About National CARES

The National CARES Mentoring Movement was founded in 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as Essence CARES, focused on providing vulnerable youngsters with the love, guidance and support of able and caring adults. When the call went out for mentors, it was white women and men who responded first. Black women and Black men were not well-represented. This wasn’t because of a lack of caring: It was largely because structures did not exist to introduce and bring African Americans into the work. Learn more about National CARES.

In response, it became Susan L. Taylor’s passion to raise awareness among African Americans of the critical need for great numbers of able Black men and women to mentor and advance our impoverished children.