Brother II Brother
is a distinct and diverse group of over 100 professional
mentors and volunteers committed to effecting change in the
lives of at-risk youth through leadership and love. We work
with young men (ages 11-19) to encourage them to pursue a
path of education and enlightenment.
Every year,
Brother II Brother
facilitates a variety of mentoring events with programs
designed to stimulate and motivate our mentees, including
in-class lectures at high schools and middle schools, visits
to juvenile detention camps and our annual youth empowerment
symposium and college day. For many of the young men, the
symposium is their very first trip to a college campus,
their first time stepping into a college classroom – a
chance to sit in the very seat where many of our future
leaders sit everyday and dream of someday sitting there. The
impact can be quite powerful.
Our mentors come from a myriad of socio-economic and
professional backgrounds. Many are from single-parent homes…
most raised by their mothers. Some were forced to get a job
straight out of high school foregoing higher learning to
help take care of their families… others are Ivy League
graduates with corporate credentials. We are physicians,
attorneys, police officers, journalists, civil servants,
construction workers, teachers, truck drivers, engineers,
military veterans, sales professionals and entrepreneurs.
All are leaders. And we all share the common desire to make
this world – our communities, our neighborhoods – a better
place for our children. As such we have come together to
lead with love. We mentor, educate and inspire about life,
relationships, work ethic, networking, the importance of a
quality education, health and fitness, community,
philanthropy, financial literacy, self-respect and respect
for women, and what it means to be a MAN.
Our demographic is the greater Los Angeles area. We target
young men in underperforming and overlooked communities,
where, in some cases, the school dropout rates exceed 50%.
However, we are open to and welcome candidates from
throughout Southern California.
At the 2nd Annual
Brother II Brother
Youth Empowerment Symposium at USC in 2008, one of the
mentees – a junior high student named Jamal – was so
disruptive he had to be separated from his group. Jamal
recently contacted Vice Chair Ron Peters to say he had been
accepted into a program for exceptional performers. Brother
II Brother exists for young men like Jamal.
The mentors and volunteers of
Brother II Brother
believe that all young people have the potential to succeed
in life and contribute to society. However, not all children
get the support they need to succeed. Brother II Brother is
dedicated to strategically eradicating generational curses
and strongholds that prevent our youth from achieving their
full potential and realizing the American Dream. We believe
that, with a little help and proper guidance, each child can
discover how to unlock and achieve that potential. As such,
we are committed to developing the programs our mentees need
so they can excel. Ours is an endeavor set in motion by the
desire to positively influence and enhance the way young men
view themselves, their surroundings and their future.
