Who Are You Becoming? The Mentorship Question Every Leader Should Ask

[0:16]  We're back with the Hard and Hustle Podcast. We have Miss Robinson in the building all the way from Indiana. What's good? How are you doing?

[0:22]  Doing well. How are you today?

[0:23]  I am blessed. We are alive. It is Monday. I would say the weekend went by pretty quickly, but you know, it is what it is. And we're back at it again, wearing all these hats, doing all this work. How are you doing?

[0:36]  We are experiencing another heat wave in the Midwest here. So we're gonna hit ninety-five today. And it's so humid, it is miserable. So I love being in my office right now because it's nice and cool.

[0:52]  Listen, I am in Florida where it's humid all the time and it's a hundred all the time. So listen, 95 ain't too bad. Ain't too bad. But at least you got AC, because if you didn't have AC, lord, this would be a different conversation. What is the organization that you represent?

[1:04]  All right. Big brothers, big sisters of southwestern Indiana. I

[1:10]  And you are the CEO, is that correct?

[1:13]  am. I started in January of this year. So I've been in nonprofit in government for a couple decades, but I'm new to this role, new to this region, this community. and I'm really enjoying it so far. So I'm just in my eighth month.

[1:27]  What made you take the jump? I can imagine that there's something that really tugged at you to say, I need to take this role.

[1:34]  You know, I've been, like I said, in nonprofit work and government work for a long time. I'm formerly a criminologist, coming from Denver, Colorado. And so over the past seven years I've been working in victim services, running a domestic violence program and as board president of the state coalition in Kentucky. And so it's been crisis about ninety-nine percent of the time. when I first started, it was a year before the pandemic. And so then trying to run an 80-bed shelter and 40 staff during a pandemic was crisis. and then after that, we found out our homeless shelter was going to become homeless, so then I had to move it. so there was a lot of moving pieces with that, and it's a program that was statutorily required to exist. So there was no possibility of interruption of services.

[2:31]  Got

[2:31]  And then went through construction, got all of that done, and then said, you know what, I have a grandbaby now. I want to slow down. I want something a little bit more fun, more lighthearted. Of course, in nonprofit, right? Everything is lighthearted in nonprofit.

[2:48]  Yeah.

[2:48]  but it really is kind of getting me back to my roots because prior to working in victim services, and even during the you know, past almost decade in Kentucky, youth were still, you know, very much a part of. they're so heavily impacted by intimate partner violence. But yeah, getting more into

[3:05]  Why why

[3:06]  the mentorship side now.

[3:10]  why do you think helping the youth is so important to you?

[3:16]  'Cause they're gonna be our leaders. They're gonna be our government officials, they're gonna be our bankers, they're gonna be our educators moving forward. You know, we have a huge portion of our workforce is reaching retirement. I mean, I it's knocking on my door, you know, coming up and right. Yeah, let me pause there. but you know, it it's coming

[3:35]  Don't aid yourself now. P you look great. You know what I'm saying? You you look great.

[3:40]  up and so I think we have an obligation to kind of pay it forward and share our own experiences and our education and what has been poured into us. You know, it's time to turn around and pour that back into the younger generation so that they can keep this shit moving.

[3:57]  Yeah, no, a hundred percent. It's funny, you said ship, but I thought you said a different word, but both are the same. Both of them work too. Both of them are in line. I

[4:08]  Yes. Boat. Boat. Water vessel.

[4:10]  love it. I you mentioned being a grandma. How old is the grandbaby?

[4:17]  she'll be two in December.

[4:18]  I I hear that being a grandparent is so much better than being a parent. Would you agree to that as well?

[4:25]  Yes, you know, it's so funny because I heard this quote, I think it was Damon Wayans was on a podcast with Michelle Obama and some of his brothers, and he said, Being a grandparent teaches you the kind of parent you needed to be. And so,

[4:42]  No meaning.

[4:42]  you know, it's not even that I'm fitting in that role as a parent, but you know, you get to be more patient, you get to be more intentional. You're, you know, you don't have to worry about all the tedious little things. That's mom's job. That's dad's job. I just get to be umie. That's what she calls me. I'm Umi. So Umi just gets to pour into her, teach her. we sing and dance right now. The Supreme Stop in the Name of Love.

[5:13]  Yeah.

[5:14]  and she's singing Jolene, because we gotta give a tribute to Dolly Parton. Yeah.

