Our Organization has made a commitment or a Pact with the community to help facilitate growth and development from within the community instead of looking outside of it.  You are about to become an integral and vital part of our fulfilling that Pact.  For that we thank you, and we hold you in the highest regards.

PACTS Inc. is a Non-Profit organization with the state goal of Developing the Black Community from the inside.  We are an unapologetically Pro-Black Organization with a Black Progress focus.  What this means is that we are a publically Pro-Black Organization that concerns ourselves more with the community and things we can do to make it better instead of focusing on making public displays and trying to change the opinions of other culture groups.  PACTS stands for: Power, Affinity, Consciousness, Truth and Singularity.  Each word representing a different aspect of our organizational culture and community.  Aspects that we hope will become a part of our larger culture group in time.

Mentor: Someone who teaches or guides- Tutor, Coach.


Mentorship: to teach or give advice and/or guidance
 
The intent to initiate and implement a mentorship program within PACTS Inc. is to enhance the connections, positive experiences, and respect that Black Children have for each other and Black Culture.  The Mentorship program enhances, strengthens, and becomes PACTS Inc. direct connection and method of influence over Black Youth driving a message of cultural pride and self-respect into youth through interactions with dedicated, knowledgeable, and positive old Black People.

Motto: Before you can teach the youth you have to reach the youth. We are the Bridge.
Need: 

Black Children face a unique set of systematic and institutionalized problems both within the community and outside of the community.  From facing over a 70% chance of living in a single parent home to facing unemployment and incarceration rates that are more than 2 times the national average.  In education they face disciplinary action that is harsher and more frequent then their peers and countless other social and economic stereotypes and walls that impeded their progress.   All of these blockades creates a space were Black Children devalue themselves and their culture and latch on to the counter culture of self-destruction that seems welcoming and empowering.  This Mentoring Program seeks to break through all of those challenges and provide a positive road to real success for Black Youth.

The 2013 study “The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles,” examined mentoring program relationships, experiences and benefits for higher-risk youth, and among the findings determined:

The strongest program benefit, and most consistent across risk groups, was a reduction in depressive symptoms.

Findings also suggested gains in social acceptance, academic attitudes.
In addition to benefits in specific domains, mentored youth also experienced gains in a greater number of outcomes than youth in the comparison group. 

In a separate study done jointly by Pittsburg and Harvard University, it was shown that ethnic pride had a positive effect on academic and life success.  It also had the effect of lowering at-risk behavior for crime and teenaged pregnancy.  In other words when people know who they are and feel connected to their culture and history, they do better in all aspects of life. 

Plan:

1. Program flow to begin with generalized assessments taken by youth age 5-16 inclusive of: stress factors and current situation and dream alignment (realization and actualization); as well as character traits- introvert, extrovert etc. 

2. Results will be matched with available mentor pairs (Male and Female Mentors are assigned as a pair with the Male Mentor being assigned a Male Mentee and the Female Mentor being assigned a Female Mentee) that have also taken an assessment indicating life experiences, professionalism and specific character traits.
 
3. From there mentor and mentee will meet twice via phone, Skype or personal contact to determine correct fit. 1 Meeting must be personal. 

4. If a pair is deemed a “correct fit,” a Plan of Action (PoA) will be developed between mentor and mentee involving meeting frequencies and lengths etc. 

5. Journals will be kept by both mentors and mentees denoting progress. 

6. Monthly meetings (subject to change) will be held by the leadership team to evaluate mentees and mentors individually and collectively to determine continuance of relationship.

Plan Goal: To establish a meaningful positive relationship between mentor and mentee in order to facilitate an increase in respect and pride in oneself and those around them both in and out of the community.

Each and every donation is greatly appreciated and helps further our initiatives and reaching our goals.

Click above to go directly to the donation page.  It has the same info as this page. Or click below to donate directly using either paypal or the alternative. 

Purpose:

1. Connect each young person to 2 mentors (Male and Female) that care, are knowledgeable, and that encourage.  

This goal is important because Men and Women don’t live in isolation from each other.  A large part of the success of 1 part of a culture is centered in success in another part of a culture.  A large part of the devaluation of Black Boys stems from treatment they receive not just from the dominant society but also from Females within Black Culture.  It becomes imperative that Black Boys and Black Girls be shown the world from each other’s perspectives and be taught how to interact in a mature and classy fashion.  This Sibling Network of a male and female mentor combined with a companion mentee of the opposite sex will help solve issues related not only to culture devaluation, but also gender devaluation. 

2. Encourage positivity and support it through positive reinforcement. 

Our Children in the Black Community struggle with getting positive reinforcement from the world around them unless they conform.  This often times means that they have to be different from who they feel they are and the world that they exist in.  This causes psychological stress and internal culture clashes.  Our Mentors will be trained to use positive reinforcement wherever possible to encourage children to be who they feel they are and to strive for more. 
 
3. Encourage and display cultural acceptance as well as gaining and integrating knowledge of self. 

Culturally many Black Children are taught that their culture is bad.  The extreme focus on the negative elements present within the culture has caused the positive elements to be completely overshadowed.  We believe this is also part of the reason why Black Children often times have difficulty finding anything positive about themselves.  With the link being established by research that links success to cultural pride it becomes vital that our children are informed about their heritage and the positive elements of their community.
 
4. Develop, demonstrate, and encourage proper interactions between themselves and those they come into contact with, emphasis on the opposite sex. 

Black Children are seldom taught how to interact with their peers in an encouraging social environment outside of the home, especially those of the opposite sex.  This causes endless anxiety later in life and is showcased in the growing disconnect between Black Men and Black Women.  The lack of perspective is also showcased in the gender bias present in the community.  Like everything else children need to be taught how to interact with others in their community in different environments.  Our program which gives them a male mentor and a female mentor as well as a companion mentee of the opposite sex will provide the circumstances and situations to facilitate this training. 

5. Developing a sense of community and a connection to those around them.

A large problem in the Black Community is that our children feel isolated. They don’t feel any connection to the world around them and the connections they often make are negative.  Our overall goal with this program is to develop a sense of community and community responsibility in our children that has them feeling both connected and empowered to make a positive difference.