Monday, December 30, 2013

LAMAR BANKS STORY – Journey with Youth Mentoring Connection


Lamar Banks grew up in South Central LA in an area that was highly gang-oriented.  He like a large number of young men from that community never knew his father and was raised by a very tough and strong-handed mother and grandma.  Lamar, at 13 years of age found himself being influenced to join a gang in order to survive.  So he and the guys in the neighborhood that he grew up with decided to form a “set” called Fo Block. (A set is a subset of a gang).  Lamar being a big, strong kid was designate to be the enforcer for the gang.  What he and the others weren’t told is that when you are a part of a gang, it doesn’t make you safer.  Instead it does the opposite.  It puts a target on your back and puts you in greater danger.  It was around this time that he also found out about YMC’s mentoring program through some of his friends who had gotten involved with their work.
When Lamar started YMC’s mentoring program, he was not doing well, barely interested in school or even attending much.  YMC found him a mentor that was the perfect match.  They started breaking his shell.  There were some improvement but the peer pressure that kept him involved in the gang was a huge roadblock.  Then at one of YMC’s yearly boy’s initiations on the Big Bear Mountains, part of the Fo Block gang came up with various weapons and were gang banging on the other youth.  Because of Tony and YMC’s deep, powerful and transformation work that they do at this 4-day youth initiation which supplements the mentoring work that they do on a daily basis with their youth, the gang ended on the mountain that weekend.   There was much follow up work to do when they came back to LA so these youth could keep their promise to each other and their community but with YMC’s help, Lamar and the other members of “fo block” did just that. 

Now Lamar became a deeper part of YMC’s community and started really getting into the mentoring.  He did better in school, yet still had a lot of catching up to do.  He felt really proud of himself because he was making it although it was challenging.  The day came when he was finally graduating from High School.  His family was so proud.  They had even bought him a new suit to wear.  Then a couple of days before the ceremony, he was informed by the school that he would not be walking the stage with the rest of his classmates.  He had not passed the California High School Exit Exam and they did not get the results for him to retake until now.  Lamar was devastated because he had worked so hard. 

When Lamar told YMC about his situation, they decided to create a graduation ceremony for him because they wanted to honor how hard he had worked.  They had seen his commitment, his transformation and were proud of him.  So they told Lamar of their plans.  They asked him to choose a restaurant that he and his family would like to go to after the YMC graduation ceremony for him.  He picked Cheese Cake Factory at the Grove.  So on that day, they headed to the restaurant only expecting his immediate family.  However, when they got there, not only had his family turned out, but at least 20 people from his community showed up as well.  For them, Lamar represented a young man who had made it.  He was an example to those people of what was possible – a symbol of hope in a community where most don’t make it. 


YMC ended the evening with their traditional “Gift Circle” where each person expressed the gift they saw in Lamar as his family watched with tears of pride in their eyes.  To this day, Lamar said that this was the best night of his life.  He later took the California HS Exit Exam, passed and went on to East LA College for 2 years where he played football.  Lamar has stayed a part of the YMC mentoring community, helping mentor other youth and become Coach Banks for a local youth football team.  Just this year, he got accepted and transferred to the University of Hawaii where he is studying Kinesiology and plans to be an Athletic Performance Trainer.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Tip for Mentors: Help Someone Heal. Reach Out to Cure the Holiday Blues



We’ve been hearing from some of our mentors and mentees about the different issues that young people experience during the holidays when they see everyone else seemingly happy and in the holiday spirit while they’re experiencing negative emotions with their family or home situation. 
So, though you just heard from us, we thought this would be helpful!

Reach Out to Cure the Holiday Blues
During the holidays we tend to get busy and spend less time with our mentees as our focus turns to our immediate families and our holiday preparation and trips.  This, however, is also a time when many of our mentees feel a sense of longing for the kinds of family love that they see portrayed in the media but may not be getting at home.  Children often are reminded of the losses they have experienced and the difference between their life and Ozzy and Harriet type fantasies. 
“Holiday blues" range from mild sadness during the holidays to severe depression.  Real medicine for holiday blues is knowing that someone cares about you.  If you’re feeling holiday blues, you can give yourself some healing by reaching out to your mentee.  Even if they don’t respond the way you want, you can know that you did something
So, please try to stay in contact with your mentee during the time between now and the New Year. 
o   A simple phone call from their mentor is a big statement that someone cares. 
o   Doing something special with your mentee is even more powerful when you are able to make the time. 
o   Don’t forget to send your mentee a Holiday card. 
o   If you go somewhere special during the holidays, perhaps you can send a postcard to your mentee.
o   A caveat: Try to resist the temptation of giving expensive gifts to your mentee.

