GrantWatch Subscriber Wins Grant to Help Local Youth
In America, one out of every three young people will grow up without a mentor. Subsequently, out of those young people without mentors, 9 million face daily challenges that “put them at risk for falling off track.” Recently, research has proven that quality mentoring benefits youth by increasing school high graduation rates, enhancing self-esteem and self-confidence, and decreasing the likelihood of initiating drug and alcohol use.
One Baltimore nonprofit organization understands this all too well. Ron Beazer, the Founder of One Less One More Mentoring, has helped hundreds of kids in his community.
“I have seen the impact of having a positive male presence around in my own life growing up and I have also seen the impact of the absence of such a figure,” he said. “Being a black man raising two boys in the inner city is really the best way to describe why I decided to develop this mentoring program.”
Recently, the nonprofit turned to GrantWatch.com in an attempt to expand funding and grow its program. This decision paid off when the organization won a grant through the site for $7,500.
“GrantWatch has been a great platform to find grants that are normally not exposed in urban communities,” said Minister Brian Bordley, the Executive Wellness Director at OMOL Mentoring. “They’ve given me a lot of opportunities to find some great grants and we look forward to this year.”
GrantWatch has a category specifically for Youth grants. This category has more than 1,500 grants currently available.
The Inspiration Behind the Program
“It did not register to me just how many of our young black boys did not have the same privilege until I began working in the Baltimore City Public Schools in 1993. I noticed that over 80 percent of my parent interactions were with the mother figures in the child’s life and not the father. I have nothing against mothers, I was raised by a single mother myself. However, strong male influences helped to guide me through the challenging years of adolescence,” Beazer added.
“The principal encouraged me to become a cub scouts leader and open a chapter at the school. After investigating the program, I felt that our young men needed a program that spoke directly to them as urban youths. After some additional research, the OMOL program was born. The program focuses on the spiritual, social, and emotional needs of young black boys and their journey into manhood.”
Currently, The OMOL Mentoring Program provides mentors who promote and support positive growth among underprivileged youth. The organization prepares and empowers them to become catalysts for positive social change. Mentors, parents, and donations from other organizations provide all the resources for the program making it free of charge to boys in Baltimore City.
Funding Their Programs
After finding the Baker Donelson grant on GrantWatch, OMOL Mentoring applied for it and won the grant — receiving $7,500! “The funds are going to community engagement, filing taxes, software /website upgrades, as well as programming costs to help benefit local youth,” Bordley said. OMOL also received a grant from The Bee Conservancy after finding it on GrantWatch.com.
“We are always seeking motivated individuals that will help raise the next generation of black men. So, if you have a desire to make a difference in our community, feel free to join us,” Beazer said. Learn more about OMOL Mentoring at https://www.omolmentoring.org
GrantNews Notes
Discover the grants currently available to benefit youth at https://www.grantwatch.com/grants-for-nonprofits/cat/41/youth-out-of-school-youth-grants.html
Also, if you won a grant you found on GrantWatch.com, we’d love to hear from you! Share your story with us and you could be on GrantNews. Contact support@GrantWatch.com to learn more.