Young Men of Purpose provides Thomas Jefferson High School’s students with the ability to build character and academic awareness. graphic courtesy of Halle Bristow
Young Men of Purpose (Y.M.O.P.) is a club that provides young men at Thomas Jefferson High School with guidance to build good character and academic awareness in order to find a sense of purpose.
“We endeavor to intercept society’s definition of young men of color.”
– Rico Wint
Y.M.O.P. is a non-profit organization that teaches male students between the ages of 10 and 18 years old how to cultivate positive self-reliance and aspires to help them reach their highest level of potential, regardless of their environment. Y.M.O.P.’s vision is to see every young man realize their capacity for greatness and administer advice and counseling to overcome life’s obstacles. By connecting young students with an encouraging mentor, it allows space and time for them to develop personal goals, change societal mindsets, and use their gifts and talents to make positive impacts on their community. Club members come from various racial, academic, economic, and social backgrounds to promote leadership in diverse localities.
The program helps to build character and integrity by educating young men on essential life skills necessary for making good choices in their daily lives that can positively impact others. By establishing a beneficial friendship group, students can respect one another and hold each other accountable. “I believe Y.M.O.P. has positively impacted TJ [through] the Y.M.O.P. boys. Because we challenge them to be their best and do their best, I hope that we make TJ better by equipping our participants to be full of integrity and character,” states club instructor Wint. In this way, they can collaboratively combat social bullying and learn to support the people around them. Y.M.O.P. also presents the opportunity for their youth to participate in service activities to aid their community. Wint encourages his students to get involved and represent the Y.M.O.P. core values: manhood, integrity, and purpose. What makes volunteering so important is that one’s sense of confidence and virtue can grow through making an impact in a challenging setting. It ties together teamwork, fairness, and leadership to work on social causes, and teaches young men about social responsibility.
Y.M.O.P. also values academic awareness and promotes the belief that anyone can go from underachievement to success with a positive attitude and a strong work ethic. “TJ has a very diverse and engaging school culture,” Wint adds, “[Y.M.O.P.] does their very best to educate students.” Y.M.O.P. prepares its members to enter into the professional workplace by passing down the knowledge and skills to become goal-oriented and self-motivated. Grounded in academic improvement, Wint aspires to have an impact on TJ’s advanced placement success, graduation rates, and college enrollment for the students.
Y.M.O.P. hopes to provide young male students here at TJ with the opportunity to discover their purpose in life and access their gifts through changing patterns and affecting behaviors to build future leaders in our communities.
