Help EXP Give Students like Joshua a Safe Space
Preparing for adulthood is can be a challenge for many high school students. But, for male students of color, like Joshua, the journey is often exacerbated by feelings of isolation and alienation.
Critical issues -- such as personal advocacy, insights into what it means to be a man, or guidance on how to counter bias and injustice -- are not readily discussed. It is an acute reality that has become a silent crisis among high school-age boys of color in many of our most vulnerable communities.
Without access to a safe and supportive space to connect with peers and adult mentors who can identify with their personal and social challenges, boys of color are falling behind in terms of academic success.
According to a report in Edsource.org, Black and Latinx high school students in Los Angeles County have lower graduation rates - 73% and 80% respectively, compared to white students at 87%. Other reports confirm they also have lower college attendance rates, at 34% for both Black and Latinx men compared to 38% for white men.
They deserve better!
With your support, we can improve these outcomes for our youth.
Mentoring can help break these trends when boys of color are shown possibilities and opportunities by other males who look like them.
Recognizing the pressing issues and obstacles to opportunity, EXP has launched a new mentoring program. It fills a critical need for a holistic approach to help boys of color to discover and embrace their individual potentials, preparing them to thrive in their future educational, career pursuits and leadership aspirations.
Thanks to your support, this spring Joshua and 45 other boys from 12 different high schools were able to participate in EXP’s inaugural Young Fellows Program (YFP), a 6-month mentorship session series that provided the safe space for personal exploration for high school boys of color. Guiding them through the journey were 24 EXP mentors – including several EXP alumni-- all of them accomplished adult men of color drawn from across a variety of professional paths and at varying stages in their careers.
By providing a session series that nurtured academic, career and personal success through a social justice lens, EXP experts helped participants build a positive racial and ethnic identity, develop a heightened sense of self-confidence, learn how to advocate for themselves, as well as discuss their understanding of issues surrounding toxic masculinity. The students gained soft skills and learned to prepare a game plan for post-high school academic and career success.
“I've done a lot of mentoring and I have never seen anyone discuss the topics like mental health, masculinity, and advocacy," said YFP mentor Leonard Washington of The Washington Group. "These are powerful topics to discuss with young men of color that will have a lasting impact."
“Previously, the only way I could express myself was through football,” said Joshua. “It was the only place where I could relieve the stress I had pent up inside. But it took a toll on my body with broken bones. I had to stop playing and soon realized there was no real safe space for people of color like me. It is important to provide us with better options that are not available for many young men in low-income communities of color.”
“Thinking about my own experience in the program, people should support it,” said Joshua. “I know a lot of us don’t have people we can talk to about things, such as mental health or what it’s like to be a man. So, I really found it valuable to have a safe space to communicate with other people like myself. Talking with mentors who have been in my shoes and have gone through challenges that I am going to face, is very valuable.”
Your generosity will help us raise the necessary funding to offer an expanded Young Fellows Program in the new school year!
Please consider a generous gift today to EXP to help more students like Joshua benefit from our Young Fellows Program!
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for funding a program like this.” – Joshua, graduating senior of Bright Star Charter Academy and future freshman of California State University, Long Beach.
Thank you in advance for your support.
The Power of Your Support
Your gift of any amount by June 30th can help us continue to improve the personal and professional futures of high school boys of color in Southern California.
Consider just a few examples of the power your support can have on our EXP’s new Young Fellows Program. Help us reach our 30-by-30 Campaign goal of $30,000 by June 30th!
$1,000 can underwrite the cost for two students to participate in the EXP’s Young Fellows Program this fall. Recognition opportunity on our program materials.
$500 can cover the cost for one student to participate in the EXP’s Young Fellows Program this fall.
$250 can help cover the cost of two Young Fellows Program sessions.
$100 can help underwrite the cost of one Young Fellows Program session.