From the Founder's Desk:

Welcome to the Knights of Pythagoras Mentoring Network, Inc. Today, the challenges facing our youth are greater than ever. Harsh realities such as gang violence, substance abuse and teenage pregnancies compound the most critical time in a young man or woman's life.

Without a mentor, too many promising students get caught up in a path that they may not choose and make decisions they often regret. Every young person deserves to have a mentor to help them weigh the consequences of their actions, review their options and make sound choices.

We are in a state of emergency and the Knights of Pythagoras Mentoring Network (KOPMN) is making a call to action to those 18 and older who are able and stable. Consider these devastating statistics:

• 1/3 of all black children are living in poverty
• 6.6 percent of all African American babies are born to mothers under age 18
• Every day in America more than 1,000 black children are arrested
• 1 in every 8 black men, age 25-29, is incarcerated
• For young black women ages 25-34, HIV is the leading cause of death
• For our young black men, the leading cause of death is homicide and
• 80 percent of black fourth graders are reading below reading level and 56 percent are functionally illiterate

The Mentoring Partnership in California conducted a reassuring study that shows that mentoring works. Ninety-eight percent of the youngsters who were mentored did not drop out of school, 95 percent did not join gangs and 98 percent of the girls and boys did not become parents while they were teenagers.

That's why the KOPMN is appealing to you. When you don't have the opportunity to hold the reins of your life in your hands, cannot create a new path for yourself or cannot take care of your family, then you're going to look for other ways to survive.

We know that underserved and failing schools are the pipeline to prison and that the number of prisons built, are determined by the number of students who complete the third grade. These for profit entities are being built on the backs of young African Americans and Latinos. Therefore, it is critical that we reach kids in their formative years, before they are counted out.

But the problem is not limited to minorities, white students on college campuses are facing their own unique challenges - depression, binge drinking, cutting – and the rate of young Hispanic women committing suicide is escalating. Our children are screaming and they're screaming loudly.

A strong mentoring relationship changes lives especially for the children who are most challenged. This past Friday, three of my students were among the winners at the monthly Principal's Honor Roll and Citizenship awards at Village Academy in Delray Beach.

Last year, in the first five weeks, the first of these achievers quickly amassed nine suspensions, the second was one of the principal's frequent visitors, and the third was a straight D student. We assigned them mentors, who developed a performance improvement plan, ensured homework completion and monitored their conduct. Through these actions, they saw that we believed in them and they did not want to disappoint us. Not only did they not fail us, they made us proud.

My friends, if every child completes high school, has the opportunity to attend college, trade school, or the military, I assure you that many of the challenges our community faces will vanish. I need your help to reclaim our children. This is a battle that we can win.

I need you to gear up and join me.

C. Ron Allen

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