[5:17]  Yes, rest in peace to Dali. Yeah.

[5:18]  So yeah, I mean, just being able to pour in and develop. But then also getting to see my own daughter like grow and develop and be a good mom, it really just, you know, brings everything back full circle. You know, it's it's nice.

[5:33]  Yeah. Talking about Jolene, last night before bed, you know, everyone's doing a cover on Jolene. So I was showing my daughter and she's like, wow, she's so ki she's so beautiful and it's like Jo you know, Dolly Partner when she was younger and then as she gets older

[5:48]  Mm-hmm.

[5:48]  and it's like, you know, I was just having a conversation with another leader and I said, If you can go see anyone dead or alive, artist wise, who would it be? He said Michael Jackson. And I think someone like Michael Jackson and Dolly Parton, man, we gotta continue to share that with our kids so that our kids can continue to share, you know, these artists, man, because there was no nothing like that type of music. I love me some good Michaels, some good Dolly Parton. I asked you the same question. If you could go, if you could go see any artist dead or alive in concert, who is it?

[6:16]  Mm-hmm. But you know what? I did get to see Michael Jackson in the eighties on his bad tour when it first came out. It was my first

[6:24]  I'm jealous.

[6:24]  concert. I might want to circle back, but I think I'd have to say Prince this go around because I have gotten to see Michael Jackson in concerts. So I I never got to see Prince. I think that's who I would choose.

[6:36]  I'm so jealous. Like I can imagine that was a hell of a concert too, man. There that dude's an entertainer at his finest for sure.

[6:44]  Yes. I mean and it was huge. We had McNichols Arena, which, you know, the Denver Nuggets played there. So, you know, it's a large, you know, arena. And it was packed wall to wall. It was huge. My mom even

[6:44]  I love it.

[6:58]  fancied me to go park outside the embassy suites so we could try to get a peek of him, you know, if he was, you know, driving and but, you know, it was smoke and mirrors. You know.

[7:07]  man, good times. The good old times. Here we are in 2026, trying to just, you know, stay live. talk about Big Brothers, Big Sisters. What what is that like day-to-day look like for you?

[7:20]  You know, well, just to talk about, you know, the basic organization, we basically create and foster one-to-one mentoring relationships. it's been around for over 120 years as a national organization, and we're one of the affiliates and we've been here since 1969, so over 57 years just in our regional area. you know, it's I look at the work that we do and How impactful it is. You know, finding mentors is, you know, something that can be a lot of fun, but there's also challenges because people have preconceived notions about what mentorship looks like and what to expect. But you know, we have to go safety first. There's a lot of stuff happening in the world, and we have to make sure that the adult mentors that we're pairing with these youth are safe and are well trained. so it can be a tedious process for a volunteer, you know, that will later be called a big if, you know, they sign into the program. So, you know, it can take months, you know, just background checks, interviews, training, development, and then the actual match process is so intentional. You know, we might have a wait list of 50 kids and we have seventy-five mentors, you know, bigs that are ready, you know, to sign up. But if it's not a good match and it doesn't have the potential for longevity, we're not gonna make that match. We have to make sure that it is a good match and that it is gonna sustain. Because we don't want to match a youth with an adult and then it doesn't work out. And then that's another loss, potentially a trauma to that youth. So we have to put a lot of time and energy into it and our staff are really intentional.

[9:12]  I'll tell you what happened to me from a mentor standpoint. And this is what we don't want to c happen, I can only imagine, and you can kinda attest to this, is that I remember being in high school and this teacher says, I had this gentleman, he's Latin, he's a male, I want you to meet him. So I met him, he took me on a trip to Rollins College, which is kind of a school nearby, fifteen, twenty minutes away. I really don't even remember the conversation. What I do remember, because experience is everything, what I do remember is that I was actually excited about it and I never seen him again after that one day.

[9:42]  Yeah.

[9:43]  You know, and it's like how someone like myself that already felt neglected in his life, that already felt like he wasn't loved and he wasn't seen, how did that make me feel? Right? That goes another wall up. So I think it is very, very crucial when you talk about the matchmaking. Is that why it's so important for that matchmaking? Cause I also spoke to my wife yesterday and say, as we're talking about just the youth, it's like We need people to be in their lives and see them for who they are, you know, and be there for those seasons and for reasons. But if someone's in and out and someone's already experiencing that, you're just doing a disservice to that individual. Can you attest

[10:23]  Yeah.

