Greensboro, NC -- A group of young men in Greensboro are "manning up" as a result of a local mentoring program.
They are part of the nonprofit organization called "Man Up."
It's a program for underprivileged young men in high school.
"I wasn't making as many positive decisions as I could have been making," said Dashawn Jones, a mentee in the program. "The Man Up program helped me realize more things than I realized before."
Ashton Cutler, another mentee explained he would have been on the wrong path had he not found the program his freshmen year of high school.
"[The mentors] show us a lot of things in the world and keep us out of trouble. They also call us out of class sometimes, help us, check on our grades," Cutler said.
Saturday, the group held their annual "Donation Car Wash" on Battleground Avenue.
It was both an exercise in team building and a fundraiser to support the nonprofit's many enrichment programs.
"Within the next 5, 10 years, hopefully we can see all these guys going to college, getting scholarships and becoming the future leaders that they need to be today," said John Lucas. He started in the program as a mentor and has now transitioned into teaching the new members.
Man Up has been operating for about four years. They have primarily targeted high school students but are looking to expand into the elementary level.
Darrell Harris, a program facilitator says they usually have about 30-40 students who realize the need to stay focused in their studies regardless of what may be going on in their lives.
"There are so many negative influences out there. We just want to give them some positive influences to latch onto," Harris explained. "All these kids, they want to be great, they want to success so this program is perfect for them. It gives them the tools; it gives them the experiences some of them might not experience otherwise."
Some of Man Up's enrichment programs include character building and college tours.
They also plan to use the money from today's event to buy school supplies for local elementary students.
If you're interested in the program you can reach them via email at 2010manup@gmail.com
They are also available on twitter: @ManUp_Inc and on Facebook.
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