Urban Congress on African American Males launches mentoring recruitment initiative

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - The Urban Congress of Baton Rouge is making a big push for more mentors to help troubled African American children in the city.

The group held a news conference at Istrouma High on October 3 to announce its goal is to reach 1,000 mentors by January.

Registration opens on October 16. You can register online then at mentoringbr.org. Registration is open to anyone who can dedicate time to children and has a passion for community service.

Mentors are responsible for helping children through troubled times, spending quality time with them, and providing them with an adult role model.

Vincent Tolliver has been a mentor with Big Buddy since high school. He said the city needs more volunteers.

"I know kids within the community, they need somebody they can talk to other than their parents, or you know, just somebody that they can really reach out to and engage with," said Tolliver.

There are about 500 mentors right now, spread out across various organizations such as Big Buddy, Big Brothers of America, and Big Sisters of America.

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