The Malone programs teach youth productive ways to manage stress, alter behaviors, and the ability to cooperate and be mindful and also lead children to their passion to better decide their life goals. Where children and families call home impacts several critical factors, including the number of safe spaces available for playing outside, access to grocery stores with fresh produce, quality of education, and access to after-school and summer learning opportunities.

Often communities living in the middle class or above offer a host of positive influences, experiences, and beneficial at-cost programming for their kids. The youth Malone serves is 91% BIPOC individuals, primarily African American, living in surrounding areas at or below the poverty level. Children living in communities of concentrated poverty are more likely to attend schools where the dropout rate is high, test scores are low, and to live in neighborhoods with higher crime rates.

Evidence has shown that when children from low-income families participate in quality after-school programs, they see positive outcomes. Consistent participation in high-quality after-school programs has helped close the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more affluent peers.

At Malone, we understand that idle time and lack of supervision are often present in high-risk behaviors. We give kids a safe place to come and receive education support, physical and mental health and wellness activities, therapy services, athletics, entrepreneurship, college planning, and Entrepreneurship programming for youth who may not attend college, along with mentorship and volunteer opportunities to improve social skills. We give youth a communal space that provides all the opportunities to advance into getting scholarships for college or moving into a successful career. By offering various experiences, programming, and activities, we have been able to successfully meet and exceed our goal of creating unity and prosperity while honoring our African American community, as we were designed to do since becoming a non-profit organization in 1955.