Mission Statement
The mission of Boys to Men Mentoring Network of Virginia is to be guides, role models, mentors, advocates and champions for the next generation of boys. The Richmond-area program was founded in 2010 and is based on an international model of the highly effective Boys to Men program that was developed in San Diego in 1996. Since the organization's founding, more than 6,000 boys between the ages of 11 and 17 in the U.S. and internationally, have gone through the program. The Boys to Men program operates through set guidelines for conduct and training, and uses local resources for educational and behavioral reference. Mentors are trained by individuals who have themselves received special training, thereby building a community of caring adults who are committed to helping boys make the often difficult transition to becoming responsible men. An affiliate in name only, Boys to Men Mentoring Network of Virginia receives no financial assistance from the founding Boys to Men organization.
The middle school and high school years can be a difficult and frustrating time for some boys, especially if there's no positive male role model in their lives. As they struggle to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood, problems at home can lead to problems at school, which can result in dropping out, or other negative and potentially dangerous behavior.
Through participation in the Richmond-based Boys to Men program, at-risk middle and high school boys have the chance to work with dedicated and trained mentors. A majority of the boys enrolled in the mentoring program are growing up in a single parent home and have been recommended by school administrators or juvenile authorities for being at-risk for dropping out of school, suspension/expulsion or gang involvement.
In addition to working with a group of mentors, boys also gain the acceptance of a supportive group of their peers who are also struggling to turn their own lives around and make the transition from boys to men. Participation in the program gives them an opportunity to build trust, realize self-worth and learn how to become a responsible adult with the guidance of a mentor who has been there.
Providing these boys with a solid male role model and a structured peer program can teach accountability, compassion, and the need to take responsibility for one's actions, thereby increasing the likelihood of the boy's success in life and decreasing his chance of turning to drug use, crime, or gang involvement. The Boys to Men program has a record of success that includes better attendance, improved academic performance and a marked reduction in disciplinary actions for at-risk middle and high school age boys.
Since its founding in 2010, the Boys to Men Mentoring Network of Virginia has worked with 117 at-risk boys. None of the boys, who were considered at-risk for dropping out of school or disciplinary action when they entered the program, has been incarcerated, and to date, only three of the program's participants have failed to earn a high school diploma or GED.
In the past five years the mentoring program has grown, as has the organization. The organization is making contacts throughout the Richmond area and the demand for its services continues to grow. Boys to Men Mentoring Network of Virginia began with one meeting site and a handful of mentors. Today the organization has 22 trained mentors who are currently working with 50 boys on a weekly basis. In 2015 the organization's goal is to have 30 mentors and to increase the number of boys participating in the program to approximately 65.
Boys and mentors meet on a regular weekly basis at five sites in the greater Richmond area. Two of these mentoring sites were added in 2014 and 2015. Boys to Men currently works with the administration, staff and social workers at meeting sites at Tomahawk Creek Middle School (Chesterfield County); Better Housing Coalition (Chesterfield County); Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School (City of Richmond); The Virginia Home for Boys & Girls (Henrico County); Prince George County Public Schools.
Description
Mentor Requirements
All mentors must meet the following requirements:
* Complete an application
* Participate in a preliminary and follow-up interview
* Pass a criminal background check
* Attend an orientation and training session
Our program what sets us apart
Boys to Men is a community-based mentoring model serving
middle and high school boys at-risk of dropping out of school,
juvenile delinquency or gang involvement.
Every week Boys to Men mentors go into schools to provide the
male role models these fatherless boys are missing.
Not just one man, but a community of mentors and peers
who offer the hope, support and guidance boys require in the
critical window, when choices can impact a lifetime.
Our community-based approach gives boys a safe place to
get real and talk about the problems all teenage boys keep
inside, and a community where boys know they are NOT
ALONE in their feelings.
Fears, sadness, successes, hopes, anger, and gratitude are
often revealed. We ask guys to raise a hand when someone
shares something they have going on too.
There's a comfort in seeing other's hands go up.
73% of the boys in the program do not have a father active in their life.
COMMUNITY. We build communities of good men, who
attend weekly group meetings with boys who want to become
good men. The consistency of weekly group meetings
creates the connection and trust that allows the boys to talk
openly about the challenges in their lives.
ROLE MODELS. Boys have multiple, positive role models,
including mentors, group facilitators and their older peers.
STRUCTURED, TEEN-FOCUSED CURRICULUM provides both
boys and mentors a chance to learn from each other and
work together to achieve a common goal. This curriculum is
designed to allow boys to process and interpret their feelings
week by week.
PARTNERING WITH SCHOOLS and working closely with
school administrators allows us to identify and serve boys
most in need of our program.
IT'S A SIMPLE CONCEPT. Boys and men spending time
together, having fun, listening to, learning from and counting
on each other.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
We are not looking for perfect men. We are looking for men
willing to admit they are not perfect -- men willing to share
the truth about the struggles all men face, men willing to join
our community of boys and men with an interest in sharing
the journey to being the best men they can be.
Every week Boys to Men mentors show up at middle schools,
high schools and foster care facilities to give teenage boys a
community of mentors who listen, encourage and believe in
them. In Boys to Men groups, 75% of the boys are growing
up without a father.
Our community-based mentoring approach give boys a
variety of male role models who show up consistently, tell
the truth about our struggles as men, ask the boys what kind
of men they want to be, praise them for their gifts and guide
them to make better choices.
.
one hour a week
We are not looking for perfect men. We are looking for men
willing to admit they are not perfect -- men willing to share
the truth about the struggles all men face, men willing to join
our community of boys and men with an interest in sharing
the journey to being the best men they can be.
Every week Boys to Men mentors show up at middle schools,
high schools and foster care facilities to give teenage boys a
community of mentors who listen, encourage and believe in
them. In Boys to Men groups, 75% of the boys are growing
up without a father.
Our community-based mentoring approach give boys a
variety of male role models who show up consistently, tell
the truth about our struggles as men, ask the boys what kind
of men they want to be, praise them for their gifts and guide
them to make better choices.
.
