Candid transparency seal for Youth Technology Corps

Students learn technology.Then they teach it.

They have built communities around the globe just by doing that.

LEARN TEACH LEAD REPEAT

Since 1998, Youth Technology Corps has been a Chicago-based nonprofit where teenagers rebuild computers, build robots, and pass on what they know—to younger kids, to their own neighborhoods, and to partner programs in Mexico and Africa.

They carry it to the next place.

That is wherethe next student…

becomes the teacher,becomes the next leader.

That builds the nextcommunity…

that keeps becomingand creating…

always completing the cycle—and the next one after that.

Since 1998

3,300+computers refurbished and donated by students

40cultural exchanges across all YTC partnerships

Connections in 8 countries

Youth Technology Corps

A way for each community
to develop and share its own technology education.

Without waiting for someone else to build it there.

YTC helps young people learn technology by using it in service to others. Students become teachers, mentors and leaders. Each community shapes the work to its own needs and shares what it learns with the wider network.

YTC’s core model connects peer-to-peer robotics and programming instruction, computer refurbishment for donation, and cross-cultural STEM exchanges.

Begin with a local need. Give young people meaningful responsibility. Share what works.
Learn locally. Lead locally. Share globally.

The Chicago beginnings

YTC is powered by two
Flagship Global Learning Centers.

Two unique paths that built communities and crossed borders.

Morton East and Evanston serve different communities and followed different paths. Together, they show how students can learn, teach, serve and grow into leadership.

Morton East High School

At Morton East, students learn robotics and refurbish computers for the Cicero community. A student who rebuilds three computers for community use earns a refurbished computer of their own. The club also built lasting partnerships across Mexico.

Evanston Township High School

At ETHS, a network of neighborhood partnerships grew into connections across Africa. International fellows and student mentors carried the model into new communities, where local partners made it their own and began helping others do the same.

Learn more about our flagship clubs and our robust network in Mexico, actively expanding since 2000.

YTC at Morton East

YTC at ETHS

YTC Mexico

Two learning centers.
A world of possibility.

Relationships built the foundation. Funding accelerated the growth. Together, they show what a community can set in motion.

Two flagship programs: Morton East High School supports a 26-year partnership with Durango, Mexico; Evanston Township High School builds Africa connections trip by trip. In Mexico, funding helped grow two locations to 24 in 15 months: eight core programs and sixteen secondary locations. The Global Alliance grows through fellows, local leadership and shared teaching, equipment and curriculum, with the potential for more domestic programs. — The Mexico grant grew from two original programs to nine grant-program sites. Eight continued through the full reporting period; together with 16 secondary locations, the network reached 24 locations in all. Click the graphic to view it at full size.

Transition capital · through December 31, 2026

Build the backbone
for student-led growth.

YTC is raising $50,000 to keep Andrea Isita leading through the final stages of nonprofit formation in Mexico, protect program quality and put working equipment in students’ hands. The first $24,000 is already committed.

Local clubs lead. A shared organization makes the network possible.

Students teach, rebuild equipment, mentor younger learners and take responsibility for running their own clubs. YTC corporate connects those local programs with curriculum, technology, international partners, fundraising, reporting and standards for quality.

Much of YTC’s international growth was built while unrestricted funding remained extremely limited. When a $49,700 U.S. Embassy grant invested in the established Mexico partnership, two original programs grew into nine grant-program sites in 15 months. Eight continued through the full reporting period; with 16 secondary locations, the network reached 24 locations in all.

Andrea IsitaYTC’s CEO and Executive Director in MexicoAndrea coordinates the people, language and partnerships behind the work as YTC Mexico completes the process of becoming an independent nonprofit. YTC can currently afford to pay her only part-time.