 Finally, all of us at Youth Mentoring Connection are privileged during the holidays to witness thousands of caring relationships.  You can’t beat that for holiday warmth and cheer.



Thursday, November 21, 2013

Connecting Mentors and Mentees through “Connecting Cultures”

It’s striking how much we discover our similarities by examining our differences. This past Tuesday, students from LeConte middle school not only found out their Paramount mentor matches, but they got a unique opportunity to get to know each other with help from our friends at Connecting Cultures.  Our two groups learned about their own heritage, as well as the cultures of others, through artifacts and art pieces from around the world in a beautiful mobile museum display. But let’s be honest, the best part about exploring our cultures is the food! All of our participants were also able to grind their own spice blends to be taken home and used in a recipe of their choice from various regions of the globe. It was a chance to learn, share, explore and connect. All of us at YMC, LeConte Middle School and Paramount would like to thank Connecting Cultures for this exciting experience. Check out more of what they do at http://www.connectingcultures.us/

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Giving Thanks

This week at BEATS, our mentee/mentor matches got together for a Thanksgiving party where each group sat down and came up with a menu, guest list, activities, and a list of people not invited to their ultimate fantasy holiday dinner. Our groups really got into the project. They were able to invite anybody (past or present) so we had guest appearances from the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson, to funny guy Kevin Heart. Meanwhile the food was being prepared by Chief Ramsey in the kitchen. We had lots of fun activities for all ages- some guests watched old movies, played guitar hero, and some talked amongst themselves while others took a nap before the big meal. But not the basketball fans- they couldn't miss all the fun happening outside where Michael Jordan was holding a dunking contest. During the group presentations, the room was full of laughter and everyone had so much to be thankful for.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

True Colors at Paramount 11/5/13

During our True Colors session at the Paramount High School Mentoring program, mentors and mentees had the opportunity to learn more about their respective match through an activity called True Colors. Everyone was able to see who the spontaneous, compassionate, analytical and responsible individuals were. Mentors and mentees were then grouped by similar affiliations and were able to discuss their strengths, joys and values. This was a great and interactive way that the newly formed community was able to get to know each other!!!

WB: The time has finally arrived!

After weeks of anticipation, the time is finally here! It is with great pleasure to announce the WB mentor-mentee matches of 2013-2014. While engaging in a fun activity called “Human Bingo”, today was filled with so much enthusiasm and happiness. As matches were revealed, everyone’s high spirits showed that this is only the beginning of what is yet to come!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

True Colors

Normally putting "Thinkers" and "Doers" in the same room is never a good idea, but today at HBO we couldn't have had a better group dynamic. Even the "People Person" who's normally at war with the impatience "Organizer" found space to be caring and compassionate without negating. Somehow, the YMC staff manage to get through session in a timely fashion with no black eyes, no broken bones,and no arguing!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

BINGO!!

How many of you remember playing BINGO in school, your teacher calling out the numbers, and you sitting on the edge of your seat because you almost have five in a row? Remember how much fun and competitive it was? Those were the good old days. Now imagine playing BINGO in an interactive way -getting up, walking around, and trying to fill in the blank spots with names of people in the room, matching them with an interesting fact no one would have guessed. And the prize is finding out who your mentee/mentor matches are for the next nine months! This game was so much fun for both mentors and mentees. I saw a mentor dancing and singing, “ BINGO, bingo, bingo!” Other than seeing them discover who their matches were, that was the highlight of the day. That, and knowing everyone was enjoying themselves.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

WB: Have we met?

What another amusing and thrilling day with our WB mentors and mentees! From engaging in a little “back-to-back” activity to a small group discussion, the excitement does not end with this crowd. As some approach their final days as being “mentor-less” or “mentee-less”, we can only imagine the anticipation for this day to arrive. Please be prepared for more enjoyment to come with our WB mentoring program!

