‌
HAPPY FALL and welcome to the seventh edition of our online newsletter (LAP) The Learning Academy Post
On Saturday, November 16, 2019, DonCARES of Philadelphia Founder and Executive Director Donovan Forrest interviewed on KYW's Flashpoint Segment with Cherri Gregg. Click the picture to listen to the interview.

Mentee of the Month: Dior Bullock
Dior Bullock is recognized as the November 2019 DonCARES of Philadelphia, Inc. Mentee of the Month. Bullock was selected because of her commitment to her education and her perseverance in overcoming life's challenges. Bullock is currently a Senior at The U School and has been a member of DonCARES of Philadelphia, Inc. since September 2019. 
 
DonCARES Executive Director Donovan Forrest met Dior during a panel discussion in September when U School Humanities Teacher Charlie McGeehan invited DonCARES Mentors Anisa Ara, Randell Daniels, Aaron Williams, Madison Brown, and Donovan Forrest to talk about their career paths and their college experiences. 
 
Dior is currently matched with DonCARES Mentor Anisa Ara. Ara is currently a Senior at the Fox School of Business at Temple University and is majoring in Management Information Systems. 
 
After high school, Dior is considering becoming going to college and is currently completing her senior multi-disciplinary project on Mass-Incarceration. Both Anisa and Donovan are proud of Dior and her recent academic accomplishments. Congratulations, Dior!
Mentor of the Month: Randell Daniels
R andell Daniels is recognized as the November 2019 DonCARES of Philadelphia, Inc. Mentor of the Month. Daniels was selected because he has shown outstanding commitment to our core values and has built a admirable relationship with his mentee. 

Daniels is currently a senior at Temple University majoring in Business Administration and Sociology and is very active on Temple's campus as members of both the National Association of Black Accountants and DonCARES. 
 
 
DonCARES Executive Director Donovan Forrest met Daniels in the beginning of September during the 2019-2020 school year shortly after Daniels applied to be a mentor. Since his joining of DonCARES as a volunteer mentor, Daniels has built a commendable relationship with his 12th grade mentee Zyquell.
Resume Workshop (11/12/19)
O n Tuesday, November 12, 2019, DonCARES of Philadelphia, Inc. Executive Director Donovan Forrest returned to his Alma Mater Samuel Fels High School to conduct a resume workshop with 12th-grade students in veteran teacher John Mault's classroom.  
 
A 2013 graduate of Fels, Forrest was excited back at his Alma mater and give back to who he referred to as: "very deserving students." A few weeks ago, Forrest helped over thirty-five students in grades 10, 11, and 12 start their resumes. Also, he walked through a successful interview with a student volunteer, discussed proper interview attire for both male and female students and encouraged students to think outside what they believe is possible.
MAN UP Discussion with S.M.O.O.T.H Temple (11/13/19)
O n Wednesday, November 13, 2019, the men of DonCARES of Philadelphia, Inc. and Strong Men Overcoming Obstacles Through Hard Work, Temple University Chapter hosted a Man-Up Discussion for male-identifying high school students at The U School. Man Up is a specified initiative targeting male high school students at The U School. 
 
Members of both organizations talked to the students about each member and U School student's definitions of success. Also, the participants talked about the influence of music in emotional and mental health.  Evan a member of S.M.O.O.T.H Temple encouraged students to think about how music can effect their moods and how it's important to reflect on ones strengths and weaknesses in order to reach optimum self-understanding.  

Longtime Man-Up Attendee and U School 11th grader Lizandro reflected on his grandfather's advice to work hard in silence and let his success make the noise. S.M.O.O.T.H Vice-President Nasir Harris was asked by a student on what he wants to be when he gets older. Nasir responded that while he is an engineering major, he wants to build an engineering consultant firm that directly impacts his community and sets up men and women of color in the civil engineering field for economic success.  Narayan Felix also shared his background coming from the DC area and how that influenced his global studies track at Temple.


Since the 2016-2017 school year, both DonCARES and S.M.O.O.T.H have held these group mentoring sessions multiple times a school year at The U School. DonCARES specializes in providing support, guidance, and mentorship to at-risk males. ​DonCARES collabs with SMOOTH Inc. Temple Chapter in providing insightful, educational, and engaging conversations for our male students. We address topics of conflict resolution, image, scholastic achievement, consent, and professionalism during our monthly conversations. The main objective of our conversations is to hold sobering conversations with our young men to prepare them to be successful students, community members, professionals, young men, sons, brothers, boyfriends, etc.
“I'm learning [that] love and school are the only things you get for free when you're young, and I took it for granted.”

―  Monique Morris