CONNECT TO GREATNESS

Connect to Greatness, Inc. (C2G) is a 501c3 organization formed specifically to expose alternative and promising programming options to African-American/Black boys to discover their greatness and set new expectations for themselves and their future. Our goal is to promote and nurture a shift in their thinking about themselves, their behaviors, attitudes, and relationships. The organization focuses on Black male students in elementary-high school in South Palm Beach County. We are committed to the "inside out work" of moving our boys from trailblazers to change-makers.

C2G is also aimed at strengthening the mothers of these boys through the Women of Boys Empowerment Program. This program fosters personal growth among Women of Boys through 1) Advocate for issues that are important to women, 2) Seeking and/or creating alternate pathways to leadership; and 3) Pursuing ongoing learning opportunities for themselves and inspiring others along the way. The C2G Women of Boys Empowerment Program offers 90-minute empowerment sessions for 30-weeks (two 15-week sessions) to the women in the lives of the C2G boys. The Empowerment Program topics have included mental health, financial literacy, leadership, and advocacy and run concurrently with the Boys to Men Leadership Academy.

Note: Single dads have also attended as observers and have been invited to become a mentor.

Caregiving Youth

Several of our current seventh-grade boys are caregivers. They may have the responsibilities of taking care of younger siblings, cooking, taking care of an older relative, administering meds, helping them eat, or just tending to the needs of everyday life while they are just kids themselves. According to Miller, Bunker, and Kelley-Miller there are more than 25% of all public-school children, grades 6-12 in Palm Beach County, incurred adverse effects on their education as a result of caregiving (What Works Survey Final Report. Miller, Bunker, & Kelley-Miller, 2003).
In addition, a caregiving youth survey was conducted in 2008 and results showed that there were 563 caregiving students in Palm Beach County schools. Of those, approximately 35 students attended Congress Middle School, 40 students attended Lantana Middle School and 30 attended Boca Middle School. Connect to Greatness, Inc.’s service area includes these schools.
Our caregiver youth component of the program promotes the internal awareness of family caregiving by providing our boys with a framework for understanding what family caregiving is from a youth’s perspective. Many of our boys have come to realize that they had been a caregiver at one time or another for a relative. Topics discussed include empathy, compassion, and privilege.

1. Organizational accreditation
a. Strategy(ies): Board members will be leading various categories to ensure completion in the next 14 months..
b. Progress: 100% toward completion,. The organization's accreditation has been successfully completed.
2. Organizational Marketing Strategy
a. Strategy(ies): We will be working with community experts from Rising Leaders and other marketing leaders to create press kits.
b. Progress: 100% toward completion-the organization has a marketing toolkit .
3. Hire a part-time program consultant
a. Strategy(ies): We will consider funding needs for a part-time program consultant.
b. Progress: 100% toward completion. The Board has approved and we have a part-time program manager onbaord.

C2G is uniquely positioned to provide services to African American/Black boys in Palm Beach County. The organization addresses the need for young boys to have a meaningful relationship with men that look like them. A cohort of local African-American/Black males from the community serve as mentors with the goal of establishing genuine, caring relationships with the youth. As mentors, the men support the youth to build fundamental competencies in the areas of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making and relationship skills.

Connect to Greatness, Inc. is unique in that it provides a foundation for African-American/Black males through their critical three years of middle school. Our youth enter the Boys to Men Leadership Academy as ‘Trailblazers’ in the sixth grade and continue with the program through the eighth-grade years and graduate as ‘Changemakers.’ Post-graduation, the Boys to Men Leadership Academy ‘Changemakers’ become peer mentors to the current class of ‘Trailblazers’. In addition, they are required to attend quarterly meetings with the mentors as a graduating cohort to discuss their progress and any high school challenges. The mentors will be available to support them to become successful high school graduates.

During the Pandemic, we were able to continue our weekly meetings via Zoom and also had some socially distanced activities on the weekends. Our biggest highlight of the year was having the opportunity to go on a retreat to the Westgate Rodeo & Resort in December 2020. We were able to camp for 3 days on 200 acres of wonderfulness that included: fishing, archery, campfires, rock climbing, zip-lining, and attending a “Real Live Rodeo”. This experience for seven of our mentees was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and they were able to share it with their parents and the other students. In addition, 3 of our young men were chosen as spotlight students of the month for our monthly newsletter with at least a 95% school attendance whether it was virtual or brick and mortar. This was partly due to Connect to Greatness having two amazing academic advisors for math, language arts, and Spanish.

In addition, during 2022 C2G Boys to Men Leadership Academy continues to support the social and emotional well-being of fifteen (15) African-American/Black middle school boys by building their personal coping skills and strategies to manage stress through the art of Kemetic yoga. The mothers/guardians of the youth and 10 mentors also participated. The project enabled the organization to support the social and emotional well-being of our African-American male students.

Up next, we will expand the Boys to Men Leadership Academy and offer “Lunch Box Talk” lunch sessions with African American/Black boys at local schools. These sessions will take place once-a-week during the school day for 30-minutes and will provide the following benefits: 1) Hold space for African American/Black male students to be heard, feel that they belong, and feel safe with an adult; 2) Support students with the components of social and emotional wellbeing. These components include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These are critical life skills that these students must have in order to be successful in life; and finally, 3) Provide culturally responsive mentorship opportunities.