Blueprint 502

Thank you for supporting Blueprint 502! 

Your gift today will go directly to our programs & all wrap-around services 

listed below to create a culture of stability for optimal learning & student success!

Who We Are

Blueprint 502 is a workforce development, education, and leadership program empowering 1000's of Louisville’s opportunity youth each year, ages 18–24, to reach their full potential as leaders and contributors to a thriving local economy.

Formerly YouthBuild Louisville (YBL), we launched Blueprint 502 in 2024 to reflect an expanded mission and holistic approach. While YouthBuild remains a core program, Blueprint 502 now offers a broader range of services to meet evolving community needs.

What We Do

Our vision is to equip young people with essential life and job skills, guiding them toward confident adulthood through work, education, family, and civic engagement. Under the leadership of President & CEO Lynn Rippy, Blueprint 502 has become a nationally recognized model, providing individualized supports, real-world training, and clear pathways to lifelong success.

How We Do It:  

Creating Opportunity through Education & Support

General Education

Blueprint 502 is a place of both healing and opportunity. Many students come to us without a high school diploma or GED. Through small classes and personal guidance, participants can earn their diploma while building literacy, numeracy, and college or apprenticeship readiness. Our education-first approach provides a stable, supportive environment to develop critical academic and life skills.

Job/Career Training:  Urban Conservation Corps (UCC)

The UCC engages full-time Blueprint 502 AmeriCorps members in land stewardship, food systems, environmental sustainability, and community revitalization. Focused on historically disinvested communities, the UCC trains young adults in green careers that support public health and environmental justice - fields like landscape restoration, water quality, remediation, and waste renewal.

Job/Career Training: Construction (YBL)

In our hands-on construction training program, students learn through real-world projects and earn industry-recognized credentials. These experiences prepare them for high-demand careers and give them the confidence to succeed. Strong relationships with local construction and industry employers ensure students graduate job-ready - many even return as staff or mentors to inspire the next generation.

Job/Career Training: Nursing/CNA & Culinary (YBL)

In our hands-on Culinary & CNA training programs, students gain real-world experience while earning industry-recognized credentials. Whether preparing meals in the kitchen or providing compassionate care in healthcare settings, participants build the skills and confidence needed for success in high-demand fields. 

Smoketown Community Center

The Smoketown Community Center, 538 E. Breckinridge, 40203 is a vibrant, youth-centered hub providing education, job training, and wraparound support for young adults ages 11-24 in Louisville. Powered by Blueprint 502, the center offers afterschool programming, a makerspace, mentorship, and workforce development-fostering opportunity, creativity, and community engagement in one of the city’s most historic neighborhoods. A space built with and for the community.

Community Service

Each YouthBuild Louisville student completes 450 hours of community service - gaining an education award while supporting housing, nutrition, environmental, and beautification projects across Louisville. These experiences build pride, purpose, and powerful connections with the community.

SummerWorks

Our on-campus SummerWorks Job Development Center expands access to meaningful employment for youth in Smoketown and beyond. This initiative offers direct pathways to opportunity while reinforcing Blueprint 502’s reputation as a hub for workforce and personal development.

Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP)

Through YHDP, Blueprint 502 provides transitional housing and wraparound supports for students facing housing instability. By meeting basic needs first, we create space for long-term planning, skill-building, and personal growth - supporting a full transition into stability and self-sufficiency.

Counseling & Supportive Services

Structural poverty leaves lasting psychological impacts. Our Case Managers help students heal through one-on-one counseling, group support, life planning, and mentorship. We address trauma and unhealthy patterns so students can build new futures rooted in stability, purpose, and hope.

We Are Family

Whether it's construction, conservation, nursing, or wrap-around counseling & support - Blueprint 502 stands beside every student as they take charge of their future. We meet youth where they are, walk with them through their journey, and help them build lives filled with meaning, opportunity, and dignity.

We are Blueprint 502 - Building brighter futures, one blueprint at a time.