Will Green, Mentoring Positives

January 20, 2020

 

Will Green, executive director of Mentoring Positives, was introduced by President Elect Tara Ingalls. Mentoring Positives (MP) uses the same initials as Mr Green’s mother Muriel Pipkins who was 14 years old when Will was born. Ms Pipkins died at age 46. With his mother’s inspiration, Mr Green was able to avoid the pitfalls for youth growing up in Gary, Indiana— “America’s murder capitol”. Basketball was a way for him to be part of a group, stay out of trouble, get an education. With a degree in psychology, today Mr Green uses basketball as a hook to reach out to teens of the Madison’s eastside, northside, and the Darbo-Worthington community in which Mentoring Positives is located. He is also the girls’ basketball coach at LaFollette High School.

Mr Green, his wife, Becky Green a licensed social worker, and a dedicated staff are committed to Mentoring Positives’ mission: “building strong, trusting relationships, positive attitudes, and life skills in youth through mentoring and social entrepreneurship.”
 
“A lot of kids are broken inside, have low self-esteem. They need skills, not to be locked up.” Mr Green wants Madison to be known as a city where ALL kids can grow and do well. Kids need adults to help them be successful. The students in their program are shown a positive path through community basketball mentorship, academic support based on Madison Schools’ 40 Development Assets Framework, and Off the Block Social Enterprise. Forty-five hours working at Off the Block Social Enterprise Internships can translate into high school credits. The ReJeweled group takes donated jewelry, redesigns it and sells the pieces. Off the Block pizza and salsa teams are creating marketable products which are sold at Metcalf Foods; students are paid for their work. Financial literacy instruction is part of students learning how deal with their income. In return for the “support, empowerment, boundaries, expectations, and constructive use of time, students are developing commitment to learning positive values, social competencies, and positive identity.”
 
Mentoring Positives needs contributions, volunteers, and advocates. To find out more go to mentoringpositives.org.