A few weeks ago I ran this photo of me and some of the guys at our mentoring group at Mount Zion Baptist Church, my church home in Seattle.
We’ve established a wonderful mentoring group for a lot of our young boys/men who really could benefit from the impact of having a positive male role model (especially African-American male) in their lives. Granted, these young men have good positive homes to go home to for the most part, but nothing can replace the influence of positive, upstanding, career oriented and educated men mentoring to young boys, who will soon become men themselves.
Here are some statistics that I recently came about pertaining to youth from fatherless home (both boys and girls) from fatherless homes:
– 63% of our youth suicides today come from fatherless homes
– 75% of patients in drug rehab places come from fatherless homes
– youth are five times more likely to commit suicide coming from fatherless homes
– youth are 32 times more likely to run away from fatherless homes
– youth are 20 times more likely to have behavior disorders coming from fatherless homes
– youth are 14 times more likely to commit rape that come from fatherless homes
– youth are nine times more likely to drop out of school who come from fatherless homes
– youth are 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances who come from fatherless homes
– youth are nine times more likely to end up in a state operated institution (jail/prison, etc.) who come from fatherless homes
That my friends is why we do what we do, and we all need to pitch in and do a little bit more. With Miley Cyrus out there “twerking” her little behind off and giving our young girls something to emulate (in order to get attention) and our young boys something to salivate over, this is where we’re heading if we all don’t take up the mantra of “each one teach one, each one reach one”.youth are 20 times more likely to end up in prison who come from fatherless homes
I’ve always enjoyed my work that I do with the youth and a variety of capacities, and even though there are no guarantees they’ll turn out to be responsible citizens, hopefully, “as the person walking along the seashore throwing in an individual starfish every couple of steps back into the ocean, even when there are thousands of other starfish that he/she will never reach, it makes a difference to the ones that we do reach”.
Keep up the great work my friends/mentors all around the country, and we’ll make a big difference in a positive way for the youth of today, who will be our leaders for tomorrow.
James Donaldson
Author of Standing Above the Crowd
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
