HBO Introductions 11.11.10

WB Matching Introductions 11.9.10

During this WB session each match got a chance to get to know each other better. Each match had to introduce each other and three things they learned to the rest of the group.

Tuesday with Mentor and Mentee- Monk & Luis

“Monk, well what can I say? There were only a few times we got together, but those times were the best. You are and always will be a close friend to me. Thanks for always being there for me. I will always be thankful for all your help and I will always keep in touch; let’s keep our friendship going and make it grow even bigger. I hope you also stay in touch.”

– Luis

CHLA Juniors I - Meet and Greet

Mentors and Mentees met for the first time for our Childrens Hospital Juniors I cohort.

Thanksgiving Message: Gratitude is the heart’s memory

What My Heart Remembers

A suicidal boy choosing life and all that it can bring 
A young man stepping off the street and into the ring
The proud and wounded girl finding her light in strife
The man-boy banger choosing peace and giving up his knife
Six boys in a circle of 20 sharing how the banger saved their lives
An angel seeing who I am and agreeing to be my wife

She sat meditatively, sipping tea alone at the coffee bar
As I counseled the hurt and fearful girl from the phone inside my car
Our second date, I had shown up late and now this – not doing well so far
So I said I’m sorry and she replied. “Don’t apologize for who you are.”

Wounded men and wounded boys standing in our fears
Stripping down defensiveness so our souls can push out tears
Feeling buoyed by brotherly love when I feel my brother’s near
A sister’s pledge by oleander trees remembered after all these years

The knucklehead who claimed his gift and stood to end a gang
A hundred candles held up high as to the earth we sang
The young lady taking a chance on life to give my heart a tug
Folding back her hair to reveal the scar from papa's coffee mug
The young man sharing inner pain, the one they called a thug
The homie crossing a circle of men to risk a soulful hug

He held up a mirror to his pal risking the violence held inside
To see if finally the wounded pal could overcome hair-trigger pride
The elegance of men and boys who subdued the rage that would not hide
Fierce love met tears and rage from years of pain that would not die
Understanding grew because of hearts that knew stakes were way too high
We shared two broken hearts that day and sat locked eye to eye
The fatal gaze of gangster days and all the friends that lied
Gave way for a moment when love stepped in and rage was pushed aside

My heart holds so many more memories than I have rhymes:
The man who agreed to mentor me,
another who called me to this way of life
Friends, family and lovers who have helped shape me
My August (in both senses of the word) friends in Mendo
Enemies who showed me how strong I can be
The young people who call me "pops"
The men and women who stand next to me and offer their mentoring to youth
The young adults who give of themselves each day for such little pay so the youth and communities we serve can find some peace and healing
The Colombiana who bravely shares this path and my heart of service!

To you all, I offer a toast of Happy Thanksgiving from my heart’s memories.

Tony

Tony LoRe
CEO/Founder
Youth Mentoring Connection

What I care about today - A Mentor's Story

A couple of months ago, The Today Show on NBC was having an essay contest that caught my attention. "What do YOU care about today?" They were asking people to submit essays about non-profit organizations that are doing great things in your community. I was inspired and immediately sprung into action because there was a $100,000 prize for the winner's organization! Unfortunately YMC was not selected to win this prize, but I believe my essay speaks to the many "prizes" I have been given by YMC. I feel like a winner.

Last October, I was fortunate enough to attend a retreat in the mountains for the mentoring organization I have been volunteering with for over five years. This retreat takes place every year and serves not only as a symbolic “rite of passage” for our youth, but also is an opportunity for them to get away from their South Central Los Angeles neighborhoods. These are neighborhoods where funerals have become social events and gunshots are as commonplace as crickets chirping in most neighborhoods. Many of these teens have never been to the mountains or the ocean even though they live less than 10-12 miles away from both. The retreat takes place about two hours away, so it gives them an opportunity to really escape for an entire weekend.

I attended the retreat with my mentee of nearly five years, Brittani, who had been selected to be a “youth leader”. Brittani was 15 when I first met her and already had unimaginable life experiences, including homelessness. Over the past five years, I have watched her develop into a mature and determined woman, I am tremendously proud of.

