ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Summer has started, Father’s Day is almost here and KL Training Solutions is full to the brim with kids.

KLTS is a youth mentorship organization providing Buncombe County youth ages five to 27 with year-round educational resources, workforce training and cultural enrichment opportunities. The nonprofit began in 2012 as a men’s discussion group in one West Asheville apartment complex. In the 14 years since, KLTS has grown into a massive apparatus of care, guiding local kids through adolescence with programs like My Daddy Taught Me That, My Sister Taught Me That and the KL Impact Academy.

KLTS was founded by Keynon Lake, who now runs the organization with his wife and “director of all things,” Jacquelyn Lake.

Tighter budget, more kids

As summer has dawned and KLTS summer camp has started, the Lakes said that the demand for youth programming has risen dramatically, reflecting a trend present since Tropical Storm Helene hit Western North Carolina in September 2024.

“The Housing Authority of Asheville is having budget issues, and so they closed one of the largest after-school programs serving our students,” said Jacquelyn Lake.

The program, Chosen P.O.D.S., was housed at the Arthur R. Edington Education & Career Center just south of downtown Asheville. Chosen P.O.D.S. was shuttered at the end of this April.

“They couldn’t even make it ’til the end of the school year,” Jacquelyn Lake said. “So, on May 4, we opened our doors to an additional, what, 63 students? Primarily middle and high schools, but we did do, if they had younger siblings and things like that, on a dime. Which was a lot. It was hard, and now our summer camp is now 67% larger than it was last year.”

As a nonprofit, the Lakes and their team of volunteers are responsible for caring for over 160 kids this summer, not counting a waiting list of 67 more. KLTS will craft camp programming 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, all summer long.

The Lakes arrive at the KLTS facility, located at 3 Hunt Hill Pl., Asheville, around 7:30 a.m., before departing in buses to pick up kids from all over Buncombe County. Participating youth receive two meals, three hours of summer school and a variety of activities, ranging from field trips to swimming holes to lessons on things like carpentry and game design from industry professionals.

Around 5 p.m., the kids are bussed home, with the Lakes and other bus drivers returning to the KLTS home base between 7-7:30 p.m.

The schedule can be exhausting.

“We’re just gonna bring sleeping bags,” Jacquelyn Lake quipped.

How the community can help

KLTS is a nonprofit organization, providing experiences for their campers completely free of charge. The operating budget for the summer is $313,000.

“It’s tough,” Keynon Lake said. “The climate after the hurricane, what we’re dealing with now, and budget cuts here and there. We’re a nonprofit. We’re a true nonprofit and, you know, it’s tough. I think it’s tough for all nonprofits across the entire country, and so, when you’re still doing the work and you still have the need, you still got to get it done.”

As KLTS supports the youth of the community, KLTS said that there are ways for the community to support them.

“We can use help in any kind of way. We also know that, while I would say monetarily is always accepted, always great, we love in-kind donations. Whatever your skill set may be,” Keynon Lake said. “We tell people all the time, you want to volunteer, you want to find out which ways that you can plug into help? My whole thing is, just come and see what we do and stick around for a while, right? Give us about 30 to 45 days of your time. Not every single day, but come in when you can, see what we do, kind of get an understanding about what happens.”

Keynon Lake said that time spent volunteering is the best way for Asheville to help KLTS help the city’s youth.

“See the work, see what’s happening,” Keynon Lake said. “You’ll be able to not only find out where you’re going, but how you can support help. It’s so contagious, because once we have people coming in and volunteering, they just don’t leave. They stick around.”

For more information about KL Training Solutions, visit www.mydaddytaughtmethat.org.