We Can't Believe It!

Because of all your incredible support, The Mentoring Project won a $20,000 grant from Chase Bank!

In the end we finished in 33rd place with 2,971 votes. Not bad eh?

Thank you to those who voted for us, passed it on to their friends, posted it on their Facebook wall, and made all of this happen. We couldn't have done it without you!

So now the big question: What are we going to do with the money?

Glad you asked. 

Over the last year, we've had nearly 600 churches across the country ask how they can begin a TMP Mentoring Program in their church community. With the demand this high, we realized we needed to create dynamic training & resource materials to ensure that each of these churches can begin mentoring fatherless boys in their area.

The $20,000 grant has been allocated to produce high quality training videos and an extensive mentoring toolkit so these churches can hit the ground running!

So thank you for all your support. Your votes and advocacy of TMP will ensure that thousands of boys will receive mentors in the future.

Thank you!

Dr. John Sowers, President of The Mentoring Project 

A special guest blog from TMP Founder Donald Miller:

Could you do me a favor?

So about once a month, a friend's non-profit starts lighting up twitter and facebook asking people to go and vote because somebody somewhere might give them some money. The Mentoring Project has never had a huge twitter following, so we’ve never entered one of these contests. And to be honest, I normally ignore these twitter requests. It just feels like a teen thing, some sort of popularity contest amongst non-profits.

That said, The Mentoring Project President Dr. John Sowers called me a few days ago to say that Chase was giving away 20k to the top 200 non-profits that get voted on on facebook. John said we really need the money to shoot training videos that will allow the 600 churches on our waiting list to start mentoring programs. What that means is, if we get 20k from chase, thousands of fatherless boys will get role models because we can franchise the mentoring program we are currently running here in Portland. We don’t yet have that money designated in our budget.

So now I am THAT GUY. I’m the guy asking people to vote on twitter and facebook. And to be honest, I don’t even have a facebook account. So I’m DOUBLE that guy. I guess I never put together those little votes with actual social change until it became personal. So please accept that as a confession.

As I write this, we are 30 votes from being in the top 200. The voting ends about ten days from now, so we will need a lot more than 30 votes, but would you mind being one of the people who spends a few seconds and votes for us? It would honestly mean thousands of kids lives are changed through really great relationships.

Thanks so much. You can vote here.

http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/270170750-mentoring-project

And a very special thank you to CHASE bank. Very cool of them to do this.

- Don

- Spanning continents and turning charity upside down -

Bob Goff, founder of Restore International, called me last week to let us know that young men from The Restore Leadership Academy (pictured above) have decided to make a donation to The Mentoring Project to provide mentors for kids in Portland, Oregon.

Apparently, with the help of Restore, a number of these young men have started growing & selling their own crops. After hearing about The Mentoring Project, they wanted to give a small portion of their profits to our work.  

When we heard this news we were shocked, and a little unnerved. What were these young men thinking? Are we seriously going to accept donations from kids in Uganda? Many of these students were former child soldiers, their lives upended by poverty, conflict, and civil unrest, and now they want to give to The Mentoring Project?

It's easy to be cynical about something like this and assume it's not in the best interest of The Mentoring Project to accept donations from young people who are, for the most part, in a much harder situation than the fatherless boys in Portland.

But in talking to Bob about it, we realized that accepting the contributions and allowing Ugandan youth the opportunity to give generously is the most empowering thing we can do.

Bob described these students as the future leaders of Uganda and how this donation is a powerful incentive for the development of their country. The gift is a boost for us, but also an act of nation-building for them. 

Due to an eclectic mix of colonialism, foreign investment, and resource allocation, the world of international aid and development is dominated by 1st world countries supporting the livelihoods of 3rd world countries. Rarely, is it the other way around.

Coincidentally, alongside my work with The Mentoring Project, I run an international education organization called These Numbers Have Faces. As both organizations solicit support through various means, it's exciting, and also inspiring, to see ordinary Americans, Canadians, and Europeans feeling empowered and overjoyed to give to our work in America and South Africa. 

We've learned that there is something meaningful and deeply enriching in the act of giving itself, regardless of the amount.

Remember the parable Jesus told about the widow who gave her last coin to the poor in Mark 12? In the same vein, let's not take away the opportunity for the boys from Uganda to be blessed by God and experience the joy of giving.

We wanted the students in Uganda to know how much we appreciate their donations, so we mailed them a few copies of this thank you page showing one of the mentees they are helping us support here in Portland.

Basically, Restore International is turning charity on its head. They are saying that the privilege of financial progress and the joy of financial generosity shouldn't be reserved exclusively for the global north. And, maybe if we gave the global south more opportunities to experience the joys of giving, they'd be more likely to pull their own countries out of poverty. 

Needless to say, we're just thrilled to be along for the ride.

- Justin Zoradi, Marketing Director, The Mentoring Project
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Art is a great way for Mentors and Mentees to connect, so we were thrilled to see a fun screenprinting event take place in Portland last weekend.

