Youth Earn and Learn Jobs-for-Kids
Heavenly Hearts Learning Center, 2715 Stanhope Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23504
About
Youth Earn and Learn Jobs-for-Kids is a business and workforce development training program where participants take part in Training & Development Programs, MOBILE Fresh Produce Stands, and a Fruit and Veggie Delivery Service. The program includes 5-Day Meal Preps, Community Gardens, Restaurants and Business Services, Yard Care, Administrative Support, Senior Care, Flyer Distribution, Moving Services, Cleaning/Organizing, and Mentoring. Youth also engage in Intergenerational Training & Development for youth and adults, Career Coaching, Fresh produce grab bags, Meal Preps/Healthy Home-Delivered Meals, Signature Snacks, a Call-In Grocery Shopping & Delivery Service, culturally relevant Cooking Classes with Nutrition Education, and Job Placement.
• Ages: 12–17 years old
• Schedule: YEL-J4K was established in 2011 and has grown from an eight week program into a year-round, interactive, classroom and on-the-job training pre-apprenticeship.
YEL-J4K was established in 2011 as a Food Desert Solution that incorporates Food Desert residents into their solution and connects healthy eating with helping youth, seniors and communities. The program’s stated mission is to keep kids off the streets and raise the next generation of Leaders, CEOs and Entrepreneurs, and its goal is to reduce the effects of Food Deserts, namely Food Insecurity, Unemployment, Poverty, Crime, Chronic Disease and Mortality. Youth Earn and Learn Mobile Fresh Produce Stands, Fresh Produce Grab Bags, Meal Preps/Healthy Home-Delivered Meals, Signature Snacks, Call-In Grocery Shopping & Delivery Service, culturally relevant Cooking Classes with Nutrition Education, and growing Flyer Distribution, Moving Services and Job Placement provide real-world work experience, stipends and a platform to directly serve residents living in underserved, food desert communities. Ambassadors in the program have a platform to help the community, build their self-confidence and marketable skills and earn stipends.
Through Youth Earn and Learn Jobs-for-Kids (YEL-J4K) and ALE-J4U, the organization has locally impacted Food Deserts, Food Insecurities and Food Waste; provided Mentoring, intergenerational Training & Development for youth and adults, and Career Coaching; and served seniors and their communities. Youth Earn and Learn Jobs for Kids has been a big part of a church’s health and wellness program, providing valuable nutritional information and exposure to new fruits and vegetables that participants would not normally have tried. To better serve youth and their families, Founder Karen Bailey created the Community of Support Network, an informal gathering of people who quietly and seamlessly get things done.
Karen Bailey is the Founder and Executive Director of Youth Earn and Learn Jobs-for-Kids, the C.E.O. of The Resource King Intl., and the Executive Director of Youth & Family Empowerment Services. She has hosted numerous think tanks, seminars, meetings and training sessions, and her business and career training sessions are conducted one-on-one and in group settings. She previously served as a Career Transition Specialist for Virginia Job Corps, where she provided career counseling, job placement, and mentored young adults. She believes each person has a purpose and describes her role as inspiring individuals to re-discover theirs, and she encourages people to surround themselves with positive influences, read, visualize, use affirmations, and enjoy the journey.
Parents and community members have shared feedback about the program. One testimonial states that Youth Earn and Learn should be in every major city in the United States and notes that youth in the program learn the benefit of eating healthy and how to prepare meals, with the comment that the program will surely develop a future chef. Another testimonial describes how the fresh produce grab bags have jump-started new healthy eating habits and highlighted the connection between eating healthy and feeling healthy. A third testimonial notes that Youth Earn and Learn Jobs for Kids has been a big part of a church’s health and wellness program, providing valuable nutritional information and exposure to new fruits and vegetables that participants would not normally have tried.
Last updated July 19, 2026.
• Ages: 12–17 years old
• Schedule: YEL-J4K was established in 2011 and has grown from an eight week program into a year-round, interactive, classroom and on-the-job training pre-apprenticeship.
YEL-J4K was established in 2011 as a Food Desert Solution that incorporates Food Desert residents into their solution and connects healthy eating with helping youth, seniors and communities. The program’s stated mission is to keep kids off the streets and raise the next generation of Leaders, CEOs and Entrepreneurs, and its goal is to reduce the effects of Food Deserts, namely Food Insecurity, Unemployment, Poverty, Crime, Chronic Disease and Mortality. Youth Earn and Learn Mobile Fresh Produce Stands, Fresh Produce Grab Bags, Meal Preps/Healthy Home-Delivered Meals, Signature Snacks, Call-In Grocery Shopping & Delivery Service, culturally relevant Cooking Classes with Nutrition Education, and growing Flyer Distribution, Moving Services and Job Placement provide real-world work experience, stipends and a platform to directly serve residents living in underserved, food desert communities. Ambassadors in the program have a platform to help the community, build their self-confidence and marketable skills and earn stipends.
Through Youth Earn and Learn Jobs-for-Kids (YEL-J4K) and ALE-J4U, the organization has locally impacted Food Deserts, Food Insecurities and Food Waste; provided Mentoring, intergenerational Training & Development for youth and adults, and Career Coaching; and served seniors and their communities. Youth Earn and Learn Jobs for Kids has been a big part of a church’s health and wellness program, providing valuable nutritional information and exposure to new fruits and vegetables that participants would not normally have tried. To better serve youth and their families, Founder Karen Bailey created the Community of Support Network, an informal gathering of people who quietly and seamlessly get things done.
Karen Bailey is the Founder and Executive Director of Youth Earn and Learn Jobs-for-Kids, the C.E.O. of The Resource King Intl., and the Executive Director of Youth & Family Empowerment Services. She has hosted numerous think tanks, seminars, meetings and training sessions, and her business and career training sessions are conducted one-on-one and in group settings. She previously served as a Career Transition Specialist for Virginia Job Corps, where she provided career counseling, job placement, and mentored young adults. She believes each person has a purpose and describes her role as inspiring individuals to re-discover theirs, and she encourages people to surround themselves with positive influences, read, visualize, use affirmations, and enjoy the journey.
Parents and community members have shared feedback about the program. One testimonial states that Youth Earn and Learn should be in every major city in the United States and notes that youth in the program learn the benefit of eating healthy and how to prepare meals, with the comment that the program will surely develop a future chef. Another testimonial describes how the fresh produce grab bags have jump-started new healthy eating habits and highlighted the connection between eating healthy and feeling healthy. A third testimonial notes that Youth Earn and Learn Jobs for Kids has been a big part of a church’s health and wellness program, providing valuable nutritional information and exposure to new fruits and vegetables that participants would not normally have tried.
Last updated July 19, 2026.
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