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Ever Forward: young men of color alive & thriving

Ever Forward creates a space for young men to remove their masks, heal their wounds, and COME ALIVE!

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Ever Forward: young men of color alive & thriving

Ever Forward: young men of color alive & thriving

Ever Forward: young men of color alive & thriving

Ever Forward: young men of color alive & thriving

Ever Forward: young men of color alive & thriving

Ever Forward creates a space for young men to remove their masks, heal their wounds, and COME ALIVE!

Ever Forward creates a space for young men to remove their masks, heal their wounds, and COME ALIVE!

Ever Forward creates a space for young men to remove their masks, heal their wounds, and COME ALIVE!

Ever Forward creates a space for young men to remove their masks, heal their wounds, and COME ALIVE!

Ashanti Branch
Ashanti Branch
Ashanti Branch
Ashanti Branch
3 Campaigns |
Oakland, United States
$30,701 USD by 250 backers
$30,636 USD by 247 backers on Oct 11, 2014
Highlights
Mountain Filled 3 Projects Mountain Filled 3 Projects

(The Ever Forward Club is Fiscally sponsored by Warrior Educational Films, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.)

Our Story
We are Ever Forward, a club-turned-nonprofit working to create communities of young men who set and achieve their goals, inside and outside the classroom.


My name is Ashanti Branch and at 6 years old I was told that I was the man of the house. I was being raised by a single mother who could not teach me how to be “the man” and was left to figure it out by myself. This added responsibility and pressure in my life started a downward spiral of anger, apathy and confusion for a middle school student headed into disaster. My behavior was unpredictable and I was not achieving academic progress in a place that was supposed to help me to grow and become a successful adult. Luckily, a teacher saw something in me and encouragement that saved my life.

This is why I started the Ever Forward Club -- to ignite a fire in youth who do not see the strength and the power in their own ideas and dreams. Since our humble beginnings in 2004 as a lunchtime support group, Ever Forward has grown into a multi-year, school-day program that has inspired 100% of its member’s to graduate high school and 93% to continue on to attend college, trade school or serve our country in the armed forces.

Nearly all of our students come from inner-city neighborhoods where dropout rates climb as high as 45%.

THE PROBLEM

“If we don’t initiate the young men, they will burn down the village” - African Proverb

A peek at today’s headlines and you will see that our young men are burning down the village. Our nation’s young men of color are getting disciplined in school, dropping out, and facing unemployment and involvement in the criminal-justice system at disproportionately high rates. Earlier this year, President Obama summed it up well: “by almost every measure, the group that is facing some of the most severe challenges in the 21st century are boys and young men of color.”

We cannot continue to fail our young men and we cannot expect that someone else will solve this problem. This is where the Ever Forward Club comes in.

How does The Ever Forward Club work?

The Ever Forward Club is a youth development and mentoring program designed to support the emotional development of African American and Latino young men so they can become motivated learners and connected community members. What started as a club in just one school, has grown into a non-profit headquartered in Oakland that partners with schools to re-engage middle and high school students through mentor-led peer “circles” in an educational setting.

Ever Forward Club mentors create a safe safe space for young men to come together weekly in circles to have fun, enjoy food and engage in the process of removing the mask of “masculinity” and peeling off the layers of pain, frustration, fear, sadness and disappointment. The circles create a confidential space where young men can speak from their hearts and where the fear of ridicule or shaming is eliminated.

Through this work, the young men start to show up with greater passion and purpose, which provides them with a clearer life direction. They see for the first time that their lives can be a result of their hard work and desires, as opposed to a result of their imposed limitations and current circumstances.

Our young men begin to take responsibility for their actions.

Our Outcomes

The Ever Forward Club's unique approach and positive outcomes have garnered national attention, including a feature in the upcoming full length documentary about American masculinity called, "The Mask You Live In."

We are excited to share the following successes:

  • Ever Forward has run clubs in 5 Bay Area schools and worked with 100 high school students and 35 middle school students to date

  • 100% of Ever Forward club members have gone on to graduate high school 

  • 93% of our graduates are now "first generation" college students with 30 alumni currently in college and 14 alumni graduated from college

  • Ever Forward has hosted 10 consecutive 24 Hour Relay Challenges (our annual community service project), with a total of over 1500 participants and over 500 volunteers

  • We have coordinated 9 consecutive Southern California college tours for over 220 pre-collegiate students, many of the students visiting a college for the first time.



We are ready to take Ever Forward to the next level. Join us.

The Ever Forward Club is on a mission to serve 500 young men by December 2015.

With $30,000, the Ever Forward Club can grow from 25 young men in 5 schools to 100 young men in 10 schools by December 2014. Here’s what we plan to do:

  • Hire 5-10 mentors: As we expand, we need more mentors. Ashanti has served as the club’s mentor throughout its history and while there are many things he can do, he can’t be in 10 places at once!

  • Create a 2 day training program: Develop and deploy a comprehensive training curriculum so our mentors have the tools to succeed at building strong communities of students in every new school.

  • Recruit 100 young men: To reach 100 young men by December 2014, we’ve got to start getting the word out and marketing the Ever Forward Club. Funds raised from this campaign will allow us to create outreach materials and build brand collateral.

