CHAMPS MALE MENTORING PROGRAM CHIRISE
8118 S Prairie Ave Unit B, CHICAGO, IL 60619 www.champsmentoring.com

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Organizations Filed Purposes: The mission of the C.H.A.M.P.S. Male Mentoring Program is to educate, empower, and expose African-American and Latino young men beyond the four walls of the school in order to help them to achieve their dreams and goals. C.H.A.M.P.S. Male Mentoring Program envisions a safe environment for every young man by developing their mindsets through culturally relevant conversations and interactions that will help them develop the skills and habits necessary to navigate life in a positive and productive way.

Champs is a group mentoring program that works with BYMOC aged 12-18. Our 3 pillars of EDUCATION, EMPOWERMENT and Exposure guide our programming as we seek to promote positive racial identity, and help young men develop the confidence and skills to accomplish their dreams and goals.

CHAMPS Primary program is the CHAMPS Saturdays. In our Saturday program we recruit young men ages 12-18 to come together each week for 3 hours of programming built around our pillars of EDUCATION, EMPOWERMENT and EXPOSURE. Young men participate in group mentoring activities designed to strengthen their social-emotional capacities, develop their leadership skills and promote positive racial identity. CHAMPS core values are BROTHERHOOD, CONSISTENCY, POSITIVE MINDSET, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and SERVICE. Our Saturday programming promotes these values as we work to help young men develop positive relationships with peers and adults while growing in self-awareness, self-management, relationships and decision-making. We bring in guest speakers, take trips, play sports, hold discussion, read culturally relevant material and perform community service. On Saturdays we work with 30-50 young men in both middle and high school and have fun while providing young men a safe environment in which they can discover themselves, build a sense of belonging to a supportive community and develop the skills and mindsets necessary to succeed.

CHAMPS has developed a social-emotional learning curriculum that can be implemented in schools. In 2020 CHAMPS worked primarily in one southside high school, funded by a grant from the City of Chicago Department of Family Support Services. We worked with 60 young men in 10th-12th grades initially in-person and then virtually during the pandemic. The course was an incredible success despite the challenges of virtual learning. Class attendance stayed consistently near 80%, which was significantly higher than school-wide averages. On a network survey, the CHAMPS class scored and average of 15-20 points higher in student satisfaction in areas measuring classroom belonging, engagement, rigor, relationships, climate and pedagogical effectiveness. Overall the course aims to promote positive racial identity, while helping students develop their capacities in areas like self awareness, decision-making and self-management. We are able to create a positive, welcoming environment that promotes brotherhood and positive mindset, while empowering and exposing students to new people, experiences and opportunities.

CHAMPS also runs summer programs each year. In 2020 our program was a 5-week hybrid with 4 days of virtual programming and one day of in-person activities. Attendance and engagement remained high as we brought in a wide range of guests to lead workshops on topics like spoken word, film, improv, physical fitness, mindfulness and manhood development. In person we held a basketball clinic, helped restore a local building that is being converted to a clinic for mental health services, and took a trip downtown to Navy Pier.

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