Fostering Paradigm Shifts Through Motivation and Action

City ACES has purposed itself to working with youth who are attending middle schools located in distressed communities or under performing school districts across the United States.
We strive to awaken and sustain the love of education among the young, enabling them to realize their full potential through dedication and hard work. As ambassadors and stakeholders of the future, it is imperative that the youth engage and understand, at an early age, the importance that education plays in whatever future paths they may take. Often this lesson is learned too late, after coursework has been neglected, and G.P.A.’s have suffered. It is in this light that we utilize professional athletes, to spark the flame in the minds of these young children, setting them on the pathway of greatness, via academic achievement.

Long Term Community Based Mentoring

However, short-term motivation is only half of the equation. City ACES subscribes to the belief that long-term mentoring programs are some of the best means of bringing a person, who can represent the concern and support of the larger community, into the lives of young people. In many ways, mentoring represents a return to tradition, calling upon the community to provide our youth with care and guidance, and to nurture and challenge them. Research shows that providing young people with consistent adult support through a well-supervised, frequently occurring, long-term mentoring relationship improves grades and family relationships, and helps prevent initiation of drug and alcohol use. (ecs.org). It is for this reason that we created our City ACES Mentors Program (CAMP), with the goal of:

• 1. Creating and promoting positive mentor/student relationships for youth residing in distressed communities
• 2. Improving academic performance and enhancing development and self-esteem

Mentoring is a necessity and mentoring works. The presentation with the athletes is simply a forerunner to the change we desire to take place, again, involving local community organizations that are willing, and have a strong desire, to transform the community they live in, as well as the futures of the students that are located there.

“We all need someone who inspires us to do better than we know how.”
- Anonymous