Each One Reach One and Teach One: Effective Mentoring Isn’t Just Life-Changing for Kids

Date: Monday, January 29, 2007
By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com



Webster’s defines a mentor as “a wise, loyal adviser, a teacher or coach.”

For many people, a mentor is a lifesaver.

Judging from the span of mentoring efforts across the country -- for both young people and adults -- a proper and effective mentor is all of the above, in more ways than ever.

Dr. Jay Winsten, director of The Harvard Mentoring Project at the Harvard University School of Public Health, said the school’s mentoring program was born out of an effort to curb youth violence.

“In the mid-1990s, we were working on a youth violence and prevention project (called Squash It) with Russell Simmons, Coolio, Method Man and MTV to encourage youth to walk away from confrontation,” Winsten told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “In the feedback that we got at the time, the youth didn’t use the word mentor, but what they told us was they didn’t need to be told to walk away from confrontation, thank you very much, but they needed something positive to step up to as an alternative. They needed an adult outside their home they could talk to on a regular basis."

About the same time, Winsten said, Public/Private Ventures, an organization based in Philadelphia, conducted a landmark study that took 1,000 youth on the waiting list of Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America and divided them into two groups. One group received mentors, while the other group remained on the waiting list. When the groups were compared 18 months later, “the kids with mentors had lower incidences of drug and alcohol use, better school attendance and fewer discipline problems,” Winsten said.

Rather than address individual issues of substance abuse, truancy and discipline, the study revealed that mentoring “met all the issues by addressing the emotional needs of the child,” said Winsten, who also runs the Center for Health Communication at the School of Public Health.

Because of its earlier efforts, the school had a relationship with the media, from Hollywood to television, and decided to get celebrities to bring attention to the need for mentors.

Stars such as the late great Ray Charles, Maya Angelou and Quincy Jones have recorded television public service announcements to encourage viewers to consider becoming mentors. On its Web site, there are video clips in which the celebrities talk about the people who mentored and inspired them and “use the power of storytelling to make the point that none of us succeed by ourselves,” Winsten said.

Jones was selected as The Harvard Mentoring Project’s 2007 Mentor of the Year.

Winsten said the musician, composer, producer and arranger was selected because “we had worked closely with him since the Squash It campaign. He has been a mentor to people like Oprah and Will Smith and also was to people the public never heard of, like when he took a group of gangbangers to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela and to work with Habitat for Humanity. It changed their, lives and they came back and became leaders in their communities. He has served as a role model for other celebrities on how to use celebrity as a force for good,” Winsten said.

Winsten also pointed to Bain & Company, a management consultant company in Boston that adopted an urban school, and told the story of a protege who sometimes would stop on his way home from school to make an unscheduled visit at his mentor’s office.

“He said when he feels he is in danger of going off with his friends and getting in trouble, he goes to see his mentor,” who stops whatever he is doing, even coming out of a meeting, to spend five minutes or so with his protege to give him some immediate counsel. “It’s all it takes and it makes all the difference in the world,” Winsten said.

There is a wide range of mentors and mentoring programs available for those interested in getting or becoming a mentor.

The Rev. Wilson Goode, former mayor of Philadelphia, has launched a national program called Amachi to recruit churches to mentor children who have a parent who is incarcerated.

The NAACP, through its Afro-Academic Cultural Technological Scientific Olympics, brings adults and children together to help young people hone a skill or a talent that is showcased in a competition usually held at the organization’s national convention.

“The mentoring part serves to provide a practical application in a field that (young people) may pursue as a profession or that they may have an interest in,” said Anana Kambon, national executive director of ACT-SO.

The program works with local universities, advocacy and community groups, recreation centers and schools, Kambon said.

Participants select a project from the areas of science, the humanities, performing arts, visual arts and business and work with a mentor over a period of three to four months to develop and complete their projects. Then the sponsoring NAACP chapter or youth council hosts a competition with children from ACT-SO or those in the area who have a mastery of a particular category. The local winners then get to attend the national competition at the convention.

“We have reached 7,000 to 8,000 students nationally,” Kambon told BlackAmericaWeb.com. The winning alumni and adult mentors from past years will be invited to a special 30th anniversary ACT-SO program in July 2008 at the annual convention, which will be held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

The 100 Black Men of America has sponsored an array of mentoring initiatives since 1963, said National Program Manager Tracey Knight, who emphasized that it was an organization of black men focused on helping children.

“It’s African-American men actively demonstrating that black men do care about our children,” Knight told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “They want our children to have a level playing field through grassroots mentoring in schools in 106 communities, by creating an awareness of social issues and openly advocating for responsive and responsible legislation on the local, state and federal levels.”

The organization focuses on life skills, tutoring, ACT/SAT prep programs, school-to-work programs and entrepreneurial training, “making sure we train our children in the area of economic development,” Knight said.

