is to make a lifelong impact in the lives of youth by offering multifaceted programs that raise up resilient leaders and empowers them to achieve their dreams.
Founded in 2001, Empowering Youth and Families Outreach (EYFO) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. EYFO was birthed in response to the increased obstacles faced by one of the most vulnerable populations in society: children, particularly youth of color. These young people face tough relational, educational, and structural challenges. The consequences of which can shift the trajectory of their lives before they've even really begun.
“My daughter, Daria, grew up with EYFO, which built her self-esteem, confidence, and socializing skills. She would not talk. I took her to doctors, and specialists; then I took her to EYFO Summer Program, where she finally began speaking. The EYFO program helped Daria throughout the years, from preschool until she graduated high school.”
-Mrs. Soukamarane, Parent of EYFO Alumni
Our VISION
EYFO’s vision for the youth we serve is to create a positive model for kids to pattern themselves after and train and equip our youth to have strong values and principles as a foundation for their lives.
Since its inception, EYFO has worked to fulfill this vision by providing services for over 5,000 youth and their families who participate in our leadership development, educational programs, health, and wellness, career readiness, college prep, service learning, mentoring, out-of-school times programming, business market place development, overnight camps, parenting workshops, sports and more.
Our FOUNDER
Charlett Shoecraft is the founder and Executive Director of Empowering Youth and Families Outreach. She has been involved in youth development for over 30 years, working as the Youth Program Director with the Union Gospel Mission for nine years before founding EYFO in 2001. Charlett has made cultivating safety for and protecting the childhoods of Black youth her life’s work. Through EYFO, she has demonstrated a commitment to making an impact on the lives of youth and families by offering multifaceted programs that raise up resilient leaders and empowers them to achieve their dreams and contribute to a just and humane world. She has spearheaded the development of culturally rich programs that invest in the thriving of BIPOC from infancy to adulthood. EYFO programs break down systemic barriers, creating on-ramps to academic, economic, social, and personal freedom for those served.
Charlett has impacted the lives of thousands of youth as a community leader, coach, mentor, and parent. Together with her husband, they have seven beautiful children and have provided kinship and foster care to countless others. She has served on the Board of Directors for Emerald City Jobs, Southeast Youth & Family Services, and Freely Given. She has long advocated for community development in South Seattle, serving as a Project Lead for Head Start at Bailey Gatzert Elementary School and on Advisory Councils with the Teenage Runaway Shelter, Rainier View Elementary, Van Asselt Community Center, and Emerson Elementary.
Charlett has integrated her personal interests into the programs she offers. During her free time, she loves spending time with her family, creating, and traveling. She’s passed on these passions by ensuring her program, affectionately referred to as “the site,” is a place that feels like home. Her love for creating has resulted in a summer program co-created by her team of high school and college interns. This program shifts each summer as it is uniquely planned based on the gifts and leadership of her team. It also inspired her EYFO Entrepreneurs program, which equips young people with the skills and tools necessary to design, market, and sells their own brands and products, putting them on a pathway to financial independence early on. Finally, she has passed on her love for travel by facilitating local, national, and international trips for youth and their parents. Whether it was California, Oregon, New York, or Belize, these trips allowed them to see the world. They are another example of Charlett’s generosity and intentional heart for her community.
Despite decades of work in the community and an immeasurable impact, Charlett has never sought recognition or acclaim. A quiet leader, she has let her work speak for itself, echoing in the impact she’s left on thousands of young people in the community, spanning multiple generations of care within single families. Her presence in the community has brought safety, stability, joy, wellness, access, and healing for all served, whether directly or indirectly.