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Detroit
Hero Story
I am nominating Calvin T. Mann, National Encourager, as a Michigan Hero because he has truly been one for many! Metro Detroit and Southeastern Michigan has benefited from his 39 years of relentless and unwavering commitment to youth, families and systems change in 3 generations of Detroiters. While his work began at age 23 as a high school basketball coach, his journey to advocate for the countless children who were victims of violence, suicidal ideation, neglect and lost dreams at the hands of adults became his driving force toward change. In 2004, Calvin laid the first of over 650 shirts at the sites where children we killed. He grieved the silenced voices of children who were slain due to violence. At each site he vowed to remember them in his work and speak, prevent and intervene for the children who survive. He never wanted children to just survive but to thrive! For our children to thrive he knew our present and future prevention and intervention efforts needed to be accessible and consistent. Gifted his first non-profit organization by a mother benefiting from the change in her son through Calvin’s mentoring, she knew there needed to be a vehicle where he could continue the work sparked in her son. In 2007, together, they applied for and earned 501c3 status for Encourage Me I’m Young, (EMIY) Inc.; a message that would later appear in a methodolgy, on t-shirts, in schools, interviews, articles, music, social media, legislation, billboards, a mobile mentoring bus, a host of community collaborations, events and initiatives from that year to now.
The future of youth, boys in particular, needed a different type of champion. Calvin T. Mann is one of them. President and Founder of 2 non-profit organizations EMIY and Good Father Only (GFO), Calvin’s commitment to those silenced voice has not ceased. Each shirt or positive messages imprinted on shirts, each effort toward family restoration or initiative such as "Reading IS Life", "Smash Suicide", "The Man to Man Youth Summit", "EMIY Mobile Mentoring Bus", Mentoring programs for boys 3-24 and other events is symbolic of the marked sites in established in memorial to and as a personal reminder of the many children known and unknown who have died to violence, suicide and neglect. His message is to empower every adult that can act in prevention and intervention and equip every child, especially our boys, to make healthy decisions and to see the promise in their own lives. He promotes collaboration and information that enlists all of our community to work together to “put our families first”. In spite of all that he has seen and the tears he shared with grieving families, including his own in 2017; he has remained consistent and steadfast in his message of encouragement as a change agent. He is a “hands to the plow” man working on all levels from policy, boards, organizations, systems, schools, family and individually. His focus is to encourage healthy fatherhood and empower boys to reach their greatest dreams. Because today's boy in 10 years becomes a man. Calvin understands that we are responsible for the type of man he becomes and is committed to shaping more healthy men to become husbands and fathers. You will always find him in the midst of action, advocacy and awareness pouring into the lives others; planting a legacy of love and purpose in the soil ensuring the blood stained tapestry of our valued children; our future, are never forgotten.
Detroit
Hero Story
I am nominating Calvin T. Mann, National Encourager, as a Michigan Hero because he has truly been one for many! Metro Detroit and Southeastern Michigan has benefited from his 39 years of relentless and unwavering commitment to youth, families and systems change in 3 generations of Detroiters. While his work began at age 23 as a high school basketball coach, his journey to advocate for the countless children who were victims of violence, suicidal ideation, neglect and lost dreams at the hands of adults became his driving force toward change. In 2004, Calvin laid the first of over 650 shirts at the sites where children we killed. He grieved the silenced voices of children who were slain due to violence. At each site he vowed to remember them in his work and speak, prevent and intervene for the children who survive. He never wanted children to just survive but to thrive! For our children to thrive he knew our present and future prevention and intervention efforts needed to be accessible and consistent. Gifted his first non-profit organization by a mother benefiting from the change in her son through Calvin’s mentoring, she knew there needed to be a vehicle where he could continue the work sparked in her son. In 2007, together, they applied for and earned 501c3 status for Encourage Me I’m Young, (EMIY) Inc.; a message that would later appear in a methodolgy, on t-shirts, in schools, interviews, articles, music, social media, legislation, billboards, a mobile mentoring bus, a host of community collaborations, events and initiatives from that year to now.
The future of youth, boys in particular, needed a different type of champion. Calvin T. Mann is one of them. President and Founder of 2 non-profit organizations EMIY and Good Father Only (GFO), Calvin’s commitment to those silenced voice has not ceased. Each shirt or positive messages imprinted on shirts, each effort toward family restoration or initiative such as "Reading IS Life", "Smash Suicide", "The Man to Man Youth Summit", "EMIY Mobile Mentoring Bus", Mentoring programs for boys 3-24 and other events is symbolic of the marked sites in established in memorial to and as a personal reminder of the many children known and unknown who have died to violence, suicide and neglect. His message is to empower every adult that can act in prevention and intervention and equip every child, especially our boys, to make healthy decisions and to see the promise in their own lives. He promotes collaboration and information that enlists all of our community to work together to “put our families first”. In spite of all that he has seen and the tears he shared with grieving families, including his own in 2017; he has remained consistent and steadfast in his message of encouragement as a change agent. He is a “hands to the plow” man working on all levels from policy, boards, organizations, systems, schools, family and individually. His focus is to encourage healthy fatherhood and empower boys to reach their greatest dreams. Because today's boy in 10 years becomes a man. Calvin understands that we are responsible for the type of man he becomes and is committed to shaping more healthy men to become husbands and fathers. You will always find him in the midst of action, advocacy and awareness pouring into the lives others; planting a legacy of love and purpose in the soil ensuring the blood stained tapestry of our valued children; our future, are never forgotten.