How American Licorice Company’s New Mentoring Program Is Striving to Transform Young People’s Lives
American Licorice Company is making a deeper investment in the local community by harnessing the power of mentoring. Together with Boys & Girls Clubs of La Porte County, they are launching STAND: Striving Together Ahead to New Dreams. Hear more from Senior Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Bwana Clements, about the STAND program and the impact it hopes to make.
“We’re going to do all the things a reputable mentoring program would do, but that’s not where we’re going to stop.”
Mentoring has long been a part of American Licorice Company’s (ALC) investment in community, but STAND will be different. “The current mentoring program that we participate in is a school-based program, meaning, those referrals and the activity of mentoring occurs in the school,” says Bwana, referring to ALC’s partnership with La Porte High School’s Slicer Champions mentoring program.
In contrast, STAND will be based in the community, and will serve students and their families holistically inside and outside of school. STAND will go beyond weekly mentoring meetings to provide young people and their families with support however and whenever they need it. “I believe in transformational work as opposed to transactional work,” says Bwana. “We could have a checklist of the things we want to do with kids and make sure we hit every checkmark. Unfortunately, I think working with people that way doesn’t serve that person well.” He continues, “There will be a mentoring program where we’re going through curriculum, we might do some skill-building… we might have some deep insightful conversations,” he says. “We’re going to do all the things that a reputable mentoring program would do, but that’s not where we’re going to stop. We’re going to make sure that these young people have what they need to be successful.”
“We’re teaching our young people it’s OK not to be perfect.”
The commitment to these young people must be deeper, he argues, which is why STAND is about walking with them and supporting them emotionally, socially, even financially. As an example, Bwana says, “If a young person comes home [on a Tuesday] from school and the house is cold and the lights aren’t on… We are not going to allow that young person and his family to live in the cold until Friday. We have the resources to help that young person.” This approach, Bwana believes, aligns perfectly with both the company mission of Investing in Happiness, and the Sour Punch brand message, Embrace Your Punch. “We’re teaching our young people that it’s OK to not be perfect,” he explains. “It’s OK to have some stuff, we all have it, right? The difference between success and failure, or success and struggle, is 1) owning it, and 2) using it to propel and motivate you as opposed to it being an anchor that weighs you down.”
“One hour a week with a healthy adult in the life of a young person has astronomically positive effects on a young person’s life.”
The STAND framework emerged from Bwana’s own experiences working in the mental health field with young people and their families who are struggling, particularly families from marginalized communities. Bwana explains the decision to launch the STAND program with Boys & Girls Clubs of La Porte County (BGCLPC) stating, “We’re being very intentional in saying, we know there are lots of kids in need, we do understand that,” he says. “We also know that young people from historically marginalized communities happen to have a different set of circumstances and hurdles to jump. We’re not ashamed about being specific for that population.” For the next five years, STAND will provide support to five Michigan City youth beginning in their 7th grade year, a particularly vulnerable developmental age that poses an opportunity for positive intervention to keep young people on track.
“This will be revolutionary in how these young people experience relationships.”
Investment in research by organizations like BGCLPC provides ample evidence to support the powerful effects of mentoring. “The research specifically shows that one hour a week with a healthy adult in the life of a young person has astronomically positive effects on a young person’s life,” Bwana explains. “On their school attendance, on their grades in class, on their risk-taking behaviors… you name it.” BGCLPC will identify youth for the program, having first-hand experience with young people likely to benefit from mentoring. Of this partnership, Bwana says, “Boys & Girls Clubs being who they are to the community – just at face value – have the trust of the community all over the country, right? Which gives them front row seats in the lives of the kids we’re hoping to serve.” In addition to referring students, BGCLPC is also providing dedicated space for mentors to work with their mentees, work which will include a “supporting cast” from the ALC Diversity & Inclusion Council. Bwana explains, “Families will be able to communicate with [Council members] via computer, phone, text, calls, so that they also have support when their mentor isn’t there in person.” He believes creating this network of supportive adults will be, “revolutionary in how these young people experience relationships. How their families experience help. Because the way we help matters, too.”
“The way we help matters.”
STAND is unique in its incorporation of additional support from members from the Diversity & Inclusion Council, who will work alongside each mentor. Bwana explains, “All help isn’t good help, despite common thought… What if that help steps on all cultural boundaries? On all cultural insights? Different cultures do it different ways, and we have to respect that. We have to know that, and then conduct our relationship inside the boundaries THEY set.” The way these relationships are built matters, notes Bwana. “My experience in Indianapolis has been one with the privilege of starting multiple mentoring programs. And so, I can say without question, relationships matter.” ALC Associates who want to mentor will therefore receive comprehensive training and support throughout the process to help them establish a successful dynamic with their mentee and their family. “They don’t want another teacher,” says Bwana of these young people. “They want someone who they can talk to and say things to that they can’t say at home or say in the classroom.” Bwana hopes that this level of intentionality will change lives. “I’m really confident that mentoring will be something that will impact our community for the better,” he asserts, saying of his previous experience with programs like this: “I’ve seen young people go from deep street activity, violence, trauma, all of that stuff, to back in school, hoping to graduate, wanting to pursue other things after that.”
“Just show up.”
And it all starts with showing up. Consistently. “That’s what kids are looking for, especially kids who come from trauma backgrounds,” Bwana says. “When something good happens, they have a really hard time expecting that it’s coming from a genuine place because their experience is so bad, that that’s their default setting. When’s the next bad thing going to come?” Dismantling this default begins with consistency and requires both time and the desire to do the work. “When you walk with them,” Bwana says, “you’re building that relationship where, maybe not on day one… maybe on day 365, you’ve built enough trust in that family that you can say the hard thing to Dad. You can say the tough thing to Mom and not ruin the relationship.”
“I believe that our young people are our most valuable resource, and they deserve that level of care.”
When asked why only five young people will be part of the first STAND cohort, Bwana feels it’s better to start small. “I believe that our young people are our most valuable resource, and they deserve that level of care,” he says, referring to the way resources, time, and people can be maximized for better care when serving fewer kids. “We are in people’s lives; we have a responsibility to do that well.” Bwana is optimistic about the future of the program, driven in part by the way these youth remind him of himself. “I have a personal story that’s much like the story of the young people we’re going to help. Didn’t come with a silver spoon, had lots of challenges, split family, stepdad, lots of expectations… Lots of things that could have kept me from being or becoming who I want to be.” He goes on to say it was the adults in his life who cared enough about him to push him in the right direction. “Having that person in your life to push you, who knows you well enough to know where to push you…. That sort of thing really makes a difference.” With his signature positive energy and enthusiasm, Bwana says in closing: “I sincerely, deeply feel like we are creating the model… and other companies across our country will seek to collaborate to do the same thing. I think American Licorice is laying the foundation for how other people do it. And when I say [that], I’m specifically referring to transformational versus transactional… it’s better to walk with people. They’ll get further. That resource will last longer if you walk with people, because that gives you the opportunity to invest, challenge, teach, and grow with that family.”
Visit Boys & Girls Clubs of La Porte County to learn more about how they are making the future brighter for youth and their families in our community.
