welcome to "bend the headlines. today's show is about the importance of mentong in young people's lives who are tured arond because of the positive influence of their mentors. young people who have mentors have a better chance of succeeding and are more likely to make positive choices throughout their lives abc 7 morning news co-anchor kristen zee moderated one of the panelscussions at the young women's summit in october. the day-long summit offered young women professional guidance, networkingips and personal mentoring. lieutenant governor gaf o or gi newsom's wife gave the keynote address. thevent was free to students 17 to 23 and aput on by the

professional businessmen of california. the lgest and oldest, most effective yoh mentoring organization in the united states is big brothers big sisters, the bay area chapter was founded in 1958 and covers alameda, couldn't san francisco mateo countis. joining me is the oanization's ceo kathy bella and chair of the board of directors tom kaiser. kahy, i want to start with you. >> thank you. >> w is mtoring so important? >> well, i think meantoring is important for both the mentes and our meantors. or us, we serve children who are really going through some very tough straits. most of our kids come from low-come families. about 90% of tem come from single parent or guardian households. ana significant portion of them have an incarcerat

parent. so they're living thrgh very challenging times. they're living in tough nghborhoods often. and there are lots just daily challenges in terms of navigating all of the intricacies of live. >> how many chdren do you serve? >> we serve 1,000 kids through the fi county area. for our ki meant r really makes a difference. we've seent through the personal stories that are shared when we talk with our matche we call them matches, as well as all of the metrics tt we follow in term f the impact tha our program has had. it's a very simple program. our mentors spend a minimum of two adventures o encounters a monthwith our littles. but that steady, consiste caring adult in their life can really make theorld of difference both in the short term and in terms oftheir long-term life trajectory. so very significant impact with

a program that really is ry simple in terms of the way it's carried out. >> i want to bing in tomnto the picture. your day job is at the gap at executive vice president and chief information offic. and you volunteer with big brothers a big sisters. i know that you spend a t of hours here. >> i do. >> it's really important to you. it is, yes. i've been iolved with big brothers/big sistersor about 25 years now as a big brother. i've worked in our school-based mentoring program in different parts of the united states, i've served on boards in different cities around the united states and i've been involved in the bay area for almost four years now. d the chair as kathy me in as our ceo a little over a year and a half ago. >> what kinds of mentors are you looking for right no >>we're looking for all kinds. we ve a waiting list righ now of roughly 0 littles or prospective littles. the majority of that li is

primarily males, primarily african-american and hispanic yout that are waiting to be matched up with caring and dedicated and consistent adult. >> you talked about matching. there's a fee for that, right? $2,500? which sounds like a lot of money, but there's a lot of work that goes into checking the backgrounds of people. >> the $2,500 p match i really basically money we raise through charitable means to help support that match. all of our matches are supported by professioal trained social work staff o our staff throughout the five bay area counties. when a match originally gets established, tse meors are trained very rigorously by our staff. and then on an ongoing basis they receive coacng and support in order to help ensure that the match moves in a healthy fashion and that that retionship sustains over time.

>> so ease parents' concerns, how do you screen people? >> very rigorous screening. >> background chec? >> we have strong national standar that we implement locally. yes, therere a variety of background checksthat are done in terms of pential iminal records or driving records and a whole host of other things. and then weo aigorous reference check of those prospective mentors as well as -depth interviews. >> is there a mimum age? >> nimum age is 21. >> tom, your bay area chapter doesn't get any national funding, right? so this has to be a challenge in getting all the money you need to keepthe program going. >> it is, yes. part of me agreeing to take the chair position on the board and ase recruited kathy in was we really wanted to get after serving more children in the bay area. and that comes through raising more nds. p each year we start ov effectively with zero on the board, and we've got to go find