People have been feeling the hurt lately. Downed economy, job loss, and general dislike of world affairs. With this in mind, a group of Portland's local graphic artists gave back to their community and The Mentoring Project! TMP got full attention at the event happily named "No Bones For Halftones." 

TMP's mentors and mentees got to share in a presentation on screen printing, then print on the clothes we brought. Everyone had a blast! Thanks again for opening this event to The Mentoring Project!

This month, we are excited to have nearly twenty new Portland TMP mentors! These heroic guys have gone through the TMP training and stepped into the lives of fatherless boys. 

We are moving steadily towards 1000 mentors here in Portland, with our goal of wiping out the mentor waiting list.

Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they mentor. 

Donate to support a mentor

Get your church involved in mentoring

After countless submissions and a spirited online t-shirt contest, our new shirts have arrived!

"Walk Beside Me" by Rachel Johnson and "TMP Alphabet" by Isaac Reichenbach are now available.

Buy and shirt and support a mentor today: Visit Our Online Store

You may have heard that in June, The Mentoring Project is hosting garage sales all over the country.

Here in Portland, the TMP office, our staff, supporters, and board members are doing a huge one in NE Portland. We're gonna be at at this big lot with tons of room and we're hoping to create the most epic garage sale of all time.

If you live in the Portland area, we'd love your help in filling this lot to the brim with the coolest stuff our zany city has to offer. 

Will you consider dropping off some garage sale items to us that we can use for the official TMP Garage Sale?

Please contact us: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so we can get some info from you and get started.

Do you live far away from Portland but still want to help out with the garage sale? Go here, register, and host your own: http://www.thementoringproject.org/garagesale.html 

"This generation will never believe our gospel that God can be their father unless we are willing to step into their fatherlessness with the same intimacy that Christ stepped into our world at the incarnation" - Dr. John Sowers

TMP President Dr. John Sowers is at the Q Conference in Chicago sharing about the power of mentoring. The Q Conference features 600 participants and dynamic leaders from all different sectors.

Dr. Sowers was joined on a panel with Gabe Lyons (author of UnChristian), Roland Warren (President of the National Fatherhood Initiative), and representatives from Focus on the Family and the Bethany Adoption Agency. TMP was honored to have a voice on the Fatherless panel.

To continue the conversation, The Mentoring Project is hosting a breakfast on Friday April 30th, 7am CST  at the Corner Bakery. (1205 LaSalle between Adams & Monroe, behind the W Hotel)

If you're in the Chicago area, please join Dr. Sowers and TMP or this special breakfast to dialogue about mentoring and the fatherless generation. 

See you there!

In preparation for our national expansion next fall, we are proud to introduce The Mentoring Project National Impact Model.

Click the model below to view it larger and see our long-term plan to impact the lives of fatherless youth. 

We're on our way to 1000 mentors here in Portland. Soon after, we're working on 10,000 across the country, and 25 yrs from now 1 Million mentors. Will you join us?

Out of 30+ submissions, below are the top 10 designs for the TMP T-Shirt Contest.

Please choose your favorite by selecting the button on the left and clicking the orange "Vote" at the bottom.

While the voting will influence our decision, ultimately, The Mentoring Project staff will make the final decision on which shirt we choose to print.

The TMP T-Shirt voting will last for one week from April 8th - April 15th. All votes after the 15th will be null and void.

The winner(s) will have their t-shirt printed by The Mentoring Project and sold in our store, promoted by Donald Miller, and receive a signed copy of Don's new re-release Father Fiction.

Vote, Vote, Vote and tell your friends!

For the last year, The Mentoring Project has had one simple t-shirt.

It's a great one, we love it, and there are people all over the country sporting this classic design.

But it's 2010, time for some new TMP T-Shirts, maybe something a bit more creative, and we want you to design the new one!

Here are the details:

Get Creative:

1. By April 1st, submit your coolest TMP T-shirt design that you think embodies our mission in the best way.

Our mission:

The Mentoring Project seeks to respond to the American crisis of fatherlessness by inspiring and equipping faith communities to mentor fatherless youth.

Through dynamic church trainings, national mentor recruitment, and the creation of sustainable mentoring communities, we are rewriting the story of the fatherless generation. 

*We're really looking for designs more about our work than simply our logo. Be creative, break the mold, and take a risk conveying our mission on a t-shirt. 

Requirements:

2. The shirt has to say "The Mentoring Project" somewhere on it and feature our Elephants logo in some way, big or small, simply for branding purposes. Please don't make the elephants logo the focal point of the shirt. (We already made that shirt!)

Use any font you like, but our default logo font is "Bell Gothic Black"

Get the elephant logo as a jpg.

Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for an Vector/AI/EPS or other file format.

Next steps:

3. In early April, we're going to choose our favorite 10 designs and then give the TMP community the opportunity to vote on the ones we choose to print.

The prize:

4. The winning designs will be featured in our store, worn by our supporters, and highlight the talented artist who created them.

