History

Jack McGill (President of Elevate Orlando) had a strong desire to reach the inner city youth in Orlando, FL. He wanted to start a program that would help empower the next generation of urban leaders to walk in good character and graduate with a tailor-made plan for their future.

In 2008, Elevate Orlando was developed, modeled after a well-established non-profit program (over 25 years) he discovered in Denver, Colorado called Colorado UpLift.

Our first classes were launched in January 2009 at Evans High School and Robinswood Middle School. Since then, we have expanded to Meadowbrook Middle School, Hiawassee Elementary, and Pinewood Elementary. We are confident that in time we will achieve results similar to those of Colorado UpLift, including:

• 90% high school graduation rate for participating students
• 95% of these graduates continue on to college, careers, or the military
• Significant increase in attendance & test scores
• Thousands of students participating in Colorado UpLift have graduated from college, and continue to graduate at a rate of almost 100% per year