Non-profit founder heads to D.C. to talk about his experience helping at-risk youth

LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – The Bench Mark Program on S. Prince St. in Lancaster has been helping at-risk youth for a decade, and its founder had the chance to go to Washington D.C. to talk about his mission.

“We are the navigators who help them get through probation, children and youth and get them to whatever their goals are,” Will Kiefer, founder and executive director, said.

The non-profit uses a family of mentors who use weight lifting, academics, and career coaching to propel at-risk youth toward success.

Kiefer was invited to the D.C. by U.S. Representative Lloyd Smucker (R, PA-11). He spoke in front of a subcommittee about what Bench Mark offers kids aging out of foster care.

“It’s the first time we have ever had that megaphone to speak to what we believe to be the most effective way, kind of the gold standard, to mentor kids,” Kiefer said. “That’s a one-on-one mentor for years at a time.”

“It was a story that resonated with other members and people who heard his story,” Smucker said.

That story includes Kiefer’s adoption of his son, Kenny. Kenny first went to Bench Mark when he was 14 years old.

Kiefer was his mentor.

At age 16, Kenny returned to Bench Mark on probation. During that time he lost his parents and his brother, leading Kiefer to bring Kenny in.

“Will realized that he had absolutely no support,” Smucker said.

Now, Kiefer and Bench Mark have created an atmosphere that these kids trust.

“The biggest and most impactful feedback for us is ‘Bench Mark Program is the place that I knew I could always come back to,'” Kiefer said.

“The way they do it, the passion that [Kiefer] has really impacts other people’s lives,” Smucker said.