About Us

Whether you are a parent, a local leader, a business owner, or a community volunteer, we hope you explore the ways to get involved with Gainesville Alumni Association. Together, we can change the vision of success in our community.

Our Mission

Redefining the future of the Gainesville Community by transforming our youth to adopt a fresh mindset of success.

Our Vision

We work to transform the vision of success for Gainesville by uniting and mobilizing parents, churches, schools and community organizations for this common goal.

Our Mission

Redefining the future of the Gainesville Community by transforming our youth to adopt a fresh mindset of success.

Our Vision

We work to transform the vision of success for Gainesville by uniting and mobilizing parents, churches, schools and community organizations for this common goal.

Our Philosophy

We believe our youth are the future of our community.

To this end, we work proactively to partner with like-minded organizations and parents to mentor and develop our youth to become leaders at home, at school and in the community. High school students who get involved in our community are more likely to remain here or return here after graduating college and contribute to the success, diversity and vibrancy of Gainesville.

We believe in the supportive role of community in shaping youth.

We feel it is a privilege and responsibility of the parents to develop and empower their children. Our purpose is to do it with them, not instead of them. We want to provide an additional layer of support through one-on-one mentoring, coaching programs and community events to help young people develop a vision for their future, make good choices and make a positive impact on their peers.

We believe in mission-driven partnerships.

We can’t strive to achieve our mission in isolation. Neither can you. We help youth-focused community organizations reach their youth by delivering targeted programs to their audiences.

Our Story

Founded in 2015, Gainesville Alumni Association is a non-profit youth development organization in Gainesville, Florida.

We aim to make a difference in the lives of local youth by connecting families with the community resources, encouraging collaboration between youth focused organizations in the Gainesville area and holding events that create real, tangible impact for our clients.

Our annual Youth Symposium brings together families, school leaders and hundreds of local organizations that offer youth services and activities. Parents and youth have a unique opportunity to get introduced to ALL the resources available to them in the area; get contact and pricing information, registration forms and scholarship applications in one place, and meet local youth leaders – all while having fun and enjoying family activities and refreshments.

Our Christmas Program enables underserved children to receive Christmas gifts. Oftentimes, this is the only source of gifts the family has. Our strong partnerships with local churches and community organizations allow us to offer this program and we hope to get more organizations and businesses involved in this tradition.

Our Mentorship and Youth Leadership Programs motivate youth to aim higher, dream bigger and work harder – and provide them with the resources they need to take action.

Our goal is to empower youth from our community. We want to provide influence through our programs, and partner with other organizations, and the school system.

-Darrell Johnson, Founder

Recognizing the power of youth learning through modeling, GAA strives to both inspire and guide the educational and career aspirations of Gainesville’s future leaders.

-Abraham Tenah, Founder