The Super Fuel That Powers This Frantic Vehicle:

The best way to find yourself,

 is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Ghandi

At this time of year Youth Mentoring Connection is on fire with activity. Our event “An Evening Under the Stars” is this week, then the massive undertaking of bringing 100 young people up to the Big Bear Mountains next week for some deep soul work in our Mentee Initiation Retreat. While preparing for these events we are starting a dozen programs, each with about 40-50 people. We will create about 75 sessions at our various programs in just the next two months. Each one is a major event in and of itself that in the past would take us weeks to plan and prepare. Now we do them as a matter of course. While doing all of this we will train and support hundreds of mentors and council scores of youth, help them find jobs and housing, navigate the pitfalls of young relationships, heal from minor and major traumas and deal with the problems of living in some of the most dangerous geography on the planet.

The super fuel that runs this frantic vehicle is generosity:

The generosity of the mentor who shows up in a kids life even though his or her life may be uncertain in these difficult times. There are hundreds of you active right now with us, from all walks of life.

The generosity of staff members whose hearts will propel them to give more of themselves than anyone has a right to ask…who will generously answer the call of a young person in need, even after a 12 hour day.

The generosity of our friends who fight for our programs at their corporations, keeping us running even when there are economic downturns in their business cycles: HBO, Warner Bros., Paramount, Rhino, Shout Factory, MTV, BET, Comedy Central.

The generosity of volunteers who show up with full giving hearts at our office and populate our Leadership Board and Board of Directors – who teach our kids to surf, make films, write poetry, do math, etc. The rock star giving a private concert to raise money and awareness, the movie and TV stars offering their talents (and money).

The generosity of certain constant Angels who lift me up when I need support (thank you Susan, Linda, Julianna and the too many others to mention).

Generous friends and family who dip into their pockets to help us with badly needed funds and who dip into their hearts to give us encouragement to keep going.

And the truth is that all of these people while giving from their hearts are healing their souls. When they lift a young person up they lift themselves up – they lift all of us up. They remind everyone of our common humanity and that we were born with our individual gifts not to make a profit, but rather to make a difference. Or in the words of Sir Winston Churchill:

“We get to make a living; we give to make a life.”

I live in gratitude that I am surrounded by such richness,

Tony

Founder & CEO

Youth Mentoring Connection/Urban Oasis

Founder, Boarding House Mentors

Friday's Follow-Up

Waiting for Superman: Waiting for America to become America for all children
Read Tony's blog about the film "Waiting for Superman" and the American education system.

Tuesday with Mentor and Mentee: Jen & Guadalupe
Guadalupe thanks her mentor for reminding her that everyone's voice matters and being a positive influence in her life.

Surfing 9/26/10
Check out the pictures from our last surfing session for the year! It was a great day to be at the beach and to appreciate the community that had been built throughout the summer!

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!

Agueda

Surfing 9/26

We had our last session this past Sunday. It started out with the initiation of a few visitors and we change it up a bit with a relay race. Mentees were catching waves and cooling off a bit from the heat. It was good end to the session!

Tuesday with Mentor and Mentee- Jen & Guadalupe

"I would like to thank you for being there for me and listening to me. Also, thank you Jen for taking time out to spend with me and my sisters and meeting my family. I appreciate the times you called me to make sure I was alright. You also encouraged me to keep moving forward. I have learned that people’s voices are important and everyone has the right to be heard. Everyone’s voice matters!"

-Guadalupe

Waiting For Superman: Waiting for America to become America for all children

In the tug-o-war between left and right, between union and management, between ideologues of different stripes all too often children become the rope. They become the rhetorical tool that people on either side of an argument use to argue their position. So you end up with a system that places accountability measures on schools, teachers and children while at the same time severely limiting their resources. The state of education in the State of California has been steadily declining since the passage of Prop 13 to the point that a system that once was the envy of the world is now a dysfunctional and horribly inequitable mess which has a racially skewed result. To be clear I’m not blaming Prop 13 for our educational problems, but rather an electorate that is more willing to fight for the interests of property owners than for the rights of all children for an equal education.

This should be no surprise as it simply follows the trends of this country. The rich get richer and the poor compete for what little resources are left. The well-to-do can afford expensive private schools ensuring that their progeny can take over their positions of power and influence. The balance of the population are relegated to a position of living off of the table scraps of the wealthy…and then are blamed for not being able to accomplish the near impossible. Our schools may be letting our kids down, but our society is letting our schools down. Children are not safe to walk to a school where they will not have the resources to learn effectively, taught by teachers who have to manage classrooms of 30-40 kids that enter at tremendously disparate levels of comprehension. This is partially the legacy of “No Child Left Behind”. It has left millions of children behind because it was an empty slogan so representative of our willingness in this country to get behind ideology but not worry about its repercussions on real human beings.