A major project in the works, Knight said, is the Essence Cares campaign, a national initiative to recruit two million mentors for black children in at-risk environments or in vulnerable communities.

In addition, 100 Black Men have launched the Phoenix Program, a number of charter schools in Memphis, Tenn., Mobile, Ala., New York, Las Vegas and a program coming on board in Atlanta in fall 2007.

“We have two in Mobile, alternative schools for children who have been suspended,” Knight said. “They come to our school, which is a transition phase until they are reenrolled in school so that they don’t miss a beat. There’s also skills development and behavior modification.” The program is for middle and high school students.

The Memphis program is an academy for health sciences, and the New York Eagle Academy is an all-male charter school.

“Everything is executed at the local chapter,” Knight said.

For those interested in becoming a mentor, Knight said, visit the organization’s Web site, plug in your zip code, and get information about the nearest chapters or programs.

“Anybody can be a mentor,” Winsten said. “You need to like children. You need to be patient. You need to be a good listener. You’re not trying to lecture the child. You need to be consistent and reliable. Whatever time you promise, you have to be able to deliver.”

Winsten said it doesn’t necessarily require a major investment of time, but whatever time one does set aside, following through and being available to your protege consistently is key. “Too many of our kids have been disappointed and let down before,” he said.

Nina Grillo-Balthrop, a junior sociology major at the University of Delaware, said she has been involved in two formal mentoring programs and has had an informal mentor as well since her freshman year.

“I started in the mentoring program when I was the one being mentored in my freshman year,” Grillo-Balthrop said, referring to Each One Reach One program, which aims to improve retention and graduation rates for black students.

In her sophomore year, she told BlackAmericaWeb.com, she became a mentor for the program and also joined Campus Alliance de la Raza, which targets Latino students.

Currently, Grillo-Balthrop has three proteges, all sophomores. They meet to discuss their academic workloads, social issues and concerns about navigating university life.

Despite the formal arrangements, Grillo-Balthrop said “the people I would consider my mentors weren’t assigned to me. I ran to be on the executive board of the black student union and became good friends with the president and he became a mentor for me. He helped me with navigating the administration when issues arise, getting involved in social issues.”

She said the biggest benefit of mentoring is “you have someone who is invested in you and wants to see you do well. That’s especially important for us because we’re such a small community.” Black students make up about five percent of the student population of more than 16,000 at the university.

Additionally, she said, “it’s especially important to have some peers who are not your regular group of friends who can help you see things from a different perspective.”

Asked how she thinks she would have fared if she had not had mentoring, Grillo-Balthrop said, “I probably wouldn’t have pursued as many opportunities. I got a lot of encouragement from my mentors, whether it was applying for programs or just doing different things.”

It also helps with networking, she said.

The same BSU president who helped her navigate university politics also knew she had an interest in poetry and arranged for Grillo-Balthrop to meet poet Nikki Giovanni when she came to speak at the school.

She said her mentors also imbued her with “a sense of obligation to give back.”

“Mentoring holds the key to the future,” Quincy Jones said in an interview for “The Tom Joyner Morning Show.”

In addition to individual mentoring, Jones also has a program, Project Q, that supports mentoring and world peace efforts.

In the interview, Jones said he was influenced in his early teens by a number of great musicians, from Count Basie, to Lionel Hampton and his wife, Gladys, Clark Terry, and the late Ray Charles who, though only two years older than Jones, “was a hundred years older in wisdom.”

“It was just a continuous stream,” Jones said, as he ticked off the list of big names in music, publishing and film that helped him over the years. He said early mentoring pays off because “it just tells you whether you’re going right or left or three blocks instead of two.”

Mentors, he said, are key, along with being prepared for the opportunity. “It’s the preparation first. You hope for opportunities, you know? Opportunity and preparation is the stuff that good luck is made out of. When the opportunity knocks you have to be ready.”

Recognizing talent and nurturing it is what mentoring is all about, Jones said, when asked what he saw in such stars as Michael Jackson, Tevin Campbell, Tamia and Luther Ingram.

“That’s why you do it," he said. "Because you see that potential in the people.”

Good post! BTW: EbonyRose, thanks for your comment weeks ago on the other post. I meant to respond when I first saw it-somehow the thought slipped away. But I did vote for you sistagirl (smile). Cuz I really do think we're on the same page about a lot of things....plus I think we maybe from the same generation-which for me is a "good thang." Although we might not agree on all topics....[which is the way it should be!] I can just tell you are from the "old school" where black people had a mutual RESPECT and LOVE for each other regardless of the politics. That is long gone now...I just want to say even though that may be true....I appreciate your vibe...Soulsista Number One.

