Movement Of Youth Incorporated

Programs: Movement of youth provides three primary services during the school year: mentoring, saturday academy, and community outreach. Mentoring is the cornerstone of movement of youth. College students apply annually to become mentors and friends for high school students in the movement of youth program. These close, multi-year relationships provide participants with access to a student scholar who offers knowledge about how to successfully apply to and excel in college. The goal is to promote the academic achievement of our participants, motivating them to complete high school and then pursue higher education. The program offers activities that support these goals and the relationships between mentors and mentees. We believe that mentors have the opportunity to develop and foster a unique and lasting relationship with multiple high school students. By sharing the knowledge they have regarding the college application process and by providing academic guidance, our mentors serve as models of academic success for our minority students. We rely on the commitment of our mentors to make a dramatic difference in the lives of their individual students. The mentoring relationship is tracked through monthly contact reports that outline mentor activity with the mentee. Mentors and mentees are expected to connect at least one hour a week via phone or e-mail in order to maintain constant communication and to build a relationship. We discuss the mentoring relationships during monthly chat sessions. This allows mentors to discuss their mentoring experience as well as address issues they have been facing. The mentoring team will occasionally provide informal outing opportunities for mentors and mentees to spend time together outside of saturday academy sessions. Saturday academy sessions are held on the first and third saturday of every month (unless otherwise noted) and are built to challenge students in various ways intellectually, physically and socially. In spring 2011, movement of youth partnered with kaplan to offer sat prep to participating students. Kaplan provided training to student teachers to deliver the curriculum and provided all prep materials, including study booklets and all tests. Movement of youth is pursuing a continued partnership to expand this service to more students. Movement of youth seeks not only to help our students reach success, but also to instill in students the importance of giving back to others. Community outreach allows participants to have a positive impact in the community by completing two community outreach initiatives each year. Examples include: * unc dance marathon - students participate in an all-night dance to raise money for children at the unc children's hospital * steps for health: a walk for breast cancer - students participate in a 3. 1 mile walk to raise money for breast cancer research (students plan and implement) * mlk day of service - students participate in mlk day of service activities on unc's campus * social entrepreneurship symposium - students learn about the opportunities for careers in the non-profit sector * service project development - students develop and execute a community outreach initiative