This week, the James A. Henry YMCA with the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture (EAC) will launch Boyz Inc., an after-school program dedicated to mentoring the city’s young men. The initial sites include The Howard School, Shepherd Recreation Center, Brainerd Recreation Center, the Westside Resident’s Council, First Baptist Church, East 8th Street, Y-CAP, the YMCA, and with the 100 Black Men’s Life Academy.
Boyz Inc. serves youth in grades 6 – 12 and exposes them to career development, life skills, and positive role models with initial topics including: the Medical Field, Law and Government, Leadership 101, Dress for Success, and Effective Communication.
EAC Administrator and Boyz Inc. Founder Missy Crutchfield said, “I am a single mom. And I have a male child, who also happens to be a teenager. I can teach him about values, I can teach him about character, I can teach him about success—but there’s one thing I cannot teach my son, I cannot teach him to be a man. That’s what inspired the Boyz Inc. pilot program. It’s about providing tutoring and mentoring to young men during what we call ‘The Most Dangerous Time of the Day’—afterschool. It’s about engaging them in safe spaces with productive activities and inspiring them to make positive choices for their futures. And we have designed this to be replicated in neighborhoods across the city—a grassroots movement, a catalyst for change.”
Henry YMCA Executive Director Spencer McCall said, “The Y is committed to Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility and this allows us to strengthen the impact that we are making in our community by engaging an underserved population – young males. The defining element of the program is that it is volunteer driven, by males and community leaders of all ages who simply elect that they want to be a part of the solution.”
For more information about Boyz Inc. contact Spencer McCall at 423 757-0665 or smccall@ymcachattanooga.org.
And for more information about the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture contact Melissa Turner 423 425-7826 or turner_m@chattanooga.gov.