[10:23]  to that?

[10:23]  Yeah, I think a big part of it is again the preconceived notions that a volunteer or a big might have is that your it's not your responsibility to come in and clone that youth or to make them like you. It's to create a safe space that's encouraging and welcoming to allow that youth to grow, discover and find their true selves. You know, we don't want mentors that have this expectation of, well, I think I'm a really good person and I want to mentor this person so they can be just like me. No, you

[10:57]  Mm-hmm.

[10:57]  want to help them be the best them based on who they are. And, you know, and that's always changing. You know, I even think of myself, I think mentorship is something that is across a lifespan. It's not just, you know, an adult mentoring a child. as a middle aged woman, you know, I have, you know, in my late forties, I have mentors, you know, that I still connect with and I think about mentors that I've had along the way and the impact. But we grow and develop. And I think the biggest necessity of a mentor is that you also have to continue to de to develop. You can't help somebody else develop if you're not continually developing because Life changes and circumstances change. And so we have to not be so static and so rigid and be able to be a little bit more fluid in the different avenues that life takes us because circumstances change and kids their circumstances change and

[12:01]  Yeah.

[12:01]  they might be in a mentoring program, but they might, you know, have some kind of loss in their family. I mean we have little that lost their mother this year. and so that relationship with that mentor is so important because you know, they're experiencing probably one of the greatest losses that they'll ever experience in their life. And who shows up for that kid really, really matters.

[12:28]  Yeah. Makes a difference, a huge difference. As I talked to you about this event that we're putting together October second,

[12:35]  Mm-hmm.

[12:35]  I got really strategic on the people that were invited into this. One, because it was my first event as a leader for the school that I graduated from. I barely graduated from that school, right? 2.0 student, you know, I had to pass the standard

[12:49]  Okay.

[12:50]  test. And I remember walking out of high school, senior walkout, knowing that I finally passed that standardized test. To me, I was happy either way. Like I did my 12 years, I'm out. But it was when someone asked me, Eframe, what makes you so different? I thought about all those teachers that really poured into me and that really spoke life into me when life was taken from me. I

[13:14]  Mm-hmm.

[13:15]  strategically decided to invite the teachers because teachers are underpaid, right? And just I think sometimes underrepresented. And to be quite honest, our educators. are our some of our mentors. You know, I could I could recall some of those that see me for who I was and let me know that Efrain, someone told you to that, you know, school wasn't for you get a nine to five, but I don't believe that. And you shouldn't either. You have so much, you know, all that meant something to me. And I remembered those conversations. When someone said I had no father, when someone said, Efraine, if my son grows up to be anything like you, I'll be a happy dad. Well, well hell, that made me feel like I I was somebody.

[13:54]  Mm-hmm.

[13:55]  Right. Like those mentors, we are truly planting seeds. we're watering seeds, and not all the time do we see them manifest into this beautiful flower, into this beautiful tree, whatever they they become. we just gotta remember to do the right thing because it's also fulfilling when you're pouring into someone and you're pouring into youth and you get to see them come out of this shell and be them more importantly. You're right. We don't want them to be the next Ephraim, right? We want them to be the next Andrea. Like what does that look like? What do you love? Let's find you those opportunities so you can pour into that, you know. so I I do agree.

[14:17]  And we don't want these relationships to be limited to just these few years that, you know, they're in school. You know, we hope

[14:36]  Yeah.

[14:37]  that these will be lifelong relationships. And we have one mentor, I mean, he's not even a big anymore. but he his little is now in his forties and he mentored him when started mentoring him when he was eight years old. And they still have a close relationship.

[14:58]  Wow. Love it.

[14:59]  And this is actually a youth that, you know, has experienced some significant loss. And so being able to, you know, have these lifelong relationships that are reciprocal. And I think it's important mentors don't go into this, you know, you have to come into it with humility, you know, that you're not coming in just to save a kid's life. You're coming in to share your life with someone else in hopes that they're gonna share theirs with you, that it is a reciprocal. relationship and just as much as you can teach, you can also learn. You have to be able to receive as much as you give.

[15:35]  Come on now. Yes ma'am. Don't just

[15:37]  Yeah.