Friday, October 25, 2013

BEATS 2013 Meet and Greet

YMC would like to introduce BEATS as one of our new programs we’re working with this year. The staff at Beats, as well as the amazing students from the Youth Justice Coalition/Free LA High School and Los Angeles Trade Tech College Prep, had lots of fun. They shared a few laughs together and played a few get-to-know-you games with each other. We had so much fun at the meet and greet, you wouldn't have guessed we had just meet each other. This is going to be a great year-Yay!

Nothing Like Some Good Ol' Human Bingo...

The wait is over! After strategic torture and long hours spent at Informational Sessions, Training's, and a Meet & Greet, mentees have met their match. Youth Mentoring Connection is proud to present HBO's 2013-2014 mentoring program!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Paramount / Helen Bernstein Matches Revealed!

"Yes!" was the resounding response to the YMC staff question, "Are you happy with your mentor matches?" This Tuesday, all of our mentors from Paramount and mentees from Helen Bernstein High School and STEM Academy of Hollywood met to find out what the new pairings would be. After a large game of Human Bingo, where everyone scrambled to identify who corresponded with which fun fact, the mentor/mentee match-ups were revealed. We're very excited about the record-breaking 33 matches we've made this year... Off we go!

Paramount LeConte Meet and Greet 10-15-13

This year at our LeConte middle school mentoring program, the mentors from Paramount got their first opportunity to meet the new and returning mentees. The session began with a giant get-to-know you game with almost 60 participants quickly matching up with those sharing a common characteristic. We then split into two groups where mentors and mentees rotated around asking each other more in-depth questions, getting to know everyone on a deeper level. We were excited to see so many returning faces and welcome those who are new for what will surely be an exciting year!

Viacom Matching Session

Our Viacom program started this year with a bang! Mentees and mentors found out who they were matched with by playing an interactive and fun game of “Human Bingo.” We had asked our mentors and mentees to provide us with fun facts about themselves, and now they had to match the funny fact with the correct individual. Mentors and mentees had a blast as they tried to figure out who fit the correct bingo description. The most interesting one was from our mentee Domingo, who shared that he had been raised by a wild pack of chinchillas that he then had to eat in order to survive. As we closed the session, matches shared funny and embarrassing stories about each other. Stay tuned to see our next crazy session !!!!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

CHLA: It's so hard to say GOODBYE!

While most of YMC's programs are starting up, our CHLA Hollywood program came to a closure. I can attest that this was a bitter-sweet day. As mentors and mentees reflected and expressed their experience, it became apparent that we all were in the “right place at the right time”. It was an honor to witness mentors role-modeling healthy closure for our youth... Which is one of the greatest gifts money cannot buy! Although many mentees did not express their gratitude verbally in front of the whole group, most of us heard an occasional “thank you”. My hope is that every mentor is aware of their impact not only on the mentees, but on this program. We thank each and every mentor for their patience and commitment to this program. Hope to see most (if not all) of you in the winter of 2014... Live, Love, & Laugh!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

WB: 13 years and counting...

Yesterday’s session was another amazing and awe-inspiring day … what a great start for Fall 2013 with our WB Mentors and Mentees! As usual we kicked off WB with what we like to call a "Meet & Greet” activity for the thirteenth time, yes you heard correctly… thirteenth time!  Nevertheless, after having a partnership with WB for 13 years it felt innovative all over again. “Returners” were reunited and “Newbies” were introduced to one another. This activity was so great it has to be done again!Stay tuned for more excitement to come!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

HBO's 2013 - 2014 Meet & Greet

Showing up to HBO with new mentees last week was nothing less than fun! Ooh's, Aah's and occasional Wow's filled the elevator... Mentees couldn't fathom that they could potentially walk past actors, producers, or musicians let alone met some cool HBO employees. Their excitement was through the roof even before they had a chance to set foot in the community room so I knew it was going to be a good day!

Friday, October 11, 2013

Viacom Meet & Greet 2013-2014

This past Wednesday was the start of our Viacom mentoring program. We gathered our youth, mentors, and YMC staff at the Bergamot Station Café in Santa Monica. New mentors and mentees had a chance to bond by participating in various activities, while returning mentors and mentees spent some quality time catching up. It was exciting to see everyone have fun and get along. We are looking forward to future sessions and the development of our new community.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Jamaica say you will...mentor!