the fundg. it's a huge focus for our board of directors and the agency as a whole, to find the avens of funding so that we can double our number of ildren we're serving. >> you mentioned you were a big broter yourself many years ago. what do youemember about that? >> yes. i remember being very apprehensive initially, as i stepped into it. i dn't feel like i was bringing thekills that were necessary to be a really god ment. but what i found was by being ere, just being csistent adult and doing activities that i would have normally done, i was able to learn a lot from woing with a child in need but also to provide a lot from a consistency standpoint, from a confidence standpoint, from a helping provide guidance standpoint. i was with a tenth grade boy who was trying to workis way through where and what he wanted to do with his life. s he reallyollege material

or not? and we spent a lot of time focused on that until he was successfully into colleg >> unfortunately, we're out of time. we have to take a short break. when we come back, we'll hear about a big sister/young sier match that has spanned nearly three decades.

welcome back to "beyond the headlines." we're talking about mentoring and th critical needfor more volunteers to serve as mentors. joining us in the studio is lori sulnberger, a community advocate who coincidentally happens to be married to the hero of the hudson captain sully sullenberger. lo lori, you are here today to talk about mea rg. you have been an amazing mentor. i wa to talk to you about, you were with big brothers and big sisters for alost 30 years. that's amazing.

>> yeah. >>ow did you get involved? >> i don't know how to happened. it was in 1984, and i was in my eay 20s. i had grown up in a home that wasn't always very stable, and i had an alcoholic parent. i hadome out the other side and felt like i had done well and i feltlike it w my responsibility to give back and to share with someone else things that i had learned. so iad looked around and i felt like one-on-one mntoring was reall the best match for me. so i went to big brother big sister and was interviewed. it was a lengthy process and theyspend a lot of time trying to figure out the best matc for you. eventually, i was matched with a little girl namedsarah, 4 years old at the time. >> it's different now for the ages. >> right. the children are older. i'm not exactly sure. it might be 8. at the time she was especially young. she was about to turn 5, but she was 4 when we got matched. >> that's so young. >> yeah. i wod have been in over my head with a teenager so it was

good. >> you weren't married at the time. > i was not. we had -- we started out we had a standingate every friday night. we wento tacoria a spent our time. and weell in love. it was just the peect match. i don't know, something about the dynamics. i joke it was the perfect match.com match, that everying was just right. >> at the time youived in waut creek and she lived i valle vallejo. but then you movedo the peninsula. >> right. about a year and a half later i met and married sully and i moved to belmont. her mom was always really good about allowing us to vit. it wasn't the normal an hour a week at the same time. i would go get her and she would come for vacations and hidays and weekends. i alwys felt that time in the car was a really great time that youcould actually talk and share. is th one-on-one private time in the car. so i didn't really mind it. it was fun. >> ining us via skype right now is your little sarah all the

way from new jersey. nice to have you with us. >> hello! >> hi. >> thank you. >> lori is telling me you were her little with the big brothers big sisters. >> yeah. >> she met you when you were 4 years old. >> yeah. had a very special bo. >> tell us about it. >> my mom had araumatic brain injury when i was young, and it left her a lile bit irresponsible. she basically had a 21-year-old mentality for most of my childhood. >>o when you met lori at the age of 4, she was a young single woman herself >> she was, but i never -- it wasn't a good comparison. she was in a different place in her life than my momwas. she was definitely more responsible. she was more able. >> and you spent a lot of holidays with her. she mentioned something about friday nighttacos. >> yes. we used to go to the tacoria. it was my favorite restaurant. still is. we actually visited the last

time i was in lifornia. >> and th the holidays, too, were a big part of yourlife. >> yeah. well, my mom's jewish so she allowed me to go with lori for mot of the christian holidays. i snt just about every christmas and easter and anytime lori let me take her my mom usually let her. >> how much of a differece do you think lori made in your life? >> huge. i probably would hve been lost withouther. she gave me someone to be accountae to, you know, wen my parents weren't necessily holding me accountable for my actions. lori did. >> let me talk to lori abut that. >> sure. >> oh, she's got tears in her eyes. you had to set boundaries f her. >> i did. you know, recently we were ask about this, and i -- when they aed her what made our relationship special, i thoht she was going to say the trips to disneyland and carving pumpkins. and she said, you know, she s boundaries and she expected me toi within those boundaries,

