My Brother’s Keeper 617

MBK617 is a non-profit (Louis D. Brown Peace Institute is our Fiscal agent 501(c)(3).

We are based out of Dorchester, MA . MBK617 was created to provide a mentoring to young men and boys ages 8 and up from the Boston community. The goal is to show them that they can make choices that will lead them to increased academic and professional opportunities. And through the pursuit of these opportunities, these kids will grow to become an asset to the community, and leaders to the next generation.

The group was founded in 2014 when six men raised in Dorchester came together to make a change in our neighborhood by providing a type of knowledge that was unavailable to our generation. Coming from the neighborhood, these six men know the struggle of the streets first hand and were uniquely familiar with the pressure to go down the wrong path. These were men who could identify with, and relate to, the upcoming generation.

Starting with their own resources they took over 20 young men off the streets of Dorchester and showed them an alternative to their regular lifestyle. We brought them to beaches and took them on ATVs, went to parks and showed them other parts of the state, held sporting com- petitions and hosted video game nights on a 16 foot outdoor screen. Their favorite activity was the trip to the dirt bike track, where we got six ATVs and dirt bikes. We paid for 13 kids to participate in AAU basketball league and for trips back and forth to the games.

We exposed them to new ways of life, and gave them advice on a broad range of topics, like getting a drivers permit, building your credit, pursuing higher education, job training, pride in themselves and their neighborhood. We show them ways to establish financial independence through legitimate employment. We showed them a reason to choose a positive path.

One of the most impactful ways we have found to build this virtuous community of mentors is by taking them on trips outside of the neighborhood, especially throughout the summer. In order to facilitate this endeavor, one of the things this campaign hopes to achieve is a van to allow us to transport as many members as possible to MBK617 activities. Additional contributions are needed to fund modest but extremely rewarding group activities, both local and regional. We can’t do it without regular community support and hope that you can kickstart our summer by contributing to this important campaign!