Organizations Filed Purposes:
To raise African American males' aspirations by initiating innovative ways to improve their lives socially, emotionally, academically, and spiritually through mentoring programs. Our vision is to be the recognized resource in the Kansas City urban core for developing personal life-skills in African-American young men to enable them to live socially productive lives.
To raise African American males' aspirations by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of their lives spiritually, emotionally, socially, and academically.
High Aspirations serves youth in Kansas City's urban core, from the Missouri River to 95th Street; State Line to I-435. According to the Kansas City School District, the median income in this area is $34,100, and more than 80% of all students receive free or reduced lunch. Most mentees live in single parent, female-headed households. In Missouri, the high school graduation rate for African American males is 54% compared to 70% for white males. Only 42% of African American males graduate high school on time. African American males make up 4% of the overall college population and of these, 33.1% graduate within six years. A violent crime occurs in Missouri roughly every 20 minutes, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. In 2017, St. Louis and Kansas City made the top 10 list of murder capitals. Homicide is a long-standing problem in Kansas City that has economic as well as human effects. At least 30% of homicide victims each year are between the ages of 17 and 24. Between 2/3 and 3/4 of Kansas City's homicide victims each year are African American, and approximately 60% of the African American victims are males. Among known suspects, roughly 40% each year are African American. High Aspirations intervenes early in a young man's life to prevent him from becoming a victim or a perpetrator of crime.
High Aspirations maintains a mentor to mentee ratio of 1 to 7. In addition, we have one high school intern for every 70 younger students. The large group configuration on Saturdays allows us to provide effective service to approximately 140 mentees. Every Saturday, with support from the Program Specialist, program Interns, Concerned Mothers Group and other community volunteers, we hold two-hour sessions with 70 mentees in a stimulating mix of interactive learning activities. Our SATURDAY PROGRAMS include 1) Chess Club which teaches critical thinking skills, strategy, and patience. In addition to the weekly sessions, we have tournaments with prizes throughout the year. 2) Leadership/Entrepreneurship Training: Interactive speaker's series on leadership and business, writing and public speaking, and racial and ethnic pride that builds on a foundation of African-American history. 3) HA's Olympics: Competition that engages all participants, parents, and mentors in a combination of Youth Leadership and Service Learning. Teams strive for excellence in four key areas: Academics, HA Activities, Relationship Building, and Community Service. Once a quarter, Olympic teams receive recognition for their progress. The program engages all young men, parents, and mentors in a way that stokes competition among the different mentoring groups, and rewards success to the young men for their consistent commitment to High Aspirations. The five-step plan helps guide each young man in developing a strategic life plan. The objective for the five-step plan is to help mentees identify goals that will aid in the avoidance of destructive behavior. 4) Pre-Collegiate Program: Young men explore options in higher education, taking college tours, studying for college entrance examinations, discussing college life with mentors, and if appropriate, engaging in remedial classes such as Basic Math, Algebra I and II, Geometry and Pre-Calculus. Every quarter the young men are expected to submit grade cards in order to assess progress. 5) Community Service: Mentees donate their time to provide a variety of services for various groups, creating positive interaction with their community, learning the importance of being good citizens, giving back to the community, and appreciating the value of public spaces. Past efforts include sorting food at Harvesters, cleaning up vacant and abandoned lots, and collecting food and clothing to donate to other agencies. 6) Legally Informed: Our young men interact with the Kansas City Police Department, lawyers, and judges to learn their rights as well as their responsibilities. These conversations build understanding of the legal system and how important it is to stay on the right track. 6) High Aspirations Lawn Service (HALS): During the spring and summer months our HALS mentees learn how to run their own business. The young men cut lawns at no cost to elderly folks who can't physically maintain their property and High Aspirations pays them.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Henry W Wash | President and Exec Director | 40 | $90,000 |
| Erica Stone | Director | 1 | $0 |
| Robert Sniezek | Director | 1 | $0 |
| Zachary Thompson | Director | 1 | $0 |
| Anita Maltbia | Director | 1 | $0 |
| Dr Lester Blue | Director | 1 | $0 |
| Monic Houpe | Director | 1 | $0 |
| Jeanette Countee | Director | 1 | $0 |
| John Schmidt | Director | 2 | $0 |
| Stan Stark | Treasurer | 2 | $0 |
| Bill Dunn Jr | Vice Chair | 2 | $0 |
| Damon Bryant | Chair | 2 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202043189349309594_public.xml