Dreaming Big for the Community

For the last 20 years, Mentoring Positives has been a driver for youth empowerment in the Madison community. Born from the vision of Founder and Executive Director, Will Green’s passion for supporting at-risk youth, Mentoring Positives has grown from an individual mentorship program to offering group mentoring, leadership development, and youth employment through social entrepreneurship, sports and the arts.

Will Green explains that his key to success when working with young people stems from two things: relationships and engagement. “Mentoring Positives understands that in order to empower youth and encourage their development, you have to build a genuine relationship with them,” said Green.

Part of building that genuine relationship is figuring out each person’s hobbies and interests to determine which program will best suit that individual. Mentoring Positives refers to this process as finding the “hook” that engages them. “Once hooked, we provide mentoring sessions that work on the youths’ life skills which ultimately assists in their positive development,” commented Green.

“Off the Block” and Into the Kitchen

One of Mentoring Positives’ unique programs is “Off the Block,” engaging youth in agriculture and building culinary and social entrepreneurship skills. OTB was started when a local activist spoke to a group of boys participating in a basketball Skills Development Group and suggested doing urban agriculture and making salsa with the produce. Green was easily convinced this was a great idea as he had already been inspired by basketball and racial equality trailblazer Will Allen’s urban agriculture program in Milwaukee called “Growing Power.”.

“The idea grew to introducing young men to not only healthy eating and growing their own vegetables, but to producing, marketing and selling their own salsa products,” Green commented. The boys decided to name the salsa “Off the Block” as they saw this opportunity to gain new skills and get “off their block,” specifically, the low-income, underserved Darbo-Worthington-Starkweather neighborhood on Madison’s far east side.

The program quickly took off and now produces both salsas and pizzas that can be found in many of Madison’s grocery and convenience stores. “Off the Block” became such a pivotal program for Mentoring Positives that the organization opened its own restaurant and production space called Muriel’s Place, named after Will Green’s mother. Local chefs are invited to teach classes to the youth, further expanding their culinary knowledge and ties to the community. “None of this would be possible if we didn’t have a deep, trusting relationship with the youth and support of our funders and community,” added Green.

Recognizing a Need in the Neighborhood

Green’s tenacity for helping families in the DWS neighborhood didn’t stop with Mentoring Positives. Green, along with leaders from JustDane and the African Center for Community Development, have a big plan for the neighborhood in the next few years: the Darbo Dream Center.

Beginning in 2013, the City of Madison began working with DWS residents to update the neighborhood plan. Mentoring Positives worked as a liaison with the city to “create spaces and community events to engage the residents and ensure that their ideas for their neighborhood were heard,” said Green.

The Salvation Army Community Center has offered services to the DWS neighborhood for many years, but with their move to East Washington Avenue, a hole in the community needed to be filled. “Mentoring Positives recognized the need for a similar space that could uplift, encourage and empower residents through various services, programs and opportunities,” Green explained.

“The idea for the Darbo Dream Center has been in our heads, and in our hearts, for approximately 10 years. Spaces like community centers give individuals a place to connect with residents and serve their community,” Green continued. This sense of belonging was the reasoning behind developing the Darbo Dream Center concept.

Banding Together for Change

Mentoring Positives, JustDane and the African Center for Community Development all serve the DWS neighborhood. With their aligning missions and visions, partnering to create the Darbo Dream Center just made sense.

“Both organizations have done amazing work uplifting participants with their services. JustDane uses their program, ‘JustBakery,’ to empower adults returning to the community from incarceration, to excel through their culinary program, just as Mentoring Positives does with our Off the Block program,” Green said. “In addition, because the Darbo neighborhood is historically a place where African immigrants settle in Madison, it was a great fit to bring the African Center for Community Development onto this project.”

The “Darbo Alliance” decided to call it the “Dream Center” to inspire and encourage all the community to dream big and make those dreams for themselves, their families and their community a reality. The Darbo Dream Center will serve as a community space, offering a wide array of services and growth and enrichment opportunities to residents.

“The Darbo Dream Center project is a celebration of hope, love, inspiration and uplifting assets already present in this culturally rich and diverse neighborhood,” commented Green.

The Darbo Dream Center will begin its capital campaign in late 2024. Madison Community Foundation has supported both Mentoring Positives and JustDane through the years and gave a $75,000 grant in 2023 towards hiring and educating support staff for the upcoming capital campaign.

“Madison needs to make significant improvements in these neighborhoods if we want to make this city a better place for all to enjoy,” Green said. “This is a project that will transform the DWS neighborhood for generations to come and will inspire other low-income neighborhoods in Madison and Dane County.”