Delegation from Jamaica visits YMC to learn about our unique approach!
The International Visitors Council of Los Angeles International Visitor Leadership Program of professional and cultural exchanges contacted us about a select group of educators from Jamaica who wanted to visit to learn about our approach to mentoring and youth transformation.

When we asked why they chose Youth Mentoring Connection, they replied that people at the State Dept. told them about our most innovative approach They were impressed with our soulful processes and results: graduation rates, success reducing gang involvement, mentor support and mentor testimonials about how the experience changed their life as well as their mentee. 

So that makes two groups from China, one from Peru, several from around the US and now Jamaica that have studied our methodology!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Slang Pictionary at CHLA Hollywood

What better way to spend an afternoon than hanging out with our CHLA Hollywood family? Starting matches off with a generational exchange activity where both mentor and mentee share their own middle school experiences, gave each individual some insight as to how similar but different each experience can be... Later, matches were grouped together to form three teams for the ultimate challenge, "Slang Pictionary." Phrases like "Bieber Fever" and "Flower Child" were nothing less that comical relief for the entire group when having to illustrate them.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Mentee Information & Training Session

Walking into a room full of students after-school on a Friday is something I definitely didn't expect... Seeing smiles on those faces inside the room seemed to be preposterous! Thanks to our wonderful liaison Mr. Dean, we were able to host a Mentee Training and Information Session last week at Los Angeles Trade Technical College with students from the Early College Academy!

Friday, September 6, 2013

UOFA Screening on Aug. 24th, 2013

This screening was another opportunity for our mentees, mentors and supportive community to enjoy the films our youth had made this year at the Urban Oasis Film Academy. Those who attended had an opportunity to watch the films and get to know the stories behind the filmmakers and their different motivations to make these films. The audience also heard how the film-making process positively impacted their lives! Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Truth or Dare, The CHLA Hollywod Way

Who knew "Truth or Dare" could be so fun? Last week at our Children Hospital Los Angeles Hollywood mentoring session, mentees and mentors filled the room with joy and randomness. Nonstop laughter and an occasional "I dare you" echoed the space for hours and I must admit, it was quite therapeutic!

Friday, June 21, 2013

CHLA Hollywood - "Meet & Greet"

This past week, we launched our CHLA Hollywood summer mentoring program... and it was a blast! Middle schoolers primarily from LeConte Middle School received an opportunity to get their "bowl on" and meet some cool adults at the same time. We call this our "Meet & Greet" session. "It's always exciting to observe mentees and mentors meet for the first time." Please be sure to stay tuned monthly as we share more updates regarding this program throughout the summer!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

WB Closure session

After 11 years of partnering with Warner Bros., this past Tuesday we closed out another year of mentoring. Although we are anticipating to start again in the Fall, there is no way to describe how great these past eight months were. Some of our mentees will be going off to college, some will return to the program, and some will venture off to join the workforce. Regardless, of what path these mentees take, they will always have a friend to count on .... their MENTOR! We will like to thank WB and the wonderful mentors who make this all possible... see you in September!

HBO's YEAR END CLOSURE

After nine months of a cycle of emotions where mentors and mentees were able to come together, write poetry, plan ahead for each others futures, and of course have tons of fun, it's sad to say that it all has to come to an end... Fortunately with the help of the dedicated staff at Youth Mentoring Connection and the wonderful folks at HBO, last Thursday our mentees and mentors were able to experience healthy closure where they both had a chance to share any last expressions and plan those next steps in life! We'd also like to take this chance to recognize one of our greatest champions, Ms. Cristi Catlin. Over the last sixteen years your love and support has allowed us to server hundreds of youth and change thousands of lives, THANK YOU!!!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Paramount Closure



Last mentoring session for 2012-2013 program year at Paramount.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

WB : How you like me now?

Who doesn't love a friendly game of competition? Well, today our WB mentor and mentees had the opportunity to play a little game we like to call "How you like me now?" We created the game so that mentors and mentees could see "how well they know each other". It was fun to witness people become shocked at times after each answer was revealed because their response was different from their mentor or mentee.This just goes to show you, "you learn something new everyday!" I believe everyone had a great time at this session, I know I did! :)

Monday, May 6, 2013

UOFA 2013 Last Session

This year, our Urban Oasis Film Academy participants were able to create and produce 6 films that will be entered in the Bresee's Film Festival! This is a culmination of weekly sessions since the beginning of the year and it was through the diverse, collective efforts that these films became a reality. We would like to thank our mentees, volunteers, staff and partners for making this year's Urban Oasis Film Academy a success!