and she said now, of course, that's coming from an ault mother. and she n see the value in boundaries and that that's love, really, that th's setting love for your children. a i expected her to do well so she wanted to do well. she wanted to please me. but it was funny. at the time when s first said it, i kept sayg, but remember disneyland? aren't you going to tlk about that? i really appreciate the fact that she realized tha but she had great potential. she has great common sense and a great work ethic. i knew she could do well in life so i expected her to. >> thank you so much for joining us today. appreciate it. she is so successful. she has a couple of kids now? >> she does. she has three sons, and she is just -- i tell her as much as can, she is the greatest mother. like i said, the one thing i wanted was for her to break the cycle and for it to be different for her children. and she has exceeded myildest

expectations on that. she is just a fabulous mom. she's had a long-term marriage, very succeful marriage, and i cold not be more proud of her. really, i do break out in tears every time i see her or talk about this because she's just been such a j for our whole family. not just for me, my daughters and my huband. >> you have two daughters in addition so -- >> s was the big sister. they have a special relationship they can share with her that they wouldn't share with me perhaps. she is just a part of our family now. >> and you have changed so many lives by being aart of this big brothersig sisters program. >> well, i just wanted to change one life. >> but look what you've done. a huge ripple effec on an entire family. >> thk you. >> congratulations. >> thank you very much. >> if that's not an inspiration to become a part o this. we want to thank lri for being here. when we come back, we'll learn about other mentoring program that's are

welcom back to "beyond e headlines." we've been talking about the imptance of being a mentor and the vue being a mentor can add to our live here in the studio with me right now from 100 black men of the bay area is muhammad naderi, the vice cha of the board of directors. so nic to have you here. >> thank you for having me. >> we've been chatting during the break. love what you all are doing. i wnt to know for you personally, why is menting so important and why especially young black men? >> well, our organization 10 black men inhe bay area, all of our members have been

beneciaries of mentoring. my story is very similar to otr folks' stories in terms of you had somebody who shepherded you throh, whetr it was high school, college or early career, somebody who took an interest in what you were doing and said, let me help you out. the only thing that we were asked in return s, number one, do the best we can and then number tw when it' our turn and we have the opportunity we do the same thin that's why meant rg is so important to us a why we focus on it at 100 black men. >> you have so many different programs. community school program, junior 100 a collegiate 100 >> yes. >> tell me about the collegiate. >> the collegiate 100 is something we started with the university of calornia at berkeley. we had some members who are graduates of that school, the university, and we're like, when i was in college, it would have been helpful if we had a connection to our local chapter. so we started a collegiate 100 where we identified students at the university who wereed in wh doing, interested in potentily

in the futu becoming a member of the 100 after they've ki of gone through their professional career. and said, how do we start king linkages? the linkage fo us was a natural one because we couldsay, not only can we mentor them, they canlso help us mentor the kids in high school. because you have tutoring and you have just kind of -- some of our membes, we're in our 30s, 40s, 50s, when a high school student seesus, they're lik that's a bit far of for me. maybe i can find somebody who's been their la teens, early 20s. it was a natural linkage. we've kind of roll that out for the national 100 where we have other chapters doing the same thing at colleges in their area. >> you are meanting somebody. you started in the nin great with them? >> yeah. really back in 2004, he's now in dental school. i've kind of watched him grow up. he's watched me grow up. we actually have become really good friends.

