Could This Happen In Lewisville ISD? (It Happened in Dallas ISD) – A Mentoring Movement for Young Men
When a middle school in Dallas ISD planned its first-ever Breakfast with Dads Day, organizers worried that some boys wouldn’t have dads in their lives – amazingly nearly 600 volunteer mentors answered the call as reported nationally on the Today Show. 600 Mentors Show Up
Could this happen in Lewisville ISD? The odds are ABSOLUTELY if you listen to Melvin Owens, LHS Harmon Assistant Principal and Jim Mustain, Executive Director of Loving Community who have teamed up around their common passion of mentoring. Each respectively founded mentoring programs to work with boys and young men, Owens Men of Distinction in 2016 at the high school level and Mustain Boys2Men in 2014 at the elementary level.
Owens says, “I’ve been involved in mentorship…for most of my adult life…I love making a difference in the community…and in a student’s life. I know that every day I have a chance to create a legacy that will be repeated over and over for generations.”
The Lewisville Leader wrote this article on the recent 2017-18 year end celebration for the MOD’s on the Harmon campus. Lewisville Leader News – Men of Distinction.
The two men have partnered over the past few years, supporting and dreaming with each other of what could be the future. Loving Community was awarded the 2016 Nonprofit of the Year by the local Chamber of Commerces and Rotary Clubs in part for the recognition of their mentoring programs. Mustain is quick to point out that Owens had a lot to do with the award.
The mentoring groups typically include 12 young men or boys with the goal of developing leadership and character traits. Men in the community volunteer as mentors providing the valuable resources of presence, words of encouragement, affirmation, and modeling. The groups center around a once a month lunch-and-learn and then an additional one-on-one lunch with the mentor and young man.
This year Men of Distinction (MOD) and Boys2Men (B2M) will see expansion to include four campuses, Lewisville HS Main Campus (MOD), Lewisville HS Harmon Campus (MOD), Durham Middle School (MOD) and Creekside Elementary (B2M). The mentoring initiatives will serve 50 students and require 50 men to volunteer to mentor.
And that’s when the BIG question comes, “Can this happen in Lewisville? Can a mentoring movement pairing boys and young men with men in the community happen and perhaps even grow into a movement?” That’s when Owens and Mustain look at each other, smile and say ABSOLUTELY!
For more information on volunteering on one of the four campuses with a team of other mentors, investing approximately two lunches per month, eighteen for the school year, you can contact Jim Mustain at jmustain@loving-community.net You can also read more about the mentoring initiatives and/or sign up by clicking this link: https://loving-community.net/volunteer-central/