Enter the new documentary: "Waiting for Superman” to put a human face on this problem. Rhetoric and statistics disappear into the background when one witnesses the real human tragedy of a parent sitting in a hall watching for a lottery ball to drop in order to know if their kid will go to a school that will prepare her for college or one that will warehouse him for the streets and possible incarceration.

This exceptional piece of filmmaking has already created a tremendous amount of controversy and it only opened this past weekend. There will be much debate over teachers and unions and public schools vs. charter schools, and who is to blame. Entrenched interests will rush to defend their positions. The movie will no doubt be criticized for not offering enough comprehensive solutions, but is that the role of a documentary movie? We have to be careful that we don’t let a 90 minute film define the terms of the discussion. Let’s just let it do what it is intended to do: stimulate debate and inflame our desires to offer a better future for all children. The film does show us what is possible. It is up to us to all to stop “waiting for Superman” and engage in one of the most important debates of our lifetime. We need to get angry at what we see on the screen and then make that anger productive.

In an ironic twist, Superwoman Oprah Winfrey takes up the cause of “Waiting for Superman” and features Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg flying in like Superman to drop 100 million dollars on the Newark school system. While we heap praise on both of these wonderful actions (and appreciation for the spotlight that this puts on the problem), it is easy to lose sight of the millions of children who don’t get to go to the few schools who will benefit from these actions. It is a scary proposition that the well-being of the vast majority of the population is once again dependent upon handouts from the wealthy.  Every one of us needs to ask what we can do. Volunteer at a public school. Become a tutor. Better yet, become a mentor. Engage in the debate. Advocate for a more level playing field. Become active.

As mentors we realize how much power there is in simply paying attention to youth. So, when the youth of America see that we are debating and arguing over their future, even if we disagree, they may get a message that they do count after all. But if nothing comes of it, or if they see that we are cynically using them once again as the rope in our tug-o-wars about taxes and privilege and position, they will lose hope and we slip further into a culture of fear that continues to promote the interest of the few at the expense of the children of our future.

sincerely,

Tony

Tony LoRe
CEO/Founder Youth Mentoring Connection
Founder Boarding House Mentors

Americans Prefer Sweden

Building a Better America- One Wealth Quintile at a Time

The results of recent study, conducted by Dan Ariely of Duke University and Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School, show that Americans would prefer to live in a country where there is more equality in the wealth distribution. Interestingly enough, these same participants under estimated the level of wealth inequality that presently exists in the United States.
Currently, it is estimated that the top 1% of Americans hold 50% of the countries wealth. In the study, participants said that they felt that the top 20% of the population controls 59% of the wealth, while in actuality, that number is more like 84%.

While equal distribution across the board was not preferred by the wealthiest or the poorest, it is still very crucial to point out that Americans are not too aware of the severe wealth distributions that exist in this country. Nevertheless, regardless of political inclinations, wealth, or gender, overall, participants desired a more equal wealth distribution. The example of the wealth distribution that was more commonly preferred in the survey reflected the wealth distribution of Sweden.

The voices of the American people must be taken into consideration by those in power. In theory, this government was designed to be “of the people, by the people, for the people,” then it is crucial that such results be incorporated into the way people are taxed, funding is distributed, and the overall “management” of this country.

It is difficult to understand and more so, accept how the inequality in wealth distribution in this country is as bad as it was in the 1920s right before the Great Depression. It is difficult not to focus on why things are the way they are, but with that said, it is also very important to empower individuals to access and use their agency. People must become aware and knowledgeable of such issues in order to expect any change.

Agueda

Tuesday with Mentor and Mentee- Shane & Steve

"I would like to thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to hang out with me. I would also like to thank you for talking with me. I knew you cared because you always talked to me and listened to what I had to say. In this program I learned to be responsible".

-Steve

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. MLK

Support the DREAM Act.

The defense authorization bill which includes the DREAM Act (and repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell") is scheduled for a vote tomorrow. 

Please join President Obama, Colin Powell, the LA Times, and thousands of other conscientious Americans and use your voice to offer support. 

Phone and e-mail your representatives in congress to tell them that you support these two amendments.  If this goes through much human suffering will be alleviated.  This is not political.  This is human! 

contact your senator
contact your house rep

Be a part of the solution.

Our lives begin to end the day
we become silent about things that matter.  
Martin Luther King Jr.

Respectfully,

Tony

Tony LoRe
CEO/Founder, Youth Mentoring Connection/Urban Oasis
Founder, Boarding House Mentors