Mentoring Positives, Darbo Council, Neighborhood Resource Team and other partners are looking forward to our spring and summer events. More info to come on upcoming events
We are moving into the new Ella Apartment’s complex on the lower level. We’re so grateful to be in our new production/restaurant kitchen! 
We are naming the space Muiel’s Place after our founders late mom Muriel Pipkins. We’re building our Off The Block salsa and pizza inventory and getting ready to open to the public soon! Stay tuned for more info! 
Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate 15 years of positive mentorship! Check out photos from the event, courtesy of Hedi Lamarr Photography.
Mentoring Positives’ 15th Anniversary Party will be held on Saturday, November 16, 2019. This annual event is a celebration of our youth and the positivity we see in the Madison Community.
We are especially excited for this milestone anniversary, where several of the young people who have participated in our programs over the years will join us to share their inspiring stories.
Saturday, November 16
6:00 – 10:00 PM
Discovery Building at UW-Madison
We are pleased to announce this year’s Muriel Pipkins awardees, Dr. Derek Johnson & Gloria Reyes. The award is given in honor of founder Will Green’s late mother, Muriel Pipkins, who was herself an inspiration to others. Mr. Johnson and Ms. Reyes are former residents of Darbo Worthington and have been instrumental in Darbo and Mentoring Positives’ 15 years of success.
If you can’t make it to the event, please consider a gift to support Mentoring Positives. Your support helps us build a positive path for youth in Madison. Thank you!
Edinger Surgical Options
Maralee Olson Design Studio
Metcalfe’s Market
MGE
UW Credit Union
Interested in sponsorship? Learn more here.
Our Off the Block summer interns have been hard at work! These 12 young people have been spending time at the FEED Kitchens developing the perfect recipe for Off the Block pizza, creating a marketing plan for salsa, and tending to our home-grown basil at the Mentoring Positives clubhouse.
An important part of the internship program is connecting students with professionals in the community. In July, the group visited the FEED Kitchens to learn culinary skills from chef Thony of Cafe Costa Rica. Mentors like Thony teach real-world business skills and provide positive role models for these young people.
Over the course of the summer, each intern will receive 20 hours of training and 90 hours of real-world job experience. Students who successfully complete the internship will also be eligible for Leadership and Employability Certificates from the Department of Public Instruction.
Mentoring Positives has been embedded in Darbo Worthington on Madison’s east side for 15 years. We care about this community and see the pride, aspirations, and relationships that make it home. Madison365 recently interviewed executive director Will Green about our vision for Darbo and how the wave of development coming down East Washington Ave will impact the people in Darbo.
Green told Madison365, “Darbo is the perfect place to inject minority-led initiatives and support minorities to be part of the growing city and not just be another pocket in this city.”
Mentoring Positives, a mentoring program based in the Darbo-Worthington neighborhood that is also known for its Off the Block salsa, expanded its support to struggling La Follette High School students this semester, and has seen encouraging results.
At a community event on Wednesday at the Spark Building on East Washington Avenue, Will Green, founder of Mentoring Positives, was joined by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and other supporters who celebrated the completion of a pilot program that brought programming to 15 students at La Follette who were not on track to graduate.
“It’s a state of emergency out here,” said Green, who also coaches the girl’s varsity basketball team at the high school. “It’s a state of emergency for our kids and it hurts my heart that I gotta work with 11th and 12th graders that…Read More
Madison365 recently covered the results from our pilot semester at La Follette High School, where we worked with a cohort of 13 juniors and seniors at risk of not graduating on time.
“I didn’t know if I could be as impactful in a school space, but it really has been quite an impactful journey in this short time we’ve been together for this pilot program,” says Will Green, executive director of Mentoring Positives. “I really wanted to get into school-based mentoring. I’ve been able to bring a lot of things I’ve been doing in the community into the school.”
Mentoring Positives has been growing strong, resilient youth leaders on Madison’s east side for 15 years. Join us on June 5 to learn about our new pilot mentorship program at La Follette High School and our summer Off the Block social enterprise internships.
Will you join us? This open-house style community event is free and open to the public. Refreshments provided.
The first of its kind in Madison, our MMSD partnership program at La Follette High School works with a cohort of juniors and seniors who are at risk of not graduating on time. We help them succeed academically through social and emotional awareness, leadership training, and academic support.
On June 5, learn about the new partnership and our holistic suite of youth programs directly from MMSD staff, youth participants, and program supporters. You’ll also get a sneak peek at what’s in store for next year, with information about opportunities to engage with and support this important work.
Wednesday, June 5
5-7 PM
The Spark Building
821 E. Washington Ave, 8th floor
In honor of Mentoring Positives’ Founder/CEO, Will Green’s mother who succumbed to breast cancer at the young age of 46. The Muriel Pipkins Award is a prestigious honor given to someone that exhibits compassion, empathy, caring, nurturing, integrity and dedication among numerous other great qualities. Ms. Pipkins was a role model and mentor to many in her family and to ordinary people on the streets. She displayed a passion for taking care of people and this is what Mentoring Positives thrives to replicate in our goal of “Impacting kids and families through positive mentoring relationships”.
Last Thursday, Will Green knew he would be honored for his community work. As a recipient of the Nan Cheney March for Justice award, presented in a ceremony at the Monona Terrace Convention Center, he would get a $15,000 grant.
But he didn’t know he would leave the ceremony with a check from CUNA Mutual Group Foundation for $175,000. Green’s organization, Mentoring Positives, is a nonprofit working in the Darbo-Worthington neighborhood to serve at-risk youth.
He was pretty overwhelmed… Read the full article
