Alley-Oop For The Soul: "Dishing Out" Motivation For Personal Growth: It Takes A Village

THE PROTEGE PROJECT

"It takes a village to raise a child"- African proverb

As the younger child born in my family, my life lessons began at a very early age. A huge part of my personal success in life is a direct result of the village of individuals who helped shape my path in life. I had early exposure to on-the-job lessons in time management and responsibility. Striving for excellence both on and off the playing fields; accepting responsibility for your actions (good or bad), being willing and able to accept the consequences, sports participation toward developing effective leadership skills and a host of other valuable life skills.
As an athlete and coach, I’ve had the opportunity to mentor many from our younger generation. The fundamental difference I see between those who succeed and those who don’t is the lack of a strong support system.

The vision behind the Protégé Project is to create a network of support where youth are equipped with the necessary tools to increase their chances of success in life. I believe one of the most vital components to a young person's life is exposure and by establishing a village of qualified mentors and community leaders. These mentors are able to provide our protégés with early exposure to various avenues of success in life and provide them a road map to reach their destination.

THE PROTÉGÉ PROJECT is a program that is in direct response to the growing number of young people that are either falling through the cracks at school or are already entangled with the juvenile court system. THE PROTÉGÉ PROJECT will focus primarily on at-risk African-American and Hispanic male students. The statistics surrounding these factors are alarming. Studies show, boys who grow up without the positive male influences are:

5 times more likely to commit suicide,

8 times more likely to go to prison,

9 times more likely to drop out of high school.

10 times more likely to abuse drugs.

20 times more likely to have behavior problems.

The goal of the program is to identify youths who are going to have a turbulent transition to adulthood and offer positive support system to avoid the pitfalls that can derail their lives. Over time, THE PROTÉGÉ PROJECT will create a learning environment that will be an invaluable resource to young people, aspiring mentors and the community at large.

We are currently recruiting youth, mentors and volunteers to ensure the success of the program. If you are interested in getting involved with our mission and being apart of a winning team dedicated to helping kids reach their full potential, make a decision to join us on for this life-changing program.

It STILL takes a village!

I remember being that little kid in the park who just wanted 'a ball' to play with so I've always believed in giving the next generation of youth 'a ball' and maybe have a positive impact on their lives