Sponsor

How many teenage boys do you know who would willingly give up their Saturdays, for 15 Saturdays in a row, to spend 8 hours each of those days learning how to:

 

1 - Appreciate Their History, Heritage, and Culture

2 - Reject Gang Violence

3 – Give Respect to Our Women

4 – Give Respect to Our Elders

5 – Gain Financial Literacy

6 – Take Their Family Legacy Higher

7 – Swim and Practice Water Safety

8 – Comport Themselves with Dignity and Confidence through an Etiquette Class, which includes Conflict Resolution

9 – Give Back to Their Community

 10. To Understand and Embrace the Responsibilities of a Young Man in His Home, His School, and His Community.

 

The DCS Mentoring Program has graduated 300 such young men over the past three years. Twice a year we accept, on a first-come, first-served basis, 50 young men, ages seven to 17, from Miami Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, who blossom into confident, empathetic, bright young gentlemen through these eye-opening, life-altering, 15-week sessions.

 

Sadly, we have to turn away almost as many young men as we accept. We simply do not have the resources to accommodate all who yearn to grow into leaders of their community.

 

But with your help, we could:

     1 – Add a third session, and accommodate 50 more boys a year;

     2 – Acquire a permanent home (currently, we are housed at Miami Central High);

     3 – Acquire a DCS Bus and cargo van to call our own for our Field Trips.

 

And let me tell you about our Field Trips!

One of the standouts is taking a trip to a Black Millionaire’s home to hear admired professionals tell how they successfully navigated a career without being a sports star, drug dealer, or gang banger.

 

We also treat the boys to ball games, movies, canoe outings, Boot Camp, and Extreme Sports facilities.

 

And truly the highlight and culmination of the program is that we purchase brand new suits for all 50 young men and take them to a 5-star restaurant, where they live the lessons learned in class. You should only see with what pride and delight they comport themselves in their fine new suits while displaying their good manners, collegiality, and dining etiquette!

 

The DCS Mentoring Program (a 501c3) was created and founded in 2016 by William Clark, a retired Fire Fighter/Paramedic and lifelong Miami resident. During my ten-year tenure as the first-ever Alumni President of Miami Central High, I helped revive the high school from being one of the worst in all of Florida to one of the most celebrated. I knew I could do more with the experience I had gained, and so turned my attention to setting a right path for wayward kids in my community. I recruited ten Mentors, all of whom earned a Level 2 Background Clearance, all of whom donate their own time for 15 Saturdays, to assist me in the program.

 

Our budget is approximately $40,000 per each 15-week session. The biggest chunks of our budget go toward the suits ($7,500), the 5-Star restaurant ($1,500), the meals we serve to the 50 boys and 10 Mentors each Saturday ($400 per week, averaging just under $7 per person; total $6,000 per 15-week session), and two uniform shirts per boy ($3,000). We also pay a custodian $150 per week ($2,250 per session). We provide classroom materials, including book bags, collated worksheets, DVR discs, folders, and binders ($500). And we pay for the bus to the restaurant ($375).

 

The cost of tuition is $250 per boy, which theoretically should offset our costs by $12,500, but many parents face financial hardships, and we turn no boy away. We try to find a scholarship sponsor or else go out-of-pocket.

 

To date, we have received the generous assistance of:

   ⋅ The Children’s Trust – a one-time grant of $13,000;

   ⋅ The Miami-Dade County Schoolboard - $7,500 TWICE;

   ⋅ Several generous Miami City Commissioners - $12,000

 

The balance of our funding comes from private donors and out-of-pocket. Clearly, we need more to continue to do more, and that’s why we are asking for your help. As a leading member of the Miami business community, you are someone whose philanthropy and generosity could go miles in helping us to sustain and grow this valuable, terrific program.

 

With just an hour of your time, we will walk you through the program, including photos and videos of some of the magnificent young men who recently graduated the program, and figure out how you and your organization or business can get involved.

 

Please fill out the form below to arrange a time to discuss how we can work together to improve our community by reaching these young men.

 

Thank you in advance for your consideration

 

William DC Clark