Inspire the Young

Every child deserves
a reason to dream big.

Empowering Futures. Transformative Journeys.

Inspire the Young is the umbrella organization behind two nonprofits working side by side for the next generation — Buena Onda, keeping kids in school and building pathways to livable careers, and IThinkBig, touring schools to show kids that dreaming big is allowed. Together, we're building futures worth showing up for.

Our Programs

What We Do

Our Programs

Buena Onda

Buena Onda is an after-school center built for kids who need somewhere safe to land between the school bell and the workday. We keep kids in the classroom and out of the labor fields — giving them tutoring, mentorship, and a steady place to grow, so a livable career (and the simple ability to dream) stays within reach.

XX+kids enrolled each year

XXyears serving the community

XX%of kids stay in school

Placeholder stats — replace with real numbers.

Visit Buena Onda Project

Chad Furlong, founder of Inspire the Young, smiling

About Us

Chad FurlongFounder, Inspire the Young

[Placeholder — Chad, replace with your own words]

Inspire the Young started with a simple belief: kids rise to meet the belief the adults around them hold. Chad spent years working directly with kids in underserved communities and kept seeing the same gap — not a lack of talent, but a lack of someone showing up to say "you can." That gap became Buena Onda and IThinkBig: two different ways of closing the same distance between where a kid is and where they could go.

Today, Inspire the Young exists to give both programs a shared home — and to keep asking the same question that started it all: what does this next kid need to believe about themselves?

Our Team