As a foot soldier for several years, I have found in this "new age" all we can do from this point on is keep it as real as we possibly can. The rest is out of our hands in terms of this newer "I know everything cuz you can see it and hear it from my bling" generation. IMO a lot of hot air! And it's soooo sad BUT they have to learn it like we did. Another thing I've observed from this newer generation of black folks is-they think if they call you "elder" or "old", (especially call this to a woman) it's an insult. On the contrary...it's a compliment because Africans along with other ancient cultures RESPECT those who have traveled life before them! That's golden and sacred! It is [the newer culture of] westerners who fear growing older-their clock tick faster than ours and so they try to get everthing in while they're young-which is obviously a big mistake cuz many of them suffer soooo much[physically and psychologically] as they race to STOP the clock as they approach mid life. Cuz it's a fact, Black don't crack. We age as gracefully as the brilliant stars that light up the midnight sky. So Soulsista Number One as James Brown [the mascot of the Black Power days] sings so poetically, "humph! with your bad self...say it loud...."

for your kind words, Ms. Koco!! Yes, I do believe we are on the same page ... even if we read the words a little different sometimes! And yes, I love my people, heart, body, mind and soul!! I may not always like some of them ... but that's another thread!


You know ... being (or becoming - I'm not really sure if I'm there yet!) an elder is something I look forward to more and more with every passing year!! You're dang right it's a compliment! And a blessing! Not everyone makes it this far!

There are two pleasures in watching the 'young-uns' think that we don't know what they know ... number one is the knowledge that one day their little light bulb will turn on and they will be shocked and amazed that we were reading them like the N.Y. Times the whole time!! And, two, is being able to realize that we were just like them at their age ... thinking we knew everything ... and now knowing that we do! That is the beauty of the wisdom that comes with age.

Our children are our future ... and, perhaps being overly optimistic, but I'm proud that there are so many of them that are heading in the right direction and I hope those will be the ones that are large and in charge when it comes time for me to be old and feeble! I mean, would you rather live in a world where Snoop Dog or Obama was in charge??

I think mentoring programs like the ones this article speaks about are outstanding ways to build our future leaders. I had an opportunity to join a mentoring program this semester for middle and high school students in my neighborhood, but I didn't think I had the time to devote to it. I'm going to re-think that choice. There has to be time in my schedule to make a difference.

So what happened with this ER??? Did you buckle down and do it?

I just recently got involved in a mentoring program. I volunteered a while back, but there were some set backs with the background checks so I have just been able to officially start. I would recommend it to anyone. You'd be surprised how little you have to give of yourself to really make a difference. The kids want it, they need someone to talk to. Unfourtunately alot of kids today don't have anyone to talk to, at least not someone that has the potential to be a positive influence on them, and this is where you can step in. I was somewhat disappointed when I showed up for the mentoring training and there were no black males at all and hardly any black women. ER i don't know how much time the program you were looking at asks of you, but the one i am involved with asks only one hour a week-the program is called Each One Save One.

First of all ... let me say that you are truly one of my heroes, MsPrettyGirl! I admire you and appreciate the things you've done (in the past) and so many of the things you do in the present. So many others (your age and not! ) have never had to go through many of the trials and tribulations that you have ... (Katrina in and of itself was a life-testing situation) and your perseverance through school and work (with children, no less!) ... let alone come out on the other side with your sanity still intact ... is something that amazes me and gives me hope to go on everyday!

I think you are the BOMB!!! And I only wish I still had time to grow up and be just like you!

Now then to answer your question ...

No, I have still not stepped up the plate and fully gotten involved in the mentoring. I did pursue it up to the point of filling out the initial paperwork ... and next up was the background information ... some of which I turned in but there was one paper that I needed notarized and, of course, I put it in my "things to do" pile and have done just about everything else other than what's in that stack! It {procrastination) is the unfortunate story of my life when it comes to so many things!

I am both happy and jealous that you have joined that wonderful class of people that mentor to our young people. Enough folks who I have met have told me that it doesn't take much at all to put into it and do it, that I do believe that is true! And the funny thing is .. none of those people who I know who took that first step and started in the program have stopped doing it! It is part of who they are now!

So ... because of you, I will know go and dig through that "stack" of papers and see about getting myself started! I don't know if they have summer school sessions .. but I can get myself ready for the next semester!

Oh thank you very much! your toooooo kind! Yeah Katrina was a life-testing situation that i don't want to EVER have to go through again, don't know if I could take it again honestly. who said my sanity is still intact??? Seriously it was slipping for a good stretch of time there, but i got it back on track.

Girl you are going to make me cry, you better stop! If anything I am the one who has been fortunate enough to "meet" you (so to speak). I am truely in awe of you on the boards. You bring so much insight, wisdom and humor here that i pale in comparison to you really. Sometimes you will say things that leave me dumbfounded. I hope to be as centered, passionate, and understanding as you are one day.

Im glad you are going to do it now I know with my program we don't meet in the summer we meet back up when school starts again. I met with my mentee for the last time today as school will be ending next week. I was a little sad to end it so quickly but she wants to see me when school starts back up in august so thats good. Today we just played monopoly (her favorite game) and talked.