[15:37]  be able to pour, but yeah, yeah, love it. what is like I guess do you give them a a range like hey, you when you sign up it has to be a minimum of three months? like what does that actually look like for someone that wants to be a big? even better, even better.

[15:53]  minimum of one year. Yeah, one year. It's a one year commitment and we hope that they, you know, stay on, you know, and maintain that commitment even longer than that. But there's a lot of support built into it over that first year. we do things like match activities every month. So even if you have a mentor that does not have a lot of financial means, like we try to create opportunities for them to get together and come to match activities where it's no expense to, you know the the big. And so it could be a movie night, it could be cooking. We've done pajama breakfast parties, jump zone, sky zone, whatever it's called, you know, the trampoline parks.

[16:34]  Yeah.

[16:35]  Yeah, we do all, you know, different kinds of things to be able to support that. And we also have site base. So we have some mentors that can go and just meet with their youth once a week for an hour and they just might go to the school and have lunch with kid or go have breakfast, you know, and just spend that time. So, you know, we have a different we have different ways that we can help these help and support these matches.

[17:01]  So when you talk about these different events, so not only are you match mak matchmaking, right, with a mentor and a mentee, but you're also providing the opportunities for them to engage with one another, is that correct? Wow. A lot of work.

[17:13]  Yes, yeah. And I mean it's it's, you know, really intentional. Of course we wanna, you know, want them to have fun, but that's also our way of keeping eyes on the match and making sure that it's healthy and it's safe

[17:26]  Mm.

[17:26]  and following the rules. so it's also an opportunity for us to case manage from that

[17:32]  Yeah, yeah.

[17:33]  other side by being able to watch and see what's going on. We've also even we have wait list activities, so kids that are waiting so that we can keep them engaged while they're waiting to be matched with their mentor. and so we might have bigs that are waiting to be matched and they might come out to volunteer at a wait list activity. And we recently had a situation where a little matched with a big from this activity and that kid found this adult and picked

[18:02]  Drop that.

[18:03]  her. and it was really impactful even for the big because she's like, She picked me, you know, but it gave them an opportunity to meet and connect because we do the matching before they even meet each other. And then we'll bring them together for an introduction. So, you know, we use all the data and analytics to match based on, you know, interests and time and you know, different, you know,

[18:26]  Yeah.

[18:26]  belief systems or whatever it might be. You know, we're not gonna match polar opposites, you know, that could be

[18:37]  Yeah. Just

[18:38]  confrontational or you know, or just right. Not bingo.

[18:38]  This ain't no rando dando pulling out balls out of a bingo ball. I'm loving that you said bingo, because in my head I said bingo. We on the same page, girl. We all on the same page.

[18:49]  Yep. So yeah, it's just we you know, we're do more than just matchmaking. and so our match support specialists, I mean, they're involved, they're making contacts weekly, monthly, you know, more often as needed, but to make sure that the youth has an opportunity to be able to speak for themselves, advocate for themselves. check in with the parent and also to check in with the big and see how things are going. And that way if something's going on, we might have an opportunity to intervene and help resolve it or help overcome obstacles that might be surfacing. Because again, life is fluid, it's not static, things change. And so we need to make sure that we're walking alongside these matches to support them.

[19:39]  I would love to know, and I don't know if you know this off the top of your head, but at a national level, but also at a local level, how many kids are you guys serving?

[19:46]  So on a local level, in 2025, we had three hundred and fifty-five kids aged eight to eighteen that were in our program. Yeah. And sixty-five of those matches last year were brand new matches. You know, we're not we're not about the law of large numbers. It's definitely quality over quantity. We'd love to match every single kid that comes into the program. Sometimes we have kids that aren't a good fit for the program. You know, sometimes parents are like, well, I want to put them in there because this is last chance, you know, last stitch effort. and that might not necessarily be good for the program. but you know,

[20:29]  Mm.

[20:29]  we want to make sure that we are creating these relationships because we want the length of the relationship to be successful, not the large numbers of matches. so definitely quality over quantity. National, I don't know, but I'll find out.

[20:42]  I love that. So that means you all good. No, that's still that's a huge number because even though that's that number times however many times you gotta put on events, however many times you gotta make sure like that's that's just a lot to t kind of deal with at that level. So I'm guessing it's

[20:56]  Yeah. And it's open enrollment year round, so anybody can sign up at any time.

