Solar Youth’s mission is to empower youth from New Haven's low income neighborhoods to achieve lifelong success. Through programs that connect youth to the environment, their communities and each other, youth build the skills and motivations necessary to be positive contributors to their community, create healthy relationships, maintain physical and mental health, and become economically self-sufficient. Over the past nineteen years, Solar Youth has built a track record as one of New Haven’s most promising solutions for empowering low-income youth. All of the children Solar Youth serves reside in low income communities in New Haven, where, outside of Solar Youth, opportunities for youth to participate in structured environmental exploration and youth development are scarce.