THE VISION

National Cares Mentoring Movement, formerly Essence Cares, was launched by Susan Taylor of Essence Magazine during the July 2006 Essence Music Festival in Houston, Texas. The movement is a call to action to the African American community across America, for every able black person to have his or her hand on a vulnerable young person’s shoulder.  The call to action requests simply that African Americans join our trusted "partner" organizations, professional institutions or a community–based initiative working to open wider pathways to success for our disenfranchised youth.

The Florida Legislative Black Caucus, chaired by State Senator Tony Hill from Jacksonville, was asked to support a statewide steering committee that would be charged with the responsibility of recruiting African American citizens in individual cities, communities, and hamlets across the state of Florida to mentor black children! Individual legislators were asked to appoint a representative from their respective districts to serve on the statewide committee and to set the methodology, goals and objectives of the initiative.  This initiative opens excitingly new collaborative and cooperative relationships throughout the most challenged communities in our state. 

The FLORIDA CARES Statewide Steering Committee is truly passionate about the NATIONAL CARES MENTORING MOVEMENT/FLORIDA CARES movement.  The Committee is chaired by Florida Senator Tony Hill who took over the position after the sudden decease of Dr. Roy Mitchell; Mr. Patrick Hadley, National Vice President for the MAD DADS, Inc. organization; Jermyn C. Shannon-EL, Vice Chair of Marketing & Communications, founder of Blacksonville.com, and a proven leader who has provided structure and direction for the initiative. 

Together, we are indeed working to ensure that FLORIDA CARES is successful in recruiting 100,000 new black mentors within the “Sunshine State” by the year 2011.  As a committee, we are invigorated by Susan Taylor’s "Call to Secure Our Youth", and we can boldly say that we are equipped and ready for action. 

OBJECTIVES

Over the decades, our youngsters have been crying out for help. On many occassions we have ignored them. As a result, review the following stunning statistics:

1. Of all Black fourth-graders in the nation, 58 percent are functionally illiterate.
2. In some cities, 80 percent of our boys drop out before finishing high school.
3. Every day 1,000 Black children are arrested.
4. Nearly 7 percent of Black babies are born to girls under the age of 18.
5. 1 in every 8 African-American males age 25-29 is incarcerated.
6. The number one cause of death for our boys is homicide.
   
   *Source: The California Mentor Foundation Summer 1999 Study*

"Failing schools, crumbling neighborhoods, the carnage in our communities -- all of this must end. We are the solution. Mentoring works. It saves lives. In recent years I have mentored vulnerable young people, several of whom had been in juvenile detention. Today, all of them are steady and succeeding. Studies have shown that youngsters who are mentored are nearly 99 percent less likely to drop out of school; the boys less likely to join a gang, the girls less likely to drop out of school. or become teenage mothers. Mentoring children doesn't require much-only that we engage, love and listen to them, encourage and expose them to a wider world, and point the way to their many options. And the mentor is fed as richly as the mentee. Mentoring our underserved youths is the heart of the Florida Cares Initiative."

-- Susan L. Taylor