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Co-founded by longtime Frito-Lay employee Chris Wallace, MAN UP Mentoring is an Orlando-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering at-risk youth through mentorship programs, educational support, and character development. With an organizational motto, penned by Frederick Douglass, “It is easier to empower youth; than to repair broken men,” the organization aims to cultivate responsible leaders and positive role models within the community.
MAN UP Mentoring has four core values that are found throughout the work they do, which are to connect, serve, lead, and empower. In addition to its core values, MAN UP is rooted in four pillars as well, those being mentorship, education, social services, and food security. To fully support these values and pillars, MAN UP’s mentoring curriculum framework is based on the Whole Child Model. According to Transcend Education, creator of the Whole Child Model, the model is “rooted in the understanding that children’s academic success is inextricably linked to their overall well-being”.
Since its inception in 2014, MAN UP Mentoring has supported over 1,200 youth and nearly 300 families, while serving six schools within the Orlando area. This support has equated to nearly 12,000 pounds of food distributed with a value totaling over $15,000. Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Chris Wallace’s employer over the past 35 years, has proven to be a substantial contributor to MAN UP Mentoring’s mission. Over the years FLNA has supported the organization much more than just financially. The company has numerous volunteers from the local plant and also provides product donations.
On average, youth members participate in MAN UP’s programming for five years. As stated by youth.gov, the U.S. government resource for youth programming, “close, healthy, supportive relationships between mentors and mentees that last a significant portion of time (i.e., more than one year) are central to success,” which correlates to the immense success MAN UP Mentoring has had. The program has seen 100% of youth graduating high school with 96% of those youths not offending or reoffending in the Juvenile Justice System. When asked about his commitment to service through MAN UP Mentoring, Chris Wallace says, “It is our goal to introduce our mentees to the best version of themselves, offer them love, support, and hope, while igniting their vision.”