[21:01]  How do they figure out about this? Like is this are you guys at the schools talking about it? Like how's

[21:06]  Yeah.

[21:06]  the word getting out?

[21:07]  Yeah. So we have partnerships with all of our local schools and we serve six counties in southwestern Indiana and Western Kentucky. so we have partnerships with the schools, so we might get referrals from the school. and some of them might be self-referral. We might have a kid that their friend or their neighbor is involved in the program and they're like, Hey, I want to do that. And so they might contact us to reach out. sometimes we've even had you know, kids through like social services or other social service agencies say, hey, this might be a good fit for this kid and they refer them to the program. And then as far as recruiting the bigs, the volunteers, we do that by going to different workplaces. So we just launched a mentor works program. So we're trying to increase corporate impact because we want to feed into the work pipeline that you know the kids that are in the program now are going to be entering the workforce in the next five to ten years. So we want, you know, these corporations to really buy into the mentoring of kids, but then also provide workforce development and career exploration because you're gonna change your mind twenty times. I mean, I'm an adult and I've changed my my mind about twenty times. So you can imagine kids are gonna do the same. so we just

[22:28]  You know what's crazy about that? You talk about just changing so many times, is that when I was a young leader and I started my I started in the restaurant business, I was what, like eighteen, nineteen years old already running a store. One of the things I remember s people saying is like, look at the resume and if they're jumping from job to job, they're probably not a good candidate. But now as I'm older, I'm like if they're jumping job to job doesn't mean that you automatically disqualify them, is that they were really trying to figure out what was best for them. You know, like

[22:56]  Right.

[22:56]  they were testing things out. And I see it completely different. And I'm like, wow, I shouldn't have done that. I should have really asked better questions to then get to know about that person. Because while I didn't switch job to job to job, I did know, hey, I'm staying here for this amount of time. If I don't see this opportunity, then I I got to go type ish. And

[23:15]  Mm-hmm.

[23:15]  I I think that people should be okay with saying, Hey, this is not for me. don't stay comfortable somewhere and figure out what is best for you because your peace of mind is everything. Like it is truly everything. Because that's what allows us to kind of also pour back. If we feel confident in ourselves and we feel like we're doing things that that are happy for us, that just bring us happiness, that we could also too pass that along. Do you agree?

[23:40]  Yeah, I mean, I've gotten to a point in my life where I am not going to stay anywhere where I'm not happy or I'm not wanted. And you look about, you look at, you know, starting a job or, you know, with a new company, it's almost like a blind date. And you can ask a million questions in the interview process, but you really don't know until you get in there. And if it's not a good fit for you or it's not a good fit for that employer, everybody has the right to say, you know what, this isn't a good fit. And I think one of the biggest mistakes we make is staying with a company out of loyalty, determination, maybe the need for pay if you're lucky to be receiv you know, receiving good wages and good income, you know, thriving wages, not just living wages. but yeah, I think one of the biggest things as a leader that I've learned is that it is okay to start over and sometimes starting over and moving on can open up bigger possibilities than you ever

[24:45]  Yeah.

[24:46]  expected.

[24:46]  Sometimes you just gotta get uncomfortable and see the other side. I get

[24:48]  Mm-hmm.

[24:48]  it. You never know what's on there. It feels a little weird, but I've been in the place where I'm like, Man, I feel like there's something on the other side, but I'm still nervous. Sometimes

[24:57]  yeah.

[24:57]  you gotta just take that leap of faith. so I do hear you on that. You being there for

[25:00]  Yeah. That's like me coming to Big Brothers and Big Sisters. You know, I live in Kentucky. I work in Indiana. So I cross the bridge every day. It's not a big deal, forty-five-minute commute. I'm used to an hour and a half one way in Denver. So, you know, we

[25:13]  Wow.

[25:13]  can handle it. But, you know, deciding to take this position at CEO here meant that I was coming into a community. I would be competing for funding within a community, inheriting staff that I don't know, they don't know me. and so the number one focus that I've had to maintain since I've started is relationships. Like it's building relationships, it's finding the right people to connect and to mentor me in the community that can help open doors, that can help connect me to, you know, the people that can help me enhance the work that my staff are doing. so I think it's all about relationships and when you stay focused on relationships being the first and most important part of starting over with an a new company, then all of it all the rest kind of falls into place.