During the retreat, one of our facilitated sessions involved poetry writing. As a part of the exercise, we were instructed to write a poem in a specific format. The exercise successfully initiated very important discussions and revelations from the mentees, the staff and the volunteers. Below is the poem I wrote about what I cared about that day:

I knew a girl who was confused, scared and losing her path
I knew a girl who didn’t like school or express goals and seemed to lack dreams
I knew a girl who went through hard times at a very young age
I know a woman who has overcome these hard times
I know a woman who will not give up on her goal to finish high school
I know a woman who has blown me away with her new self-confidence and inspiration
I am thankful to have this woman in my life and this woman is Brittani

This is what I care about everyday. My experience volunteering with this organization has changed my life and inspired me more than I could have ever imagined. Twice a month we meet for both one-on-one sessions and facilitated group sessions where a community is formed. It gives the youth an opportunity to learn what “community” means and how they can use their gifts to contribute. They develop relationships with multiple adults who can support them in their struggles, dreams and future goals. Youth Mentoring Connection serves the youth of South Central Los Angeles by providing mentoring programs that keep youth out of gangs and greatly improve their chances of graduating from high school. Graduation rates for this population average below 50% every year, but 95% of YMC mentees graduate from high school. 90% of these graduates enroll in college or trade school. I nominate Youth Mentoring Connection because YMC and everyone involved is what I care about today…..and everyday.

Tuesday with Mentor and Mentee- Daniela & Cinthia

"Hey! Thank you for all of the fun things we did together. I loved the Thai food we always ate. I loved going to the beach. I am so happy that you taught me how to make a pillow. I am so happy I was able to meet you and thank you for allowing my sister to come along so many times. I hope that everything goes well with your family and I hope I will see uou in Feb. so we can hang out more".

-Love, Cinthia

Thanksgiving - Gratitude for Corn, the cause of immigration problems

The Pilgrims were the first uninvited immigrants to the United States. Ironically, they were poor and starving, having exhausted the food supply brought with them.  The natural citizens of this land, the Wampanoag tribe witnessed their plight. What the Wampanoag didn't do was worry that there wasn't enough for everyone. They didn’t adopt immigration policies or exalt the settlers to go back to where they came from.  Instead they observed the old human practices of welcoming and compassion. They taught the Pilgrims to fish the local waters and hunt native game and wild fowl, including the turkey, which they called "earth eagle".

So, in the fall of 1621 the Pilgrims adopted the native custom of holding a Harvest Festival, a three-day feast to celebrate the bounty of spring and summer. The festival took on a double meaning of gratitude as they not only thanked Mother Earth for the bounty, but the indigenous peoples for welcoming and teaching them.

That first Thanksgiving Dinner did not have cranberry jam, sweet potatoes or pumpkin pie. However it did most likely have corn - a grass domesticated by the Aztecs and Mayans of Mezoamerica that they called "maize".  It eventually made its way up to North America and the Wampanoag natives taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate maize along with beans and squash.

Now, in a cruel twist of fate U.S. agricultural policy has destroyed the Mexican corn sector by subsidizing American grown corn to the tune of over $10 billion a year. U.S. corn is then sold back into Mexico reversing 10,000 years of historic flow in the other direction. Poor Mexican farmers cannot compete against US producers. They and their workers are thrown further into poverty and desperately attempt to sneak across the borders to harvest our crops.

So, when these people attempt to cross back over into the lands they originally owned, instead of adopting the compassion that the Pilgrims enjoyed from the Wampanoag, we adopt a scarcity mentality fueled by the politics of fear. Fear that they are going to get what’s ours (which was originally theirs).

This Thanksgiving let’s replace fear with abundance. Let’s begin again to understand that our fate is intertwined with that of every other human on the planet. George Kent, author of Freedom from Want: The Human Right to Adequate Food argues that:

“Human rights do not end at national borders, and neither do the corresponding obligations... A child may have the misfortune of being born into a poor country, but that child is not born in a poor world. The world as a whole has the capacity to sharply reduce global hunger and malnutrition. It is obligated to do that.”

We knew this once. After WWII 85% of Americans, responding to a plea from President Hoover, agreed to the reinstatement of wartime rationing so that we could share our abundance with the rest of the world.

Americans are, by nature, an optimistic and compassionate people. If we could only learn to reject the divisive fear tactics that keep us subservient to wealthy interests we might begin again to believe in abundance, to understand that the world doesn’t have to be divided into winners and losers. Then we might someday be able to partake in a global celebration of Thanksgiving.

yours in gratitude,

Tony

CEO/Founder
Youth Mentoring Connection