Nationally Syndicated Media Personality Tom Joyner Supports 'Mentoring Brothers,' Encouraging Black Men To Volunteer

Nationally Syndicated Media Personality Tom Joyner Supports 'Mentoring Brothers,' Encouraging Black Men To Volunteer

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Nationally syndicated media personality Tom Joyner has responded to syndicated sports radio hosts The 2 Live Stews' Mentoring Brothers challenge to use his influence and star power to encourage Black men to mentor. Joyner, a media personality and philanthropist, is heard by more than 8 million listeners in 115 markets as host of the number one syndicated urban radio show in America.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090211/PH69744 )

This month, The 2 Live Stews, Doug and Ryan Stewart, biological brothers who are also mentors with Big Brothers Big Sisters, are urging their sports and urban media buddies to use the airwaves and websites to help them spread the word about the need for African American men to become mentors. While more than a third of the Little Brothers served by the Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer network are African American, only 15 percent of the nonprofit organization's male mentors are black. The 260,000 Children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are among America's most vulnerable - those who live in poverty, single-parent homes or households where a parent is incarcerated.

"By the end of the campaign in March, we expect to have more broadcasters and their circles of friends, listeners and family members on board to continue the conversation as long as our boys need us. Black men in media, leaders of African American fraternities and others who have a nationwide audience or platform owe it to our little brothers to use their influence to make mentoring a major movement in our communities," The 2 Live Stews said.

The Stews will be guests on the Tom Joyner Morning Show February 16 at 7:45 a.m. Eastern to talk about their Mentoring Brothers campaign.

In addition to Joyner, attorney/radio host Warren Ballentine; radio personality Rickey Smiley; ESPN's Stephen A. Smith; ESPN the Magazine executive Keith Clinkscales and Rolling Out Magazine publisher Munson Steed will use their formal and informal networks (email lists, social networking sites, radio broadcasts, ad space, etc) to encourage African American men to go to MentoringBrothers.org to join their mentoring movement. In March, ESPN the Magazine and the broadcasters' websites will run an ad featuring images of all media/influencers who joined answered the Stews' call.

Independent research finds children mentored by Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers are more likely than their peers to be successful in school and avoid harmful, risky and illegal behaviors and activities.

"The Tom Joyner Foundation gives money directly to Historical Black Colleges and Universities to help our students complete their education," Joyner said. "We know that when kids have a good support system they do better in school and have a better chance of continuing their education, that's why I am helping the 2 Live Stews spread the Mentoring Brothers message to get more Black men to mentor our kids."

Doug and Ryan Stewart's Mentoring Brothers campaign is part of Phase II of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America's Campaign for Men, an effort launched last year and funded in part by a generous grant from the Arby's Foundation to recruit more male mentors, especially African American and Hispanic men. The Campaign for Men includes public service announcements, "Bigs Asking Bigs" events, barbershop recruitment drives spearheaded by American Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and the development of the targeted website, MentoringBrothers.org.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters helps vulnerable children beat the odds. The organization depends on donations to help recruit volunteers and reach more children. Funding is used to conduct background checks on volunteers to ensure child safety; and provide ongoing support for children, families and volunteers to build and sustain long-lasting relationships. Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven to increase children's odds of succeeding in school, behaving nonviolently, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and breaking negative cycles. Headquartered in Philadelphia and with nearly 400 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves more than a quarter million children. Learn how you can change how children grow up in America by going to BigBrothersBigSisters.org. Learn more about Mentoring Brothers at MentoringBrothers.org.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090211/PH69744
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Big Brothers Big Sisters

CONTACT: Kelly Williams of Big Brothers Big Sisters, +1-215-665-7795,
Kelly.Williams@bbbs.org

Web Site: http://bigbrothersbigsisters.org/
http://mentoringbrothers.org/

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