More than 20 men and one woman crowded into Mt. Baker Presbyterian Church on Saturday, Feb. 10, to learn about the Our Best: Black Male Achievement Mentoring Campaign. Many of the attendees were inspired by the stories and speeches given at the standing-room-only Our Black campaign launch, held Jan. 12 at Broadway Performance Hall.
The Our Best program seeks to recruit and train black male adults to mentor black at-risk youth. The program is supported by the City of Seattle and a network of partner mentoring agencies.
“In 10 years of working with mentoring youth, I have never seen such a large or enthusiastic crowd,” said Don Cameron, executive director, Seattle CARES Mentoring Movement, a nonprofit agency that is administering the Our Best program. “We’re delighted with the community response and support.”
Mentors accepted into the Our Best program serve on average one hour a week in addition to participating in a monthly Wellness Mentoring Circle. A one-year commitment is required.
After the orientation, interested individuals submit a mentor application and are referred to the agency that best suits their interests, where they will receive additional training and be matched with a mentee.