Make A Difference, Be A Mentor

Growing up without a father is no easy thing.  I don’t want to lie to you and make it seem like I’ve led a hard life.  As far as children in single-parent homes in the DC Metropolitan area go, I had it pretty easy.  I had a hard-working, God-fearing mother who loved me immeasurably.  I never wondered where my food would come from or if I would have clothes to wear.  I was never seriously tempted with gang-involvement.  Still, I faced many difficulties that many would not even notice.  Fathers who are present– even if rarely– just by being present teach and model manhood to their children.  Simple things like changing the oil, shaving, or even killing bugs model and affirm manhood in the life of a growing boy.  When you remove that father figure, when you take away that model, you also take away the affirmation that is so necessary.  I lacked that affirmation and as a result never understood my own masculinity.  This led to me never fully understanding who I was and, therefore, my place in society, in school, and in my own peer groups.  When a person’s understanding of self is distorted, their understanding of community will be distorted as well.  It’s no wonder that so many who grow up in similar conditions as I did turn to gangs, struggle academically and continue the cycle of out-of-wedlock child bearing.

I am a graduate school student, Youth Pastor, husband and father.  I don’t say these things to boast, but rather to ask you to consider the difference in my life.  I’d love to say that it was my grit and determination or that I pulled myself up by my own boot straps, but that’s just not true at all.  Any success I have must, in large part, be attributed to different men who took the time to show me they valued me and modeled manhood to me.  In the void where my biological father belonged stood men like Hugh McGillicuddy, Andy Richardson, Eddie Riley and Matt Caudle, who have all made profound impacts on my life, probably more profound than they even know.  They were not rich or powerful men, they just saw a need in my life and met it.  They were willing to invest in a child’s life and I am still reaping the benefits of their investment.  They were mentors.

We at The Hope Project are very excited to kick-off a mentoring program in select schools in our community.  We understand the value of adults taking time to invest in the lives of students.  We understand that sometimes opportunities to mentor do not make themselves readily available.  We understand that through an in-school mentoring program we can partner willing, caring mentors with children and youth who need that model and affirmation.  Please join us in impacting the lives of the students in our community.  Please check out our Why Mentor and Become a Mentor pages and consider mentoring.

Thanks,

Shaun Cross
Assistant Director