From the Desk of the Executive Director
Be part of the solution, not part of the problem- Chris Scott
My youngest sons had two close friends as they were growing up. They were nice boys, but they were always getting into trouble. They dropped out of school, made some poor choices, and even worse life choices. They were intelligent kids, but they had been given none of the structure and discipline that my sons experienced growing up. Some years later, my oldest son was dropping his young daughter at my house when his car was stolen. We pursued the guy and got the car back. When I found out that he was yet another fatherless kid, I realized I had to act. I started researching the issue of fatherlessness. My heart was i n it, but I didn't have any expertise. What I found shocked me and pierced my heart: 90% of kids who are homeless are fatherless; 85% of kids who exhibit behavioral disorders are fatherless; 71% of kids who dropout of high school are fatherless; and 85% of youth in prison are fatherless. I was moved to stop talking about the problem and start doing something about it. Quickly I had to figure out how to set up a non-profit organization, structure my board, develop a mission, and register our charitable status. I t was hard work, but I was dedicated.
I learned a lot from my coaches in my athletic training. I learn discipline and how to be a team player. I learned how to plan for victory, how to lose well, and how to not give up. I learned the value of being selfless and that you get to be your best when you can dedicate yourself to help others. I am passionate about helping boys to become better men. Each young man has incredible potential and might have a different path, but each of them need assistance and encouragement to find their way. In the early days of B2M, we worked on the quality of our program, not the quantity of participants. If even one young man came to me and I was able to help him to become a better man that was success in my book.
In the years that followed, I realized that first I had to understand what the young men in our community needed. The youth who came to us really wanted a relationship; to know that they were seen and valued. That we cared about them and that we were willing to listen and to help them address their immediate needs. Secondly, I discovered that our program had to understand and confront another challenge in the youth culture. The negativity in the lives of youth, both internally and externally, was so difficult to overcome. They are so harsh with each other, they have so little respect for themselves or anyone else. I learned that what our program needed to do, before anything else, was to impart foundational respect and value to these young men. Nothing else would enable them to respect their families, their friends, themselves, and their communities. Finally, so many of the kids we worked with had absolutely no male role models in their lives or they had a personal history of a very negative male in their growing up years. They did have strong w omen in their lives, but men are rarely looked upon in a positive way. There are too many deadbeat dads in society who are not the heads of their households. There were a lot of negative stigmas, especially in the African American community that we needed to confront.
Our program’s mission is to provide mentors for young men so that they can move away from their past negative experiences and the broken promises of the men in their lives. We want to show them a new example. We want to provide them with mentors who are men of integrity and those who are committed to keeping our word. Only this change of their paradigm will allow them to have respect for themselves and others.
Let me tell you the story of one of our young men. Tim had great potential as an athlete, but he had very low grades which made him ineligible to run track at his school. We worked together for three years, developing a plan to g et him where he wanted to be. We worked together on everything from his classroom behavior to his study habits. It was so hard for Tim, but he stayed faithful as a participant in the Boys2Men mentoring program. In his last year of high school, he got his grades up from a 1.4 GPA average to a 2.8 GPA. He started running track in his final year of high school! His hard work paid off and he moved on to run track at a Junior College. Tim is now running track for Capital College breaking s peed records. I am so proud of him. It was a real challenge initially to help him move past his challenges, but he overcame them all. Today he is fulfilling his dream. I learned over time how to coach young men to develop a vision for their lives. If you see something that troubles you, I encourage you to do something about it. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. And what happened to that young man named Tim? He is now a college graduate with a business degree and a bright future.
I learned a lot from my coaches in my athletic training. I learn discipline and how to be a team player. I learned how to plan for victory, how to lose well, and how to not give up. I learned the value of being selfless and that you get to be your best when you can dedicate yourself to help others. I am passionate about helping boys to become better men. Each young man has incredible potential and might have a different path, but each of them need assistance and encouragement to find their way. In the early days of B2M, we worked on the quality of our program, not the quantity of participants. If even one young man came to me and I was able to help him to become a better man that was success in my book.
