Men Taking Over Reforming Society, Inc. (M.E.N.T.O.R.S) was established in 2011 and incorporated in 2016 by Toni Wells. Shortly after the Treyvon Martin decision, civil unrests began to unfold. Not only did deaths among African Americans by the hand of police officers increase, other incidents of violence became the emphasis of our community! Black on Black crime! Since the beginning of last year (2018), we have lost an estimated 76% (2245 out of 2941) of black people by crimes that were committed by another Black person! Along the same lines, 88% of Latinos were killed by other Latinos (1671 out of 1891) (FBI Crime Report, 2016). Our underserved populations are taking the hardest hit when it comes to participating in this socio-economic system. More and more of our people are dying from diseases like diabetes, cancer, aids, cirrhosis, and most severely drug addiction and overdose. But Why?
The PLIGHT of our Community
Our communities have some of the highest rates of poverty! Lack of resources in our communities and an influx of deadly substances and weapons aimed to keep us in our culturally deprivated state of minds have been permitted to float freely across borders and into our homes. Lack of fresh foods in the grocery stores, lack of education, lack of jobs, lack of role models!!! Our socio-economic conditions continue to keep us at a disadvantage!
We must create our own infrastructures and businesses. All minority groups should come together to promote the welfare of our communities. Support minority owned business and encourage the growth and development of businesses in our community. Women, your daughters are watching! Men, your sons are watching! We can no longer pretend not to see what is happening. We can no longer pretend that our children are too young to understand. Years ago, our forefathers fought so that we didn’t have to. Yet and still, we fight each other. No good!
In 2016… we killed 4832 of our own people. I’m talking Black, Brown, and in between. That’s over 4800 lives lost that could have contributed to our communities. If this happens every year, how long do you think we can survive as a race?
M.E.N.T.O.R.S. believes that communities must stand together and must encourage our community members to contribute to our society in a positive way.
Our Mission
Our Mission is to decrease the disparities and improve the socio-economic conditions of underserved communities by linking its members with resources that provide opportunities for community reform and family stabilization.
Our efforts are conducted by adhering to these five CORE VALUES:
Respect: Each of us should respect one another and the people we serve.
Empathy: We will share the space and understand the feelings of others
Dignity: We will encourage and uplift those around us without judgment
Autonomy: We will recognize that every person has the right to make their own decisions
Benevolence: We will do good and cause no harm
OPERATION BRIGHT LIGHTS
Every year on New Year’s Eve, we honor the lives lost to all culturally deprivated circumstances! Our annual candlelight vigil event, Operation Bright Lights (OBL), shines a light on the situation and plight of our community! Every light represents a lost life! This nationwide event brings awareness to the M.E.N.T.O.R.S. program and how we want to move forward in the year to come! We are constantly looking for OBL coordinators to hold the event in their area. This is a nationwide event. If you would like to participate and hold a candlelight vigil in your area, please contact us on our Facebook page or fill out a contact form here.
At this time, we invite M.E.N.T.O.R.S. to join us in an effort to educate and change the life of one person so that we are not lighting a candle for them at the end of the year. Our participants reach out to us for help because they don’t want to continue the cycle and we are there to stop it!! M.E.N.T.O.R.S. will match participants with professionals in their chosen career field who will inform and advise participants on their life goals. The program is designed to inspire and motivate participants to make life changes for the betterment of the community as a whole. Please contact us if you would like to participate in our efforts to reform our society.
Please Donate
Another aspect of our M.E.N.T.O.R.S. program is the fundraising efforts to put minority community members to work! We have achieved our goal of obtaining our 501c3 and we are ready to begin our partnerships with other non-profit organizations. Please contact us to find out how you can become an intregal part of our organization!
Thank you for your interest in M.E.N.T.O.R.S. programs and events!
About Us
Men Taking Over Reforming Society, Inc. (M.E.N.T.O.R.S) was established in 2011 and incorporated in 2016 by Toni Wells. Shortly after the Treyvon Martin decision, civil unrests began to unfold. Not only did deaths among African Americans by the hand of police officers increase, other incidents of violence became the emphasis of our community! Black on Black crime! Since the beginning of last year (2018), we have lost an estimated 76% (2245 out of 2941) of black people by crimes that were committed by another Black person! Along the same lines, 88% of Latinos were killed by other Latinos (1671 out of 1891) (FBI Crime Report, 2016). Our underserved populations are taking the hardest hit when it comes to participating in this socio-economic system. More and more of our people are dying from diseases like diabetes, cancer, aids, cirrhosis, and most severely drug addiction and overdose. But Why?
The PLIGHT of our Community
Our communities have some of the highest rates of poverty! Lack of resources in our communities and an influx of deadly substances and weapons aimed to keep us in our culturally deprivated state of minds have been permitted to float freely across borders and into our homes. Lack of fresh foods in the grocery stores, lack of education, lack of jobs, lack of role models!!! Our socio-economic conditions continue to keep us at a disadvantage!
We must create our own infrastructures and businesses. All minority groups should come together to promote the welfare of our communities. Support minority owned business and encourage the growth and development of businesses in our community. Women, your daughters are watching! Men, your sons are watching! We can no longer pretend not to see what is happening. We can no longer pretend that our children are too young to understand. Years ago, our forefathers fought so that we didn’t have to. Yet and still, we fight each other. No good!
In 2016… we killed 4832 of our own people. I’m talking Black, Brown, and in between. That’s over 4800 lives lost that could have contributed to our communities. If this happens every year, how long do you think we can survive as a race?
M.E.N.T.O.R.S. believes that communities must stand together and must encourage our community members to contribute to our society in a positive way.
Our Mission
Our Mission is to decrease the disparities and improve the socio-economic conditions of underserved communities by linking its members with resources that provide opportunities for community reform and family stabilization.
Our efforts are conducted by adhering to these five CORE VALUES:
OPERATION BRIGHT LIGHTS
Every year on New Year’s Eve, we honor the lives lost to all culturally deprivated circumstances! Our annual candlelight vigil event, Operation Bright Lights (OBL), shines a light on the situation and plight of our community! Every light represents a lost life! This nationwide event brings awareness to the M.E.N.T.O.R.S. program and how we want to move forward in the year to come! We are constantly looking for OBL coordinators to hold the event in their area. This is a nationwide event. If you would like to participate and hold a candlelight vigil in your area, please contact us on our Facebook page or fill out a contact form here.
At this time, we invite M.E.N.T.O.R.S. to join us in an effort to educate and change the life of one person so that we are not lighting a candle for them at the end of the year. Our participants reach out to us for help because they don’t want to continue the cycle and we are there to stop it!! M.E.N.T.O.R.S. will match participants with professionals in their chosen career field who will inform and advise participants on their life goals. The program is designed to inspire and motivate participants to make life changes for the betterment of the community as a whole. Please contact us if you would like to participate in our efforts to reform our society.
Please Donate
Another aspect of our M.E.N.T.O.R.S. program is the fundraising efforts to put minority community members to work! We have achieved our goal of obtaining our 501c3 and we are ready to begin our partnerships with other non-profit organizations. Please contact us to find out how you can become an intregal part of our organization!
Our Services