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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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