Dare to Be King
Dare to Be King is our newest program, now in its second year and finding great success. YMEN’s Dare To Be King program is in two schools (Henson, Chicago Westside elementary schools) working with sixth, seventh and eighth grade youth. This leadership program offers intervention services for about 60 students who are hand-picked by teachers as of the greatest risk for dropping out, delinquency, violence, and possible incarceration. YMEN steps in to change their path by working with them in the areas of conflict management, academic motivation, violence prevention, peer relations, and making positive choices. The 40-session program includes units in:
- Understanding the masculine role in broader society
- Violence in the home, in the hood, and in the world
- Weapons and their detrimental role in conflict management
- Influence of the gangster lifestyle on today’s youth
- How peer pressure influences one’s decisions
- Dealing with inner rage
- Understanding street law and its misconceptions
- The role of rap music within the culture
- Coping with grief and loss
The program is led by Marcus Thorne (bio), who has created an environment of mentorship and brotherhood that has impressed the staff at the schools as well as solidified YMEN’s presence as a catalyst of change in these young men’s lives.
For more information about the curriculum, visit the Dare to Be King website.
Recent Updates
- YMEN Africa Trip, Spring 2013
- “This is the greatest trip of my life…..” Four YMEN High School senior leaders spent 13 days this Spring traveling to Uganda to work with Partners in Mission. During this trip, we had the opportunity to spend time at the Kamwenge Secondary and Vocational School (KSVS) where YMEN has roofed buildings, sponsored students, and brought [...] Read More
- Building lifelong networks of support
- Sammie has been in the YMEN program for 4 years. He is one of the program’s most dedicated participants. YMEN has offered Sammie many opportunities through business and education programs. Sammie has been on about 90% of the YMEN trips and his favorite was South Dakota. The trips have been beneficial for Sammie because he [...] Read More
- The Gimp
- Our students have had a chance to learn about image manipulation. Seeing as how we are always in the mood to save money, we use the GNU Image Manipulation Program — otherwise known as the Gimp. For those who aren’t completely up on the Gimp, it’s a free version of Adobe Photoshop-like software. Not Photoshop, [...] Read More
