A resource for the whole city,
not just our families.
Mentorship, manhood, and raising young men. What we've learned, what the research shows, and what any parent or young man can use, whether they ever apply or not.
What mentorship actually does, and what it can't
An honest guide to what a mentoring program changes for a young man, what it doesn't, and how to tell a serious program from a babysitting service.
Read the guide → For young menThe four pillars, explained without the lecture
Manhood, scholarship, perseverance, uplift. What each one actually means on a Saturday morning and why we organize everything around them.
Read the breakdown → The evidenceThe research behind mentoring, in plain language
Thirty years of studies on what happens when a young man has a mentor who keeps showing up. The numbers, sourced and summarized.
See the research →What mentorship actually does
A good mentoring program will not fix everything. Any program that promises that is selling something. Here is what real mentorship does, honestly stated.
What it does
- Puts a consistent adult man in your son’s life. He has come through the fraternity’s membership process, shows up on a schedule, and keeps his word.
- Holds your son to a standard on his grades, his conduct, and his commitments, and notices when he slips.
- Surrounds him with other young men doing the same work, so the standard feels normal instead of imposed.
- Teaches the things most schools do not: money, conflict, communication, how to carry yourself.
What it can’t do
- Replace you. We have your son for three hours a month across two semesters, roughly twenty-four hours a year. Every other hour of his life is yours.
- Work without your partnership. We will ask for your involvement, not just your signature.
- Produce change overnight. The young men who get the most out of this are the ones who stay.
Ask who the mentors are and how they are vetted. Ask what is required of the young man. Ask what happens when he misses. A program that asks nothing of your son is not mentoring him.
The four pillars, without the lecture
The research, in plain language