's in his early 20s now. it's interesting to see his perspective. >> it's amazing. you've made such a difference in hislife. you're a new dad so that will be a reat experience for your baby girl. >> it is. >> before weun out of time, i want to ask you about, who do you want to join 100 black men? who d you want to help? >> we have two ways. we want meers who want to join the 100 black men in the bay area themselves, african-american male professionals, public/private ector who have a commitment to improving the communitynd focusing on mentoring and the issues that really target our community and are important to us. we also want to hve folks at a sponsorship level maybe you don't have the time to be the full member, but the wo we're doing you think is imptant so you sponsor us. visit our web site, reach out to our board, dfinitely contact us and we will welcome you. >> with that, we're going to make sure w post all of your information on our web site. >> thank you. >> thank you so much and thank you for the wor you're doing. >> thank you. >> and we do have to take a

short break. when we come back, we're going to hear abut a unique program in marin county that helps formerly incarcerated young man learn a path to uccess. stay with me. i'll be right back. ♪ ♪ it took tim morehouse years toaster the perfect lunge. but only one attempt to master depositing checks at chase atms. technology designed for you. so you can easily master the y you bank. hey! let me help with that.

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welcome bck do "beyond the headlines." our next guest highlights the critical importance of having positive role models. joining me is felicia gaston of the phoenix project and one of the program participant felicia, you and i have been friend for a long time. >> a very long time. happy to be here. >> i t youhrough performing stars which works with mu younger children. >>questiyes. >> you started the phoenix program totart young men like gentleman car jacari. >> it's bed in marin city and four years ago our community was experiencing lots of high crime. it was affecting so many people. a every time you picked up the newspape it talked about young black males robbing people underneath the underpasst the bus stop. it just wasn't a message we wanted to get out. it was just very important to bringesources right into the areawhere our young men were

hanging out. blic housing,hich is called the 2 a lot and the phoex project started right then. >> we're looking at some images of some of your young men doing a variety jobs through the phoenix project. i was happy to cover that story, too. >> yeah. it was so exciting, especially to see that phoenix project focuses on connecting them with all types of resources so th can get the proper skills so they can be employable. we provide all the types of services if they need their driver's license, if they need their -- just access to meaningful resources available in marin county. we've been able to really help so manyf them, and also many of them we'reelping in school and helping them go to college in marin. just being a great advocate. >> you really are. jacari, you're nodding your head as she runs through this lisof wonderful things. so you had abit of a rough start to life. tell me a little bit aboutthat.

>> well, zbgrou u grew up i ri california. i was in juvenile hall. i moved over to marin. i was on probatio i been on probation since i was 12, finally about to get off. >> and you're 26 now? >> 26 now >> that's a long time. >> yes. long time. thanks to the phoix project, i always say that they savedy life. phoenix project did a lot to me, to he me get into construction, things like that. now, prot jekt actually does a lot. i'm looking at you had to become drug free and get yourdriver's license. >> yes. >> we ve images of you at work. tt of course cost money. who paid forthat? >> the phoenix program helped me pay for that through the probion department. >> tell meabout the probation department. >> well, what's so great about the probation department in marin county is that they identified jacari as an exple of someone that they felt would make a big difference. if he changed his life, the

others say they can move in that direction. sohey paid the union dues, which is $800, maybe a little more than that, and they also prided the support along with the phoenix project so he cld attend northern california labor training program in san ramon. it was a three-week program. he and another participa stayed in san ramon for three weeks. agn, probation department prided the union fees and then we pvided all the extra suort services, the uniforms as needed, the boots. >> the hard hat. >> the hard hat. not only that, when they stayed at the campus, ty needed to haveood because the local grocery stores. phoenix project supported that. >> that's fantastic. before we run out of time, i want to talk about the meeting you had with michel obama's brother. we have some images of your kids

meeting him. you went tomage for success to get everybody all dolled up. >> yeah. they we so pleased. when they knew they h a chance to meet mhelle obama's brother craig robinson at dominican college, theyjust got prepared and ige for success provided all of their lothing, and we went t see him. he was promoting his bock. each of them received an autographed copy of the book. what's most important is that phoenix project is a prevention program, too, so man of our participantsare not -- have been fed with the lal system, but we also have a majority o them that have. so our goal is to help guide them tobe productive members of society. >>jacari, we've run out of time, but want to congratulate you on a your success. >> thank you, thank you very much. thank you for being here. unfortunaty we have run out of time. my thanks to all of our wonderfu guests today you can get more information on our web site. our web site. have a great week.

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