This year, Think Y has had an incredible impact on Detroit, MI, and Houston, TX, uniting current and former collegiate athletes , local businesses, and community members towards a common goal of promoting values of Trust, Respect, Unity, Tenacity, and Hard Work for urban athletes. This year so far we have worked with over 300 kids at our camps and have a mailing list of 3200 parents and kids. In the coming years, Think Y (partnered with Athletic Body Mechanics) will plan to expand and put on more camps in different cities.
Rite - A - Way (R.A.W)
Think Y has developed a mentorship program that uses the best evidence-based models of mentorship and considers traditional rites of passage institutes of the historic African American churches. The Rite – A – Way (R.A.W.) program will pair one Texas Southern University Athlete with one or two students from Jack Yates High School who are in their junior or senior year. The Rite – A – Way (R.A.W) program will train the TSU athlete to be able to be an exemplary role model and mentor to high school students who share a common socio-economic status and/or have experienced similar struggles in growing into manhood. Once trained, these mentors from TSU will be prepared to engage in an evidence-based mentorship relationship with students from Yates High School. Growth will be developed by one-on-one sessions with our program directors and a Licensed Master Social Worker familiar with rites of passage programs and success strategies for students who face common barriers to success. TSU athletes will be monitored closely through the 6 week training process and evaluated for readiness to mentor before being paired with Yates students. We will partner with the TSU athletic department to recruit and train 35 mentors from the football, basketball, and other sports teams. Mentors from TSU will be paired with mentees from Yates during the Spring semester of 2014. During the Spring semester, mentors will meet with mentees and LMSW weekly for formal in-service trainings on life skills, study skills and job readiness. This will serve as the pilot of a bi-yearly semester long program for students at Yates High School.
Man-Up
Think Y Organization has started a boys group inside several Houston area middles schools and high schools. The group meets in an interactive classroom setting led by our mentors and focuses on core values, relationship building, conflict resolution, mental and physical health/well being, goal setting, respect for women and authority figures, and other issues that may be needed.
Bridge Builders
This program prepares High School students to become competent in childcare rules and regulations, learning environments, principles of child development, trends and issues in early childhood education and classroom management techniques. For high school students, this is a two-year program and upon successful completion and satisfaction of minimum requirements, students may earn the Early Childhood Professional Certificate.