[26:12]  question. Eight months in, I call imagine you went in there with a whole bunch of different plans and agendas. What

[26:17]  Mm-hmm.

[26:17]  are those W's that you've already been able to accomplish and what are those things that you're wanting to accomplish?

[26:24]  Yeah. Well, I want to go back and talk about a previous failure first before I get into that. Yeah,

[26:30]  Okay, talk about it. There's still there's a win in that too. Let's talk about it.

[26:33]  yeah. So in my last position, I came in and I saw a lot of things that needed to be changed. And to this day I can say those were necessary changes. But one of the biggest mistakes that I made was coming in and doing things to staff instead of with them.

[26:51]  Mm.

[26:51]  and so slowing down, that's one of the things that I learned and brought with me into this position is to slow down, take audit of everything that's going on, build relationships, get to know the staff, get to know the organization, because again, I'm still new to the organization. And so I know that I have to learn from my staff to be able to be successful in my position. I need them to train me to be who they need me to be. So to speak. so you know, being able to, you know, step back and just say, you know, yes, there's there's a lot of things that need to change, but you have to prioritize what's urgent, what is gonna make sure that we're in compliance, what's gonna make sure that our youth are safe, that you know, we have all of our needs met as an organization to be able to operate every day. and then again, like I said, do it with the staff, not to the staff. I'd say one of my

[27:54]  Love that.

[27:55]  wins is that I've gone from managing, you know, some 50 people in an organization, and I have a smaller staff here, but man, are they mighty. and I've been able to build close relationships with them. And I think my biggest win is earning their trust. they will disagree with me. And it's safe and I don't always like it. You know, I'm a strong Aquarius, I think I'm always right. But I had to learn

[28:24]  Aries all day, but you know.

[28:28]  I've had to learn that, you know, even though I might see that vision, that might not be the vision for everybody else. and so to not do it to the staff that okay, we're all here to serve this mission, let's figure out what's the best avenue and let's all come to the table with. the the pathways or the vehicles in which we think we can do it. So nobody has to compromise, nobody has to give up anything. But as a team we're gonna develop this this forward path together.

[29:00]  I wrote some things here, and one of the biggest things you mentioned is trust. And this is kind of internal team. So you talked about trust. In order to have trust, you got to be able to communicate, not as you mentioned, not at them, but with them. And then also the importance of relationship, keeping that relationship alive within your team. Cause once you kind of put up that wall, they put up that wall, it is very hard to keep that engagement. What am I missing anything here? Like what else is important as a leader for you? We got relationship, communication, trust.

[29:28]  Accountability that they have this expectation that I'm their their leader and that they have an accountability to me. part of me earning their trust is that I have an accountability to them. I have an accountability to make sure that I'm being transparent with them, that I'm communicating with them, that I'm acknowledging when I'm wrong, not being above apologizing. But also that we have accountability as a team. And so all wins are for all of us and all failures are for all of us that we own all of that together. of course, you know, if it's something big, then I'm taking that, right? I'm gonna take the one because I am the leader of the team. but all of the successes that we're experiencing, they're just as much the champions that help create that success. And those failures we're not gonna call failures, we're gonna call them opportunities to improve. and so I think accountability is a big one, but transparency and accountability.

[30:35]  I love it. Any of those stand out as the one for you when we talk about accountability, communications, relationship, trust? Any of those stand out more than any others?

[30:47]  think they're all relationship. I mean, I think you have to have all of those components to build relationship because it has to be reciprocal and mutually beneficial. You know, I I work for my staff. Like I don't look at it as that they work for me. No, we all work for the youth and the volunteers that we're serving. But my job is to make sure that they have all of the tools they need to be successful to do their jobs. Cause I don't want to hang out with the kids like

[31:24]  Yeah.

[31:25]  I'll do the budgets, I'll make a I'll do the begging, I'll do all of those different things. but you know, they are the ones that are good at, you know, making sure that this organization runs. so I would say relationship, I I I I get what you're asking, but I think all of those build

[31:41]  No, no, I love it. I do a hundred percent feel relationships is crucial. and especially as a non profit, it's all about relationship building. You

[31:50]  Uh-huh.

[31:50]  and and in order to build a relationship because in building that relationship they gotta trust you in order to give, right? So as I'm also yeah.

