The Need:

AGBM is dedicated to enhancing the life-options and life-opportunities for Black male youth in Baltimore where the dropout, incarceration and homicide rates for young Black males are among the highest in the country. We find these outcomes for our young men unacceptable, and we have resolved to do everything within our power to support and assist our young men by providing them with the resources and the information they need to improve both their personal lives and their economic outcomes.

We believe that technology can be used as a tool to help Black males become better at whatever is important to them. We encourage them to exercise their options -- ultimately improving their lives.

AGBM, Inc. uses historical facts and anecdotal information to reinforce the idea of the Black male's legacy of creativity, ingenuity and excellence and work with them to ingrain that idea into their consciousness. This is done not only in an attempt to motivate African American males to foster a greater respect for themselves and their communities, but to also educate those outside of the community in a non-stereotypical fashion.

A portion of the donations to AGBM, Inc. will be used to help up provide workshops that "speak" to and empower participants to create strategies for self-improvement. The cornerstone of our ability to successfully design appropriate interventions for each client comes through our trainers and experts, who hold impressive backgrounds in real-world and diverse environments.

The goal of the AGBM, Inc. is to replace negative images of Black males by:

The goal of AGBM, Inc. is also to use The Internet and related technologies to:

1. Enhance the educational experience of it's program participants
2. Help Black males achieve their goals.
3. Help Black males gather critical information.
4. Help Black males gain insight
5. Provide participants with a virtual forum for documenting the stories of their lives and communities.

Proposed Programs and Activities:

The Legacy of Excellence Life Skills Program

The overall objective of this program module is to help participants develop a clear sense of their attributes, talents, goals, and attitudes to enhance their self image. [see goal one] In the process participants create individual plans for self-improvement, and obtain skills for job searching, job retention and career management. Life Skills is a training program for participants who are entering the workplace with a focus on self-assessment, job-readiness and decision making skills. This module can run concurrently with the General Education Program module.

Legacy of Excellence Digital Diary

Through the use of technological tools, PC's, software, scanners, and digital cameras high school participants will be actively engaged in creating a digital diary that demonstrate an appreciation of the historical strength of the African American family as well as reflect the positive contributions of their families, friends, and the community in which they live. Participants will acquire the skills necessary to document stories of their families or community's history.

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