In the years that followed, I realized that first I had to understand what the young men in our community needed. The youth who came to us really wanted a relationship; to know that they were seen and valued. That we cared about them and that we were willing to listen and to help them address their immediate needs. Secondly, I discovered that our program had to understand and confront another challenge in the youth culture. The negativity in the lives of youth, both internally and externally, was so difficult to overcome. They are so harsh with each other, they have so little respect for themselves or anyone else. I learned that what our program needed to do, before anything else, was to impart foundational respect and value to these young men. Nothing else would enable them to respect their families, their friends, themselves, and their communities. Finally, so many of the kids we worked with had absolutely no male role models in their lives or they had a personal history of a very negative male in their growing up years. They did have strong w omen in their lives, but men are rarely looked upon in a positive way. There are too many deadbeat dads in society who are not the heads of their households. There were a lot of negative stigmas, especially in the African American community that we needed to confront.
Our program’s mission is to provide mentors for young men so that they can move away from their past negative experiences and the broken promises of the men in their lives. We want to show them a new example. We want to provide them with mentors who are men of integrity and those who are committed to keeping our word. Only this change of their paradigm will allow them to have respect for themselves and others.
Let me tell you the story of one of our young men. Tim had great potential as an athlete, but he had very low grades which made him ineligible to run track at his school. We worked together for three years, developing a plan to g et him where he wanted to be. We worked together on everything from his classroom behavior to his study habits. It was so hard for Tim, but he stayed faithful as a participant in the Boys2Men mentoring program. In his last year of high school, he got his grades up from a 1.4 GPA average to a 2.8 GPA. He started running track in his final year of high school! His hard work paid off and he moved on to run track at a Junior College. Tim is now running track for Capital College breaking s peed records. I am so proud of him. It was a real challenge initially to help him move past his challenges, but he overcame them all. Today he is fulfilling his dream. I learned over time how to coach young men to develop a vision for their lives. If you see something that troubles you, I encourage you to do something about it. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. And what happened to that young man named Tim? He is now a college graduate with a business degree and a bright future.
Our Mission
Boys2Men, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that is focused on investing in the lives of young men ages 11-17. We believe this strengthens our community and ultimately changes the world through transforming the futures of young men. Our driving mission is to help every boy become a better man. We have seen the transformative value of providing mentors and role models in boy’s lives. We teach and model integrity, accountability, character, compassion and respect. Thus, the mission of our organization is mentoring teenage boys and transferring to them life skills to help them navigate their future. We accomplish this purpose by introducing them to future paths of success, such as college, trade schools, entrepreneurship opportunities, and the armed forces.
Program Funding Goals
➔ Weekly expenses of mentoring program for young men aged 11-17
➔ Provide STEM elements to the educational portions of the mentoring program
➔ Fund summer community garden work experience hiring program
➔ Financial management training / curriculum purchase and instructional delivery
➔ Fund college selection road trip for high school juniors and seniors
➔ Provide tutors for after-school academic tutoring for students
➔ Summer work programs for career path development
➔ Community service project supplies helping the elderly
➔ Programs cost for books, supplies, transportation, and field trips
➔ Provide weekly meals for our Boys2Men members
➔ Increase our impact to reach more young men with our program
➔ Transportation van acquired for pick up and drop offs, road trips, and community service
➔ Provide STEM elements to the educational portions of the mentoring program
➔ Fund summer community garden work experience hiring program
➔ Financial management training / curriculum purchase and instructional delivery
➔ Fund college selection road trip for high school juniors and seniors
➔ Provide tutors for after-school academic tutoring for students
➔ Summer work programs for career path development
➔ Community service project supplies helping the elderly
➔ Programs cost for books, supplies, transportation, and field trips
➔ Provide weekly meals for our Boys2Men members
➔ Increase our impact to reach more young men with our program
➔ Transportation van acquired for pick up and drop offs, road trips, and community service
Boys2Men Response
Our response to the overwhelming need is a program that offers male mentoring. We believe that adolescence is a critical time when young men are faced with choices that affect them for the rest of their lives. Boys naturally look towards men to challenge, guide, and help them become good men. The sad fact is too many young men do not have good men to look up to. They are left to figure out manhood alone. Fatherless families, overcrowded prisons, increasing gang violence, and drug and alcohol abuse are often the result. To answer the big questions of life, a child needs a guide. Do I try drugs? Should I tell the truth? Does anyone care? Why not steal this? Will a gang protect me? Should I have sex? Why finish school? Will I be like my father?