[32:15]  Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that's the same with the community. They're not going to give us money to run the program or give us grants or foundation dollars if they don't trust us. And so we have to walk the walk and talk, you know, exactly as we're talking it. We have to show up and be accountable and share our data. Again, that's transparency, you know. And it's the same thing with the board. Make sure that we all are on the same page. And we might disagree about how we're gonna get there, but as long as we agree on where we're trying to go, we can always work out how we're gonna get there together.

[32:31]  You mentioned data. We didn't even talk about how important data is to an organization. If you have no data, which is where I've kind of taken over this organization, you in trouble. All right. It makes

[32:41]  Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[32:41]  it even ten times harder. Did you at least get, you know, teed up with some good data?

[32:45]  Yes, you know, we actually as an affiliate of National Salesforce created our own database for us. It's called Match Force. and so shout out to MatchForce and our people at Salesforce

[32:56]  Okay. Yeah.

[32:57]  that created that because it not only gives us local data, it also gives us national data. And so when we're you know looking at where do we need to, you know, put more effort, one of the things we're also getting ready to implement, hopefully by the end of this year, is geo mapping. so that we can look because we have some s really rural areas. We have, you know, we're gonna call them urban, but you know, being from a city of millions to, you know, a city of thousands, but we're still

[33:26]  Ha ha ha.

[33:27]  we're still considered urban. but looking to see, I mean, we have to track that data because it costs a lot of money to run a nonprofit. And, you know, you get grants and you get funding, but Funders will say you can only spend money on this, you can only spend money on that, and they don't want to put that money into staffing. They want it to go direct into programming. Well, 90% of our programming is our staff because we're having to make sure these matches are safe. and so it really is that data helps us to educate the community and the public and our funders and holds us accountable for what we said we're gonna do with the dollars and the funds that they give us.

[34:11]  Well listen, I want to be a accountability partner. So before I ask you the question, that you want to ask everybody else that is watching those leaders, what is it that you are looking to do, let's say within the next year or two? So the next time I talk to you, I can say, So have you done XYZ? I want to hold you accountable, accountability here.

[34:27]  Mm-hmm. Purchase a state-of-the-art building that we can incorporate some of our new programming to include labs around data technology, so STEM focused for this mentor works program. be able to purchase a couple fleet vans so that we can help youth that don't have access to transportation to get to certain activities. And develop our high school bigs. that's one of our our sweetheart babies right now. We just took our high school bigs program, which were littles that are now bigs to elementary and middle schools students. And it's a program that we've had for a long time, but we've added the civic engagement piece to it. So now they're going to get trained in servant leadership. And then they're gonna lead their littles in elementary and middle school through these civic engagement activities. So I wanna see growth for this organization and sustainability because growth in this organization means stability for our community, our workforce, and our families in the future. So

[35:42]  Okay. Those are all good and they're all achievable and I know that you'll make it happen with the lead with your leadership and your team.

[35:47]  Yeah. I'll be inviting you out to come tour.

[35:49]  you better you better invite me, okay?

[35:53]  I will.

[35:54]  where can people find it more information on what you guys are doing and how to get involved and all that good stuff?

[35:58]  So our website is mentoringkids.org. It is very robust. You can see all about our activities, what it takes to become a mentor, what it takes to be a little, what that process looks like, our staff, and some of our upcoming new programming. Again, the civic engagement, mentor works, and also our corporate impact program that is still in silent phase but is public launching in January. So you get a little sneak peek there.

[36:28]  I love the speak peek. I love it. what is that question? You told me that you had a question for our our next guest and for those that may be also listening or watching.

[36:28]  Yes.

[36:28]  What is that question?

[36:38]  Who are you becoming? Who are you developing? And who will be better because you were there?

[36:46]  come on, you're getting deep with us now. Okay. That is a very good way to end this. And we thank you so much for your time, for what you do in the community and for just giving decades of your leadership, of your humanity to, as you mentioned, the next generation. We are truly fertilizing the future. And we're just thankful to be at these tables to make sure that someone else can have that seat at that table because of us. so we thank you for your time. We thank you for those that are watching and having a good time here. Make sure that you guys do share, like, and subscribe, tap in, go to the website, figure out how you could be a donor, a volunteer. or even if you just have any insight and you want to give something, technology, whatever that may look like, I can imagine that Ms. Robinson is needing you. So knock on the door. I'm Ephraim, Miss Robinson. We'll catch you on next one. Latest.

[37:34]  Thank you.