Our Mission
Each year, more students from low-income neighborhoods will know more people who've been to prison than who've been to college. CHAMPIONS:DETROIT is a group of college students looking to change that paradigm by bringing together disadvantaged students with college-student mentors they can relate to in order to build their character, strengthen their academics, plan for their future, and give back to their communities.
By giving students this access that they lack to knowledge about college, careers, and other postsecondary options, our goal is to increase postsecondary matriculation by improving our students’ outlooks on their futures. Thus, the mission of CHAMPIONS:DETROIT is to provide every kid with the Champion they deserve and, through mentorship and targeted development, bring out the best in our students.
By giving students this access that they lack to knowledge about college, careers, and other postsecondary options, our goal is to increase postsecondary matriculation by improving our students’ outlooks on their futures. Thus, the mission of CHAMPIONS:DETROIT is to provide every kid with the Champion they deserve and, through mentorship and targeted development, bring out the best in our students.
The Courage to Be Somebody
"How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion? Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be."
~Rita Pierson
This quote from Rita Pierson's TED-ED talk gets directly to the work CHAMPIONS:DETROIT wants to accomplish. Our goal is a simple one; that through relationships and mentoring, we can make a lasting and powerful impact in the lives of students who are systemically denied resources and access to opportunities. Through the impact of those relationships we can foster positive achievement, both academically and otherwise, and help the kids that may need it the most, and are the least likely to get it. That's what we're about.
How do we make that impact? By pairing our students with mentors trained in understanding the issues students in this community may face- from diversity and discrimination to lack of resources, and many others. We also pair them with mentors they can relate to on some level in order to facilitate the bonding that needs to occur for mentorship to be lasting, effective, and successful.
How do we make that impact? By pairing our students with mentors trained in understanding the issues students in this community may face- from diversity and discrimination to lack of resources, and many others. We also pair them with mentors they can relate to on some level in order to facilitate the bonding that needs to occur for mentorship to be lasting, effective, and successful.