Michael Burns, MDI member and veteran of the menswork movement, has spent six years as a mentor for the Boys To Men mentoring program, a national organization which empowers young men in need. He shares his perspective and includes the words of a program developer in the Northern California area. A fundraising page for this chapter of Boys To Men, through Burns, is found here: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/btmnorcal2024/account/1897005/
If I had been in a Boys To Men Mentoring Program (B2M) from 6th to 12th grades I would have begun consciously discovering myself years before I did emerge from the cocoon. That would happen because:
- B2M provides a consistent safe place to acknowledge, express, and explore emotions.
- The team atmosphere of a B2M group would give me courage and confidence in honestly relating to peers, as well as with adult males.
- Awareness to what my male classmates were experiencing would have shown me that I wasn’t so isolated in my perception that I was the “odd guy out.”
- B2M mentoring provides opportunities to stretch into roles of leadership, and learn how to support the other boys in their victories and defeats.
- Had I been mentored by mature men once a week throughout my school years, I would have more tools to self regulate my decision making and, hence, my growth.
In basic terms, how would my life be different if I had started participating in a B2M circle as a boy? My answer is that I would have become a mature, masculine, contented, successful man sooner! But the necessity of the Boys to Men Mentoring Program isn’t for those few boys who find their own way to mature masculinity; it is for the vast majority of boys who would never find their way without the mentoring.
Please give some consideration to supporting a community service project that, in my opinion, can be the foundation for making our society whole again. Read the following vision of a man – Christopher Love, B2M Program Developer – who is all about serving humanity.
Can our primary purpose in life be to steward the following generations into being mature, productive adults?
I believe that the health of our society can only be made whole when the boys and girls are mentored to grow up and become who they are.
Think of the benefit you have received by circling up with men and having men in your life. How would your life be different if you starting doing this in 6th grade?
What would the impact be of every boy needing connection and guidance from 6th to 12th grade having a circle of peers to meet with every week of the school year that is facilitated by trained adult male mentors?
Boys To Men Mentoring of Northern California is a 501c(3) non profit organization dedicated to build communities of male role models who, through consistent group mentoring, encourage and empower teenage boys to grow into the very best men they can be.
Our mission at “B2M NorCal” is to have mentoring programs operating in 50+ schools, serving 1,500+ boys and young men with weekly mentoring, nature outings, adventure sports and teen rites of passage by 2040.
How we know we can do this is our brother chapter in Southern California began its first in-school mentoring program in 2009 and today has nearly 40 active programs serving over 1,500 boys and young men each week.
Please join our 2024-25 fundraising campaign. Men’s teams from all over the country are coming together to help promote this cause. Our three pilot programs in Northern California are a success and with your help, we will keep these running, train more mentors, expand to more schools and reach more boys.
We will not stop with California. We are part of the Boys To Men USA Network, and our overall vision is to have these high impact mentoring circles available in all 50 states.
Our peer- to-peer 2024-25 fundraising campaign began mid-November, as we have identified all the participating men’s teams. Please visit our website and then contact me for more information on how to get involved.
Christopher Love, Boys To Men Program Developer, can be reached at 831-588-1881 or Coaching@ChristopherLove.org. The related website is www.BoysToMenNorCal.org. A fundraising page for Boys To Men, through Michael Burns, is found here: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/btmnorcal2024/account/1897005/