Making Men Through Mentoring
Our boys and young men are struggling to make it.
What are we going to do about it?
We have been wrestling with that question in North Lawndale. Through a coordinated community effort, we engaged the parents, educators, local business owners, police officers, politicians, youth, elders, and other invested community residents. Through community collaboration and United Way resources, we initiated Making Men Through Mentoring (M3) — a program serving 120 African-American males, ages 10-16, in North Lawndale. Young Men’s Educational Network and Lawndale Christian Health Center coordinate this effort with six additional community partners. M3 is an answer to that question – we will use group mentoring to make men.
Who are the collaborators?
Making Men through Mentoring is a North Lawndale-based collaboration between:
- Lawndale Christian Health Center,
- Lawndale Community Church,
- North Lawndale College Preparatory High School,
- St. Gregory Episcopal School,
- Strategic Human Services,
- The United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, and the
- Young Men’s Educational Network.
How it works
M3 works through once-per-week small group mentoring sessions and through bi-monthly workshops. The workshops bring together the entire community of mentees for training in one of our five outcome areas – work ethic, academics, life skills, safety and leadership. The weekly sessions help develop camaraderie and positive peer pressure, reinforcing the training.
Our goal
We will grow leaders. In helping our youth achieve academically, we address the school dropout rate; in helping them choose safe environments and sharpen life skills we decrease the homicide rate; and in developing leadership and a strong work ethic in our participants, we will reverse the cycles of unemployment and generational poverty and begin a new path toward stability and wealth. We will build men who stand up for themselves, their families and their communities.
How you can support
We welcome volunteers, business sponsors, workshop leaders, inspiring speakers, parents, mentors and virtually anyone else who is invested in making men. Gifts of time, money and prayer are greatly appreciated.
Call Marcus Thorne, Director of Mentoring, at (773) 522-9636 for more information.
Recent Updates
- 16th Annual Awards Banquet
- Yes, it’s been one more year… another year of service, fun, frustration and fulfillment with our young men. And we are celebrating them and their families on May 26th. Join us for an incredible evening of reflection and celebration. Read More
- YMEN’s Auction is Coming!
- I just wanted to remind you that the YMEN 2011 Benefit Auction is only ONE WEEK AWAY! If you haven’t already purchased your ticket or table, or if you want to sponsor Lawndale parent or student to attend, please let me know as soon as possible! We only have a few tables left, and want to make [...] Read More
- Twin stars from West Side show the way
- At last count, just four of 10 black women who enrolled in college after graduating from a Chicago public school finished in six years. About 70 percent of black girls in Chicago graduate from high school. Trout invited her former students — girls she and her husband have mentored, sheltered in their home for a time [...] Read More
