Kenny Boyd started the YOUTH ALIVE organization in 1998 with a $10,000 grant from the Housing Authority of Louisville. This is ironic because just a few years before, Kenny had been homeless. 

But his personal journey prepared him to reach out to a community that once had no place for him and find mentors and a means to help troubled youth. One of his mentors, Bill Stone, the former Chairman of the Kentuckiana Minority Supplier Development Council and local business owner, attended a Christmas party in the mid 90s at the Urban League and Kenny says he took notice of Bill right away. 

“I saw this corporate guy with a suit and suspenders on and thought, ‘I wonder what this guy is doing here…where is he from?’” 

Kenny says he wanted to shock Bill so he invited him to his house and gave the address at 1020 West Market Street where Kenny lived at a rehabilitation center. But it was Kenny who was shocked when Bill actually showed up. 

Kenny says he brought Stone in and said, “Welcome to my home!” That relationship has now lasted over a decade and it was the catalyst for Kenny realizing that he too had something to offer young people as a mentor. Youth Alive has recently secured its own facility and operates on a half-million dollar a year budget. 

“Youth Alive is unique,” says Kenny, “because it is a program, not just a recreational facility. We offer classes and tutoring and sometimes I even go to the kids schools for meetings with their teachers.” Kenny, who was transplanted here from Nashville, TN says, “This city is all about relationships. Together, people can really grow here.”