TEAM M3 - October 2008 - US Department of Justice Awards the MGR Foundation's Team M3 a $376,705 Latino Youth Mentoring Grant

The US Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs has awarded the MGR Foundation’s Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun with $376,705 over 3 years as part of their Latino Youth Mentoring Program grant. The DOJ OJJDP’s Latino Youth Mentoring program is aimed at preventing gang participation and violence by offering an alternative that fulfills developmental adolescent needs and reducing or preventing delinquency, violence, dropping out of school, and truancy. This grant will enhance the peer mentoring aspect of MGR Foundation’s Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun which trains at-risk students to successfully complete a half marathon in Chicago and/or the Bank of America Chicago Marathon with the assistance of both peer and adult mentors. By training together, the students, peer and adult mentors form a strong bond and a sense of community that helps to foster positive attitudes, personal discipline and self-esteem. Through mentoring and training, Team M3 engages youth in a positive and supportive environment and provides students with skills and tools to succeed well beyond the finish line.

Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun is currently in its third year and is training over 100 students and mentors in this 2008 season. The DOJ Latino Youth Mentoring Program grant focuses specifically on Foreman High School on Chicago’s Northwest side. The MGR Foundation will expand its current programming at Foreman in which incoming students and underclassmen will engage in weekly mentorship activities with peer mentors. Through the generous support of the DOJ, Team M3 will focus on additional peer mentorship at Foreman to develop and strengthen protective factors against gang involvement and activities. The Department of Justice reports, “Research confirms that youth must be connected to at least two of three significant social entities, family, school, and community to succeed. For those youth, who have substantial ties to these social engines, contact with the law enforcement community is reduced, educational outcomes improve, and pro-social conduct increases.” Through a combined effort of the school community, local service providers and the MGR Foundation, Team M3~Chicago Student MentorRun serves as a significant social entity, engaging youth through our training, mentoring and the incredible achievement of completing a half marathon in Chicago and/or the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

The MGR Foundation is grateful for this opportunity to further develop the peer mentorship aspect of Team M3 and intends to utilize Foreman’s peer mentoring program as a replicable model for all of our Team M3 schools. The MGR Foundation seeks to expand Team M3 to 15 Chicago Public High Schools for the 2009 season.

The best part of being a member of Team M3 is the experience. It's something you
will never forget and not only that the mentors are caring and nice.—Daisy, student