Positive mentors help young people develop personally, can boost school attendance and academic performance, and increase the likelihood a child will go to college. Mentors can also provide the confidence to explore and discover interests including music and the arts. By mentoring a child, adults can use personal talents in a truly transformative way. In honor of National Mentoring Month, Classical Music Indy highlights some organizations in Indianapolis that are changing the lives of thousands of youth through mentorship.
National Mentoring Month
100 Black Men of Indianapolis
www.100blackmenindy.org
Focused on empowering young men through the use of positive role models, the volunteers at 100 Black Men mentor K-12 students in Indianapolis guided by their motto “What they see is what they’ll be.” With programming ranging from tutoring, summer academia, financial skills, and college prep, 100 Black Men provides students the opportunity to succeed in school and life. 100 Black Men of Indianapolis partners with local schools and universities and a diverse network of community partners to deliver their life changing programs. They aim to positively impact the mental, physical, moral, and spiritual development of young people.
Aftercare for Indiana through Mentoring (AIM)
www.aimmentoring.org
Supporting Indiana’s at-risk youth through caring adult mentoring relationships, AIM provides innovative programming empowering youth to achieve their full potential. This is accomplished through a variety of services for youth including the Crossroads Culinary Job Training Program. The 12-week program gives young adults (ages 16-24) hands-on culinary training in a commercial kitchen. The food prepared by program participants at AIM’s Crossroads Café also provides free meals during the summer months for food insecure youth.
Bloom Project
www.bloomprojectinc.org
Bloom Project’s mentoring program provides positive mentoring relationships, academic tutoring, and career exploration opportunities. These exposures help participants broaden their interests and see the connection between their education and the careers they want to pursue. Bloom Project’s mission is to build youth into the next generation of future leaders in their community. Bloom provides skill-building in leadership, financial literacy and management, and social skills to prepare youth for their roles in society. The Bloom Project strives to ensure 95% of their patricipants attend post-secondary education after high school.
Latino Youth Collective
www.wearecollective.org
Actively involved with social advocacy for immigration and civil rights issues, Latino Youth Collective leaders and members are contributing to public awareness and community education about the obstacles Latino immigrant communities face nationwide. LYC’s summer program, Campecine Youth Academy, allows youth to conduct research and enact social change. The Academy gives participants the opportunity to develop problem solving, critical thinking skills, broaden social networks, engage in collective consciousness, develop new media skills, and receive assistance with college applications and scholarships. The mission of the Collective is to provide resources and opportunities for youth to engage in personal and community development through critical pedagogy, grassroots organizing, and collective action.
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