Viacom's Slang Pictionary

In our recent session with Viacom, mentees and mentors participated in Slang Pictionary! We started off with a generation exchange where our matches had the opportunity to share their experiences in high school- trends, music, politics, culture and anything in between. Then we transitioned to our slang pictionary where mentees and mentors had to draw slang, or informal terms that are currently being used or were used. It was a great session that allowed our matches to learn the different terms they use or used growing up and the different experiences associated with them!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Paramount Poetry

Its always an honor to have the prensence of Street Poets at our Poetry Session at Paramount.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Giovanni & Tim's YMC Story

"Only the guidance from a mentor could make a fifty pound weight lost goal turn into a result of losing one hundred and twenty pounds in just a two year period. The gratitude that I have for my mentor Tim Windgard continues to exceed new heights as I continue to relies how much he has truly change my life. This Malibu local saw me, a twelve year old, two hundred and eighty pound African American male growing up in south central that had no academic motivation for education, no self-esteem because of obesity. This individual had no desire to be different than the troubling drop out students, gang bangers and poor role models that were all to familiar. My mentor Tim saw this young individual and told himself that he needs to contact Youth Mentoring Connection so he can invest time into this young man’s life because he’s going to be successful some day.
Some might say such events as losing as much as one hundred and twenty pounds, becoming a great African American surfer and turning my whole general perspective on school around is much to have accomplished before and during high school. I say it’s just the beginning. The beginning of a developing mentality to not just be the best, but set the bar with my own personal best. A personal, persistent mentality in hunger of new opportunities to challenge myself and improve. This mentality continues to develop because I still haven’t reached the pinnacles I plan to reach. This lead me to be on the search for the door to the new opportunity that will mold me into a better, brighter and more persistent young scholar.

In Youth Mentoring Connection giving me a mentor or what I see him as, the father figure I never had, he paved the we for today and myself successfully finishing my freshmen year of college with a 3.3 GPA. I plan to continue my education at Loyola Marymount University and majoring in business administration, political science, and minoring in environmental justice. I will continue doing various internships and jobs that are guided toward my major during undergraduate. Following that, I plan to continue my education in graduate school at Stanford University and at the same time start generating profit for the company I am in the process of starting with a Stanford Graduate Chemist and few students from UCLA. We are developing a water conservation company that will innovate the waste management industry. After that, I will run for Speaker of the Assembly for the State of California. Then I will run for Governor of California. Following that I will run for President of the United States. After that I plan on opening up a non-profit that reflects the same core values as Youth Mentoring Connection. I want to continue YMC’s mission to help connect more individuals to invest their valuable time into young inner city kids most say will be nothing in life. Similar to what most people said about me at a first glance. YMC connected me with my mentor and proved the nay sayers wrong. I want to help save lives just as YMC did with mine.

In the summer of 2011 the Metlife Foundation and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging(N4A) flew my mentor Tim and I out to Washington, DC for a Older Volunteers Enrich America Awards reception were Tim’s received a national honor. He received the Silver Honor for the national Mentoring Award. Part of the event article reads, “Tim Wingard, 69, has been a volunteer at the Youth Mentoring Connection (YMC) for seven years.YMC awakens at-risk youth to their power, unique gifts and purpose by matching them with caring adult mentors. Tim, who still surfs, volunteers his time for the surf program and brought his mentee, Giovanni (Gio), surfing on weekends. At 13, Gio weighed 285 pounds and was struggling in most areas of his life in South Central L.A. Tim taught Gio how to eat healthfully, to surf and to be a proud, responsible man. As a result of Tim’s mentoring, Gio lost 120 pounds. Gio is now president of his high school’s debate team, an honor student, surfer and basketball player who has been accepted to several universities. Tim and Gio remain extremely close five years after first meeting.” Youth Mentoring Connection first changes lives of the mentee, then changes lives through the relationship with the mentor and the end result is that YMC enriches both lives."





Write the past, create the Future @ WB

At our WB session yesterday, mentors and mentees were able to write their past and create their future. For most of us, this is not easy to do. However, when you have support from a great community like WB anything is possible. If poetry did not exist... we wouldnt be YMC!

