ST. LOUIS, MO – The Kwame Foundation will mentor and offer conflict resolution strategies to 60 male students from Ferguson, Vashon and Carnahan high schools at the “Tyrone Thompson Institute for Nonviolence Male Youth Summit” on November 21, at the William J. Harrison Education Center, 3140 Cass Avenue.The Summit will feature inspiring and relevant keynote addresses, mentoring sessions and panel discussions designed to empower youth to success. Speakers include Anthony (Tony) Thompson, CEO and chairman of the board of Kwame Building Group and co-founder of the Kwame Foundation; Koran Bolden, a national award winning youth speaker, entrepreneur, and business outreach mogul; Sylvester Chisom, author of the best selling book “The Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Success 2.0” and one of Ebony Magazine’s Top Young Entrepreneurs. Stefan Bradley, Saint Louis University Director of African American Studies department and the African American Male Scholars (AAMS) will discuss how to navigate the road to college.
The students selected to participate in the Summit are from the Ferguson-Florissant School District, Vashon High School and Carnahan High School of the Future. The Tyrone Thompson Institute for Nonviolence collaborates with local schools, students, mentors and parents to achieve a common goal of conflict resolution. The program offers the St. Louis Public School District a new approach to elementary school suspensions, which often lead to poor academic performance, lost school funding and an increase in juvenile delinquency and dropouts. The Kwame Foundation provides funding and adult mentors while St. Louis Community College students tutor and mentor the students. Parents learn parenting skills at required one-day workshops. “The outcome of the Tyrone Thompson Institute for Nonviolence program is a mastery of peaceful conflict resolution strategies,” said Yolonda Lankford, executive director of the Kwame Foundation. “When students learn these tools, we see an increase in self esteem and awareness, which leads to improvements in school attendance, discipline and graduation rates.” The Kwame Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization founded by Kim and Anthony (Tony) Thompson to develop a doorway of opportunity into the professional world for youth in underprivileged communities, through mentoring programs and scholarship opportunities. For more information on Kwame Foundation, visit www.kwamefoundation.org or call (314) 862-5344. # # #
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Source: Kwame Building Group – News