About Worth Walk
Empowering urban youth through transformative experiences that build character, confidence, and community connections.
📄 WORTH WALK ONE-PAGER
Preventing Brokenness by Restoring Value
🚶🏽♂️ What Is Worth Walk?
Worth Walk is a preventative youth development program designed to help urban youth discover their intrinsic value.
We work with middle and high school students in high-risk environments — empowering them to understand their worth, walk with purpose, and own their identity.
When a young person believes they are valuable, they make different decisions.
They show up differently in class, in relationships, on the block, and in life.
❗ The Problem We're Solving
In urban communities across the country, young people are struggling — not just with behavior, but with belief:
"I'm not worth much."
"My future doesn't matter."
"Nobody really sees me."
This invisible crisis shows up everywhere:
🚨 Violence. Truancy. Dropouts. Risky choices. Fights. Emotional shutdown.
But these are not just discipline issues — they're value issues.
Before the bad decision… there was a lie about worth.
💡 Our Solution
We don't just manage behavior — we rebuild identity.
Worth Walk teaches youth to say:
"That's beneath me."
"I'm worth more than that risk."
"I'm too valuable to throw my life away."
We use a 3-part curriculum focused on:
Value
You're not what you've been through. You're priceless.
Purpose
You weren't born by accident. You were born on assignment.
Identity
You are more than labels. You are who God says you are.
🛠️ What We Do
10 Week Programs in schools, churches, community centers, sports teams, youth organizations
One-time school-wide presentations that address value, purpose, and identity
Staff trainings for a renewed school culture
Trauma-informed workshops + interactive sessions
Real-time transformation through stories, challenges, and reflection
Tangible results in mindset, attendance, discipline, and self-worth
Parent coaching and family engagement programs
Mentorship programs for girls and boys
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum integration
🎯 Why It Works
When youth understand their value, they:
Show up with confidence
Walk away from drama
Build instead of break
Live like they matter — because they do
💬 From Our Founder:
"We live in a world that punishes behavior but doesn't repair the beliefs behind it. Worth Walk is here to change that. We don't just teach students what not to do — we teach them who they are."
📞 Get Involved
Let's change the next generation — from the inside out.
Our Vision & Mission
The foundation of everything we do
Our Vision
A world where every young person walks with confidence, knowing they are valuable, purposeful, and loved. A world where youth don't just survive their circumstances—they thrive beyond them.
Our Mission
To empower urban youth through transformative experiences that build character, confidence, and community connections, helping them discover their worth and walk in their purpose.
✅ CORE PILLARS
The foundation of our transformative approach
1. Value
Helping students recognize their inherent worth and cultivate strong self-esteem.
2. Identity
Guiding youth to understand who they are, what they stand for, and what they won't accept.
3. Purpose
Equipping students with direction, clarity, and motivation for their future.
4. Leadership
Developing confident decision-makers who influence their peers in positive ways.
5. Wellness
Supporting emotional, mental, physical, relational, and spiritual well-being.
6. Community
Building supportive networks where young people can thrive, grow, and support one another.
"These six pillars work together to create lasting transformation in young lives."
When youth are grounded in these principles, they become unstoppable forces for positive change in their communities.
📊 A Few Hard Truths
(to drive it home)
Studies show that higher self-esteem is associated with a lower likelihood of crime and delinquency — those with lower self-worth are at greater risk of engaging in illegal behavior.
Research consistently finds a negative relationship between self-esteem and risk behaviors (e.g. substance use, theft, violence) among adolescents.
Chronic absenteeism is a particularly visible marker: nearly 29.7% of U.S. students were chronically absent in 2021–22 (missing 10% or more of school days).
Truancy and irregular attendance correlate with future legal troubles, unemployment, and disengagement.
Among juvenile offenders, experiences of childhood maltreatment (neglect, abuse) correlate with lower self-esteem and increased criminal behaviors.
In gang studies, low self-esteem has been cited as a contributing factor to joining delinquent groups.
The research is clear: self-worth is the foundation for positive life choices. This is why Worth Walk focuses on helping young people discover their inherent value first.
Our Story
Worth Walk was born from a simple but powerful belief: every young person has immeasurable value, and when they truly understand this, everything changes. We saw too many talented, capable youth making destructive choices simply because they didn't recognize their own worth.
Our founders witnessed firsthand how low self-esteem and purpose were driving young people toward crime, substance abuse, academic failure, and toxic relationships. Traditional approaches were treating symptoms, but we knew we needed to address the root cause.
That's when Worth Walk was created — not just as another youth program, but as a movement to help young people realize they are priceless, purposed, and powerful. Because when someone believes they're worth more, they choose better.
Our Approach
Prevention Over Reaction
Instead of waiting for problems to escalate, we intervene early with positive messaging and support systems that build self-worth from the ground up.
Holistic Development
We address mental health, academic success, social connection, and personal growth as interconnected pillars of a young person's development.
Community-Centered
We believe lasting change happens when entire communities rally around their youth, creating networks of support and opportunity.
Evidence-Based
Our programs are grounded in research showing the direct connection between self-esteem and positive life outcomes.
Our Leaders
Rondell Eskridge
Executive Director
Youth Director, Coach, Educator
With over 20 years of youth development and community organizing experience.
Tanae Eskridge
Programs and Operations Specialist
With over 22 years in youth programming.
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