Saving lives. Building future leaders.
Can Get Right is a Milwaukee youth-development organization providing mentorship, positive outlets, life skills and opportunities. We are a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Mission Statement
Can Get Right exists to provide young people, especially those from underserved communities, with mentorship, positive outlets, life skills, resources, and opportunities that help them avoid violence, overcome adversity, and build successful futures.
Vision Statement
Can Get Right Inc. envisions a Milwaukee where young men are surrounded by safety, mentorship, brotherhood, opportunity, and hope. We strive to build a future where young men no longer feel trapped by violence, poverty, trauma, or retaliation, but are equipped to discover their purpose, develop their gifts, lead with peace, and build positive futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.
KJ Day: remembering KJ together
Each year, KJ Day honors KJ’s life through remembrance, athletics, peace and unity — bringing youth, mentors, families and our Milwaukee community together.
Explore KJ DayOur work is rooted in Jesus Christ
Can Get Right Inc. is a Christian organization built on faith, integrity, accountability, love, and service. Our beliefs guide how we lead and serve, but participation in our school and community programs never requires any particular religious belief. We welcome youth and families of all backgrounds and do not use programming to pressure people toward Christianity or conduct undisclosed evangelism.
Our Christian beliefs
We believe in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe the Bible is God’s Word and guides our faith and practice. We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and offers salvation by grace through faith. We seek to follow Jesus in love, truth, repentance, service and the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe every person is made in God’s image and deserves dignity and care.
Explore Faith & ValuesWhat we stand on
Faith
Belief in Jesus Christ being our foundation and in the potential of every young person.
Brotherhood
No one walks alone. We rise together as family.
Opportunity
Opening doors that were once closed to our youth.
Accountability
Owning our choices and holding each other to a higher standard.
Leadership
Raising the next generation of leaders, not statistics.
Service
Giving back and pouring into our community.
Community
Healing, building, and growing where we live.
Why Can Get Right was created
Can Get Right was born out of pain, purpose, and a refusal to accept that our young people are destined to become statistics. In neighborhoods where violence is normalized and opportunity is scarce, too many promising lives are cut short or derailed before they ever get a chance.
We exist to change that story. Every program we build is designed around five convictions: saving lives, preventing violence, creating alternatives, building future leaders, and community healing.
Through mentorship, brotherhood, and real opportunity, we meet young people where they are and walk with them toward where they can be. We believe — without exception — that every young person Can Get Right.
Prevention before crisis
Can Get Right Inc. exists because too many young people and families are living in survival mode without consistent access to safe spaces, mentorship, resources, and real opportunities.
We believe crime prevention starts before crisis happens. By educating, empowering, and elevating youth and families, we are working to help reduce violence, robberies, and cycles of poverty by shrinking the economic gap one family at a time.
Our work is not just about hosting events. It is about building relationships, creating access, and helping young people see a path forward before they feel forced into destructive decisions.
More than attendance
We measure impact by more than attendance. We track whether youth and families are being connected to the resources, mentorship, positive relationships, and opportunities that can help change the direction of their lives.
Our impact will be measured through clear program outcomes, including:
- Number of youth enrolled in Can Get Right programs
- Number of youth who complete each program phase
- Attendance and participation throughout the program
- Number of youth who complete a Life Plan, goal plan, or business idea
- Number of youth connected to mentors, volunteers, business owners, or community partners
- Number of families connected to resources, support, or referrals
- Number of youth who demonstrate growth in discipline, decision-making, confidence, communication, and goal-setting
- Number of youth who create a legal income pathway, business concept, pitch, or showcase project
- Number of youth who continue into the next phase of programming
- Parent, youth, mentor, and community partner feedback
- Follow-up check-ins to track continued engagement, school progress, employment interest, business development, and personal growth
We also look at long-term community impact. Our goal is to help create alternatives to crime, violence, and survival-based decision-making by giving young people access to safe spaces, trusted adults, practical skills, and real opportunities.
For grant funders and community partners, our success is shown through participation data, completed student work, family engagement, mentorship connections, program completion, youth presentations, business pitches, and continued progress after each program ends.
We measure success by the lives we reach, the families we support, the goals youth complete, the opportunities we create, and the pathways we build away from crime and toward purpose.