Every boy wants:
Every boy wants:
- someone to confide in; to share their deepest fears and biggest dreams
- an adult who knows them and cares for them unconditionally
- a trusted adult mentor who can help you make the right choices
Methods and Strategies
Boys2Men has three primary strategies to influence young men with positive male figures and building a community focused sense of purposefulness and positive self-image. This impact is accomplished first by mentorship and developing life skills. We believe positive male relationships can be transformational for our young men. Secondly, we believe in accountability by personal example. This accountability is accomplished after building relationships and is key to build a sense of brotherhood and personal support. Finally, we provide opportunities for relationship and accountability by providing community projects and community service projects.
Mentorship & Life Skill Development
Boys2Men is made up of all types of boys with different backgrounds, but everyone can use some Guidance to build a better future. |
Brotherhood in a Community
It’s important for our boys to be able to sharpen and keep each other accountable. This is a team Effort with our boys also mentoring each other. |
Community Service Projects
One way we bond relationally is by serving others and the city of Berea. Our service approach teaches work ethic and builds a selfless approach to life. Through our strategic partnerships with Law enforcement and community partners, we are able to impact lives through our service projects And involve our youth in making a difference in their community.
One way we bond relationally is by serving others and the city of Berea. Our service approach teaches work ethic and builds a selfless approach to life. Through our strategic partnerships with Law enforcement and community partners, we are able to impact lives through our service projects And involve our youth in making a difference in their community.
Plan of Evaluation
Because B2M is a deeply rooted, community-based organization, our measured outcomes are gathered by long term relationships with our program participants. We follow our students from the first day they enter the program through high school graduation, college graduation, military service, career launch, and even beyond.
B2M measures success by our student attendance record and the reflective growth of our program offerings. B2M conducts an evaluative survey for the parents and teacher as well as B2M members. We track any positive or negative trends in this survey. This information is gathered using iPad tablets and paper surveys. We welcome teacher and parent input on this survey with questions directed to them. The B2M Board Members are charged to gather and analyze survey results to determine if we are indeed fulfilling our mission statement as an organization.
Beyond our formation evaluation, B2M is reflective of the needs of the young men that we work with and their personal needs. Our mentors know the boys personally and provide opportunities for us to enter into their lives in meaningful ways. Because our organization is purposed to build trust and relationship, we are able to be reflective of the interests and needs of our group of young men. This was dramatically illustrated in B2M’s ability as an organization to adapt and change our program in 2020 to journey with our boys in the midst of a pandemic.
B2M measures success by our student attendance record and the reflective growth of our program offerings. B2M conducts an evaluative survey for the parents and teacher as well as B2M members. We track any positive or negative trends in this survey. This information is gathered using iPad tablets and paper surveys. We welcome teacher and parent input on this survey with questions directed to them. The B2M Board Members are charged to gather and analyze survey results to determine if we are indeed fulfilling our mission statement as an organization.
Beyond our formation evaluation, B2M is reflective of the needs of the young men that we work with and their personal needs. Our mentors know the boys personally and provide opportunities for us to enter into their lives in meaningful ways. Because our organization is purposed to build trust and relationship, we are able to be reflective of the interests and needs of our group of young men. This was dramatically illustrated in B2M’s ability as an organization to adapt and change our program in 2020 to journey with our boys in the midst of a pandemic.