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Dave Bing to Receive National Youth Mentoring Award

DETROIT, MI – NBA legend, businessman and former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is among five leaders who will receive the national Excellence in Mentoring Award from MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership on January 28, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The awards honor individuals who have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to meeting the mentoring needs of young people at the national, state or local level. The presentation will take place during MENTOR’s fifth annual National Mentoring Summit at the Library of Congress.

Last year, Bing launched a yearlong pilot mentoring program for young men of color in the Detroit Public Schools. The initiative is called B.I.N.G.O., which stands for “Boys Inspired through Nurturing, Growth and Opportunities.” The program is part of the Bing Youth Institute (BYI), a coalition of organizations whose mission is to enhance the lives of Detroit-area youth through mentoring, academic support, and recreational opportunities.

Bing has teamed up with professional sports teams, corporations and foundations that are providing both financial support and volunteer mentors for urban youth. The mentors will work with the young men to strengthen their self-esteem, improve decision-making skills, and reduce incidents of violent behavior.

Bing credits the “old-fashioned values” he learned growing up with his parents and the presence and positive affirmations from his high school basketball coach and mentor as the catalyst that propelled him to success. Enjoying a 16-year career in collegiate and professional basketball, Bing developed a strong belief in teamwork and responsibility — something he wanted to pay forward in life. He encourages other men to do the same.

“Many of our boys and young men of color do not have a father figure in their homes. When you don’t have a male role model in your life, it can be difficult to develop the confidence and leadership skills that will make you successful as an adult,” said Bing. “Somebody helped us get where we are in life, and it's time for us to give back. I don't care how busy you are. I don't care how successful you are, how much money you've got, you've got to give time now."

In addition to Bing, the national mentoring champions are: Charles R. Burke, Jr. (Chip) of The Grable Foundation; U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana; football coach Bill Snyder of Kansas State University; and Michael B. Yanney, a Nebraska native and the founder of Burlington Capital Group, LLC. Nominations were solicited from MENTOR’s national network of affiliate Mentoring Partnerships and national mentoring and youth-serving organizations.

“This is a special year for MENTOR as we celebrate 25 years of building a mentoring movement in partnership with so many extraordinary leaders across sectors and the nation who use their platforms to create more mentoring opportunities for young people,” said David Shapiro, CEO of MENTOR. “This year’s group demonstrates why the movement has made so much progress in closing the mentoring gap, as well as the type of steadfast dedication and visionary creativity it will take to provide a mentor for the one in three youth who are still growing up without the benefit of a caring adult.”

About MENTOR
MENTOR is the unifying champion for quality youth mentoring in the United States. MENTOR’s mission is to close the “mentoring gap” and ensure our nation’s young people have the support they need through quality mentoring relationships to succeed at home, school, and ultimately, work. To achieve this, MENTOR collaborates with its network of affiliate Mentoring Partnerships and works to drive the investment of time and money into high impact mentoring programs and advance quality mentoring through the development and delivery of standards, cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art tools. Connect with MENTOR on Twitter and Facebook.

About Bing Youth Institute
Launched in 2014, the Bing Youth Institute (BYI) was created in direct response to national statistics that show more young men of color going to prison than to college. The goal of BYI is to provide guidance, leadership, hope and a foundation for inspiring and elevating the youth of Detroit. The Bing Youth Institute partners include: B.I.N.G.O., Detroit Recreation Foundation, NBA Retired Players Association, NFL Alumni Association, Project Safe Campus, UAW-Ford, VIP Mentoring, and Winning Futures. For more information on the Bing Youth Institute, call 313-392-7016 or visit www.bingyouthinstitute.org.
 

 

 
   
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