5. As a special incentive the winning artists will get signed copies of Donald Miller's new re-release Father Fiction. 

Good luck:

6. Submit your designs by April 1st to Marketing Director Justin Zoradi: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it in both pdf and jpg form.  We'll get back to you about other formats (vector or illustrator if your shirt goes to print)

Washington DC - Mentoring Project mentor Willie Welch and mentee Lehzan Blake (pictured right) of Portland, Oregon visited the White House last week for the kickoff of President Obama’s new mentoring program that his aides will lead for young men in Washington DC.

The President and first lady Michelle Obama welcomed the first class of mentors and mentees to the Grand East Room to kick off National Mentoring Month.

Willie and Lehzan had a terrific time at the White House, touring the grounds and meeting other Mentor and Mentee pairs.

“It was very exciting for us and such a privilege to be selected. I’d seen the White House in photos and on television, but to actually be there was an absolute privilege,” said mentor Willie Welch.

Check out photos of Willie and Lehzan touring DC and rocking the White House event:

Two days before leaving for Washington DC, Willie and Lehzan had a unique opportunity to share with Lehzan’s entire school about the upcoming trip. Lehzan was performing a dance for a Martin Luther King Day assembly at Buckman Elementary in Portland, Oregon, when the school officials caught wind of the upcoming trip.  As the assembly came to a close, school counselors and after-school teachers brought Willie and Lehzan onto the stage to break the news to Lehzan’s entire school.

“They called Lehzan up and I told the assembly that I was his mentor and we were selected to go to Washington DC to meet the President. When I said that, the whole place was pandemonium. Clapping and yelling, standing up, it was nothing but applause and shouting. Lehzan’s walking around his school like a celebrity now,” laughed Willie. 

Citing his own story growing up without an engaged father, President Obama has proclaimed January National Mentoring Month, urging Americans to give back to young people, saying mentors help children grow into productive and responsible adults.

President Obama praised the efforts of mentoring organizations like Big Brother Big Sister and Them Mentoring Project.

"I was raised by a single mom who struggled at times to provide for me and my sister. And while I was lucky to have loving grandparents who poured everything they had into helping my mother take care of us, I still felt the weight of my father's absence throughout my childhood," said Obama, who has written about his early life in a best-selling memoir.

"So I wasn't always focused in school the way I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of. I got in more trouble than I should have. Without a bunch of second chances and a whole lot of luck, my life could have taken easily a turn for the worse," the President said.

The effort will plan programs for the boys, including monthly workshops to encourage them in education, career planning and community service. It is similar to one Mrs. Obama started in the fall for young women, pairing about 16 girls from the Washington area with women at top levels in the Obama administration.

Willie Welch praised the White House and their focus on mentoring,

“I was also surprised that there is a mentoring program inside the White House made up of Presidential staff and aides. They are giving their time to helping children grow in so many areas. These people are motivating the children. Can you imagine having a Presidential aide as a mentor?”

More information on the event from the Miami Herald:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1434783.html

On June 19, I was honored to attend President Obama’s Town Hall meeting for fatherhood.  Going in, I didn’t know what to expect.  Was this going to be a political rally?  What was our role going to be?  What is the President’s commitment on this issue?  How would The Mentoring Project fit into all this?   

The conversation of fatherlessness is a critical one and I was thrilled that the President decided to take an entire day to devote to it.  In the stormy climate of DC, issues like: Iran and Iraq, the Economic Bailout, and Health Care reform dominate the political landscape.  From the outset, I was impressed that President Obama simply made the time for the issue.  Not only did the President make the time, he showed the commitment that he and the administration have on reaching this generation of fatherless boys.  There is a full-time staff devoted to helping fathers and fatherlessness, as well as national task forces that have been assembled around these issues. No matter if we voted for or against Mr. Obama, no matter if we agree with all of his platforms or not, we should all be able to unite behind his call to reach the fatherless.     

For the Town Hall, the President gathered a room full of influencers to join the conversation.  Seated near me were politicians, actors, and business leaders.  Across from me was Dwayne Wade from the Miami Heat, Bobby Flay from Iron Chef, Bill Cowher former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and skating legend Tony Hawk.  I sat there feeling a bit like Forrest Gump.        

Read more below...

On Saturday night, July 31st, we had our first big TMP event of the summer. We went to a Portland Beavers game and had a group of local mentors and mentees join in on the fun.

Baseball is often referred to as America's past-time and it is a commonly known that baseball is a sport transferred from father to son. Fathers have passed down the love of the game to their sons on Little League fields and in backyards for a long time.

Some more pictures and a video after the jump. 

The vision that we have at The Mentoring Project is for churches to rid America of what many call "the fatherless problem." Sure we could run a great organization on our own, but we see a huge opportunity in releasing local churches to follow this vision in their own communities.

The Hero Workshop is a training organization in Erie, Pennsylvania that gives 100% of their proceeds to The Mentoring Project.

 Why the name "Hero Workshop"? There are dozens of children waiting for you on Sunday—children who are looking for a hero to introduce them to God. You and your teams need training that equips and inspires you to lead these children.

The Hero Workshop is located in Erie, Pennsylvania and has a half-day workshop coming up on September 19th. If you are in or around Erie be sure to look into attending the workshop.