  • Launch the “Get 500” Campaign: The “Get 500” Campaign will work to activate and mobilize the 100 young men to become Club Ambassadors. To make this happen, we need to invest in our young men by hosting an intensive leadership development retreat.


The Fun Stuff: Perks!

Help us create a movement of young men that are alive and thriving. Please donate today.

  • $5 - As a reward for being awesome and contributing to the movement you'll get a thank you email from The Ever Forward Club!

  • $10 - Postcard from an Ever Forward Club student

  • $25 - Access to download "The Mask You Live In"

  • $35 - “Got College” T-Shirt

  • $100 - Ever Forward Founding Patron: support us at this pivotal time for growth and you will be recognized on the re-vamped Ever Forward Club website.

  • $250 - receive 2 tickets to the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Waterfront Hotel in Jack London Square on Feb 6, 2015
  • $300 - Pay for one young man to attend a 5 day college tour - Students will write a thank you letter with pictures from the trip!

  • $500  - Attend a tour and Lunch at Google Headquarters with The Ever Forward Club Members

  • $1000 - One of our generous supporters is going to match the next $1k donation with $1k of their own

  • $1000 - Exclusive (4) VIP tours to ESPN  Headquarters in Connecticut

  • $1500 - Sponsor a young man to participate in The Ever Forward Club for one year. Your Sponsorship will include a variety of services for each young man. Mentoring, field trips, Southern California College Tour, Academic Counseling, family counseling,

  • $10000 - Ever Forward Champion: Launch a new Ever Forward Club site. As an all-star EFC Champion, your contribution will fund the site’s mentor and cover program costs for an entire year.


Other Ways You Can Help

If you would like to support in other ways:

  • Tweet about us, post about us, or blog about us! Don’t forget to use the Indiegogo share tools :)

  • Want to get involved? Reach out to us about opportunities to be a mentor.

  • Have an interesting story to share? Come to speak with and inspire one of our circles.

  • Have advice? Email Ashanti at everforwardclub@gmail.com

Press

The Ever Forward Club believes that we are in the perfect position to take The Ever Forward Club to the next level by taking advantage of the widespread awareness, that our Young Men are in Crisis.

The Ever Forward Movement is already underway:

  •  The Ever Forward Club's work will be featured in a new documentary this Fall, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the team who brought you Miss Representation, called "The Mask you Live in" the trailer can be seen here:  http://youtu.be/hc45-ptHMxo

(The Ever Forward Club is Fiscally sponsored by Warrior Educational Films, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.)
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Choose your Perk

featured

College Tour Sponsorship

$300 USD
Sponsor a young man to attend the 10th Annual SOCAL College Tour, a 5 day/4 night tour of colleges in Southern California. This trip provides students with an opportunity to see a college campus and meet college students with whom they can identify. In return, the student will write you a thank you note with a photo journal of the trip. PLUS receive a "got college" T-shirt.
13 out of 50 of claimed

Ever Forward Appreciates YOU!

$5 USD
As a reward for being awesome and contributing to the movement you'll get a thank you email from The Ever Forward Club!
4 claimed

A Special Thank You

$10 USD
As a token of our appreciation, receive a personalized post card from an Ever Forward Club member
21 claimed

Exclusive DVD Discount

$25 USD
Receive an exclusive discount code to download "The Mask You Live In" documentary when it becomes available. The documentary features Ashanti Branch, Executive Director, and students of Ever Forward
40 claimed

"got college" t-shirt

$35 USD
Receive an Ever Forward Club "got college" T-shirt. This design has been a tradition in the Ever Forward Club since 2007 when it debuted as a fundraiser for students to attend the annual Southern California College Tour. (Outside of USA, please add $10 for shipping)
24 claimed

Contribute in honor of someone

$50 USD
Share your love for Ever Forward Club! The person you contribute in honor of will receive a T-shirt and a special thank you note from someone in the program.
17 claimed

Ever Forward Founding Patron

$100 USD
Receive recognition on the Ever Forward website as a founding patron of the club.
54 claimed

Google HQ Tour & Lunch

$500 USD
Attend a career tour and have lunch at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA. Join The Ever Forward Club Members on an exciting campus tour, learn more about pursuing careers in tech, and see what it's like to work there straight from Googlers themselves.
5 out of 15 of claimed

VIP tours to ESPN Headquarters

$1,000 USD
Our EFC members love playing sports -- help honor their passion and yours with access to an exclusive tour at the ESPN headquarters in Connecticut. (Please note: your contribution covers only the tour and no additional travel or lodging)
2 out of 4 of claimed

Sponsor a young man in the EFC

$1,500 USD
Sponsor a young man to participate in The Ever Forward Club for one year. Your sponsorship will include a variety of services for each young man. Mentoring, field trips, Southern California college tour, academic counseling, individual and group counseling and tutoring.
0 claimed

Sponsor launch of a new EFC

$10,000 USD
Ever Forward Champion: Launch a new Ever Forward Club site. As an all-star EFC Champion, your contribution will fund the site’s mentor and cover program costs for an entire year.
0 claimed
sold out

Multi-Ethnic Hall of Fame

$250 USD
1 out of 1 of claimed
sold out

$1K donation match

$1,000 USD
1 out of 1 of claimed
sold out

(NEW) $1K donation match

$1,000 USD
1 out of 1 of claimed

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