Friday, April 5, 2013

LeConte Middle School/ Paramount Studios; Reach for your Dreams



YMC/Paramount Studios, LeConte Middle School mentoring program tuesday's session; Reach for your Dreams.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

CHLA session


Northeast Children Hospital Los Angeles program is in their beginning stages of their mentoring journey. They participated in a couple of getting to know you activities before they are match.

BLOOM visits WB Studios

BLOOM, a California Community Foundation Initiative focusing on African American youth between the ages of 14-17 who have been system involved and matching them with African American professional men as mentors, visit's Warner Bros. studios for a panel discussion and a tour.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Poetry With Street Poets

What better way to begin a wonderful spring session with some warm words from our friends at Street Poets? Together mentees and mentors were able to shed some light onto their wounds by writing and reciting some good ole poetry at HBO!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Path of Your Life!

In out last Viacom Mentoring session, our mentor and mentee matches participated in "Path of Your life" where they were able to reflect on their life path and where they want to see themselves in the future. It was a great opportunity for our matches to learn about each other and to see the challenges and successes they have experienced in their life so far!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Path of your Life!

So, we could not allow our HBO family to have all of the fun! Therefore, this past Tuesday WB mentors & mentees received the opportunity to create the "path of their life" as well. As mentioned in our previous blog, this activity allowed mentors & mentees to reflect on their life and the past to prepare for a brighter future! We could not ask for a better way of doing this.

Friday, February 22, 2013

FINDING YOUR PATH

- Yesterday Mentees & Mentors at H.B.O were able to reflect on their life and plan ahead for a brighter future... At our "Finding Your Path" session matches had an opportunity to think about the necessary steps towards achieving success and together illustrated their road to greatness!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

We are Family!

Mentees from our Viacom mentoring program invited their families to "meet the mentor!" This small event we like to call "Family Night". Which was held at Jefferson High School located in South Central. Our wonderful Gonzalez Catering company provided delicious tacos for everyone to munch on. I believe most people will agree that it's exciting to have gatherings especially when there's family, fun, and of course food!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Today, Los Angeles; Tomorrow, The World!

When China and Peru want to do mentoring where do they turn for help?  Youth Mentoring Connection of course!

When Alberto, Teach for America teacher from Peru visited California this month he was looking for the most effective approach to mentoring that he could replicate in his country.  His search led him to Tony LoRe and Youth Mentoring Connection.  Reminds us of another Feb visit, when we hosted a delegation of 35 high ranking dignitaries from Macau, China.  When asked why they chose Youth Mentoring Connection (YMC), they replied that their research pointed to YMC as being the most innovative approach.  They were impressed with our graduation rates, success reducing gang involvement, mentor support and mentor testimonials about how the experience changed their life as well as their mentee. Tony, George Shohet (YMC Board Chair) and selected mentors Michael & Dani Carter and mentees Sergio, Imelda and Giovanni spent a day training the entire Chinese delegation in our mentoring process.
Watch for Youth Mentoring Connection's model to spread throughout the U.S. and the world!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Rhino Family Night

Last night at our Rhino Mentoring Program family night our mentees families got the opportunity to participate in our back to back activity.

Friday, February 8, 2013

UOFA Session 3: Storyboarding and Character Development

This week during our Urban Oasis Film Academy, our mentees continued to develop their characters, roles and storyboarding. Pictured above is the team "Youth With Attitude" who will be working on a musical mockumentary where they demonstrate the idea that music does not always have to be serious.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

WB's Haiku session

This past Tuesday, WB Mentors & Mentees had the opportunity to use their "poetic side" by creating a Haiku. (Which is a poetic form that originated in Japan and is written in three lines of 5-7-5 syllables.) The session ended with a Haiku Slam, and to say the least it was a great way to begin our first group session in 2013. Here's a peek at one that was created: cold windy night alive - shivered as I walk home alone - thinking about my life

Monday, January 28, 2013

Looking back moving forward mentors and mentees were able to plan for their futures together... Knowing that we (mentor & mentee) both have hurt and helped others, we make the conscious decision to wash away our sins and wash in our blessings together!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Urban Oasis Film Academy 2013 Meet and Greet



This was our first session of UOFA 2013 (Urban Oasis Film Academy) where mentees got together and participated in our meet and greet at YMC. There were twenty-six energized young people, some returning, some stepping in for the first time, all bursting with creativity!