I had the pleasure of sitting down with Rob Malone founder of Mentoring 2 Manhood. M2M has been doing great things for teens in the community of the greater D.C. area. Since I have been able to see the magic of this program firsthand I wanted others to know straight from the source the great things this program is doing to help groom boys into young men.

Me: When and why did you start Mentoring 2 Manhood?

Rob: 8 years ago around this time I was sitting in my house with three friends of mine watching the news. Seeing all of the young males killing each other, going to jail, and dropping out of school, I had so many emotions going through my head at the time. I was just tearing up watching this on T.V. I felt that I needed to do something to help out my community. I knew I had to get involved somehow. I was always a mentor in the communities that I lived in, but it was time to do more. I wanted a program that was suited for me and people like me based on my Christian beliefs that tailored to the boys without the distraction of money, titles, or positions. When it comes down to it I wanted the focus to be 100% on the boys.

Me: What is the age range for to register young men in Mentoring 2 Manhood?

Rob: Boys in school from the age of 12 and up, it does not matter your race, color, or creed.

Me: About how many children have you pushed through the program?

Rob: We are roughly around 250 strong. We were only pushing about 15-20 boys a year. Now we are pushing 60 a year and hopefully it will be around 100 next year. I have to credit that to the demand of the program. I have not advertised, pushed or promoted M2M, only through back to school night. It has all been word of mouth through the parents. The demand has been very high for men role models.

Me: I guess that’s where I come in. What days does the program meet?

Rob: We have a lot for people to get involved in. On Thursdays we are at Walker Mill Middle School (800 Karen Blvd Capitol Heights, MD 20743) we offer tutoring in there enrichment period from 11AM-1PM. We are also there from 5:15-6:15 for after school tutoring. On Saturday we are at Kettering Middle School (65 Herrington Dr, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772) where we have middle school and high school students throughout Prince Georges County and the D.C. area. We have mentoring from 11AM- 1PM. If all goes well next week we will start a third site at Kenmoor Middle School (2500 Kenmoor Drive Landover, MD 20785) it will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays during their enrichment period.

Me: Are you a Non-Profit Organization?

Rob: Yes we are 501.c3 we have the charitable organization tax exempt status.

Me: How would people donate money to your organization?

Rob: Most people do it through the internet. You can go to www.M2Minc.org or they can mail contributions to 3262 Superior Lane P.O. Box 225 Bowie, MD 20715

Me: Who is the contact person for people who want to get involved or that have young men they want to register into the program?

Rob: Mr. Rob Howze email: rhowze@m2minc.org phone: 240-461-8474

Me: Is there anything else that your organization is involved in, or you just want to add?

Rob: Something that we have that is hot right now is parent engagement. It takes a village to raise a child. We do something after every progress report and report card called an academic conference where we invite the parents and students to meet with a tutor and a mentor. We set guidelines and expectations on how we can improve the child’s academic standing and behavior. We make sure they are structured and supported. We had a retreat this past weekend and it was powerful. We had 41 boys there. But the biggest thing was the mentors that came out. People do not understand but mentoring can be easy. It only takes a couple hours of week. You do not have to be a millionaire to make a difference in a child’s life. All you have to do is be a productive member in society wanting to better the lives of our youth.

Me: I want to thank you for your time in doing the interview. I love to see people giving back to the community. That is something that is very near and dear to my heart.

Rob: I want to thank you for doing this. I hope that this bring awareness to your readers of what we are doing. I just hope that people give back whether it be with my organization or another please take the time to give back you will find there is a lot of gratification in doing it.

Me: Always Remember to Keep it GC!