The Bright Spot Report
This is a place to share the bright spots in our world. If you have a bright spot to share, please do. I'm glad you're here! I hope your day is filled with extravagantly abundant blessings that exceed your imagination.

Bright Spots can grow in dark places. 
The Bright Spot Report is a place for success stories 
as well as a place for tips on how to create Bright Spots. 
If you have a Bright Spot Story, please share it with us, 
so we can create a world with more Bright Spots. 

Monday,  April 28, 2014

BALLERS BREAKFAST

Today is the beginning of a unique opportunity to do something special. It's simple and easy, just click a link and vote for BALLERS BREAKFAST. 

 https://apps.facebook.com/sf_neighbor_assist/

What will your vote do?
BALLERS BREAKFAST will create hope beyond the violent streets. Through a weekend mentoring and athletic program, the Hope Center will attract young men from the violent neighborhoods of Buffalo. The initial program will run over the summer as an open basketball league to be played outdoors (indoors due to inclement weather.) 

Every Saturday morning will begin with breakfast and a mentoring session. The power of this program lies in the number of collaborating organizations collectively combining their strengths to provide hope and a future for young men who are at-risk of violence. After the morning session that will last approximately 2 hours, the young men will play ball for about 4 hours. The league will follow strict adherence to the code of conduct used in high school sports. Funds would be used to purchase portable rims and backboards, training materials, facility maintenance, and youth program needs.

How much of a lasting impact on your community will your cause have?

Collaboration between community groups is a model of teamwork that will impact a city. Young people in gangs who fight turf wars against each other have witnessed the acrimony between politicians, government agencies and community organizations. Urban Christian Ministries, Mentor Force, Xertion Youth, Project L.E.E, and The Homicide Education & Prevention Project will combine forces and work as a team. Putting young people first and pooling talents, resources and expertise will become a model for a segregated community. 

All of the leaders of these respective organizations have personally felt the devastation of losing a young man to violence. They are all personally involved with young guys who are members of gangs. We recognize that the young men want to live safe and productive lives but lack the belief in themselves to make it happen. We are changing neighborhoods one young person at a time. Through a team approach we will reduce violence, poverty and segregation in Buffalo.

 Could you please help us? It's easy to click a link. Please vote for Ballers Breakfast. There are 5 organizations collaborating to give young men a chance to climb above poverty, segregation and violence. It's easy for each of you to vote 10 times per day for Ballers Breakfast. 

https://apps.facebook.com/sf_neighbor_assist/

You can make a difference by voting 10X per day until May 17th. Please forward this Bright Spot Report to everyone who has access to Facebook. You your Smart Phone right now, it's simple and it may save a life.

Thanks for your time.
Go do something nice for somebody.

Bob Kuebler
Founder / Mentor Force

Mentor Force is an organization of initiators.
We help young people who are at risk of leading impoverished and violent lives.
We teach teachers, mentors and youth leaders how to build healthy relationships that make young people feel valued. Our goal is to ensure that every student has the benefit of being guided by a Mentor. If we can help you reach your potential as a Mentoring organization please contact us:  
716-830-8240 or [email protected]. www.youthwithapurpose.org
We are available for school assemblies and educator conferences.
https://apps.facebook.com/sf_neighbor_assist/

MENTOR FORCE TIP of the WEEK
Mentor Force is a collaboration of Mentors who work with teachers to reinforce study skills needed for a satisfactory education. Through the Common Core of Character Education, we help students deal with social and emotional issues that are barriers to learning. Our team approach to mentoring helps to raise grades, reduce suspensions and minimize behavioral problems. We mentor in the mountains. We mentor in the classroom. We teach mentors. [email protected]

Thursday, April 24, 2014

ARE YOU A THREAT TO YOUR BOSS?

          Today's mentoring tip is about the relationship that mentors have with their employers. We recognize the fact that folks who are mentors also have a life beyond their mentoring aspirations; they have a job. What relationship building characteristics are most beneficial when you are on the job?

          The most important thing you can ever do is become a threat to your boss. No, I am not telling you to abuse or hurt them! If you are going the extra mile in the function of your responsibilities, it may be possible for you to be recognized as a "go-getter" who is worthy of advancement. Ask yourself some hard questions and see if you fill the bill as a "Boss-threat". The following list of "thinking-points" are designed to give you some thoughts to chew on.

• Loyalty - Are you loyal to incompetency? There are incompetent bosses in the world - be loyal to them. This means that you do not undermine them by talking behind their back. You will not be viewed as an aspiring leader if you use finger-pointing instead of idea creation. Serve your boss, honor your boss and complement your boss - honestly.
• Extra Miles - This is not a synonym for overtime! Do you do more than what's expected of you? You may not feel like your efforts have been recognized but you reap what you sow. That's a guaranteed principle of life. Serving without expectation is like dropping a seed in the ground. Have you ever heard the sound of seed being dropped in the ground? Of course you haven't because there is no sound! The seed is so small and the soil so soft that there is no sound. Don't expect the sound of "thank you" for going the extra mile.
• Put the Company First - This may not be your dream job but it pays your bills. Act as if it is your dream job and life will be easier as long as you are employed there. Be alert for opportunities to help you boss become more successful in his role as a leader.
• Transparency - You may have some initiatives of your own that you are working on. Ask yourself if this is something that your boss should know about. Keeping secrets may give the impression that you are being dishonest or working on a project that has not been approved by your boss.

A good Mentor puts other folks first and serves them as an "Extra-miler!"

Thanks for your time. 
Go do something nice for somebody.

Bob Kuebler
Founder / Mentor Force

Mentor Force is an organization of initiators.
We help young people who are at risk of leading impoverished and violent lives.
We teach teachers, mentors and youth leaders how to build healthy relationships that make young people feel valued. Our goal is to ensure that every student has the benefit of being guided by a Mentor. If we can help you reach your potential as a Mentoring organization please contact us:  
716-830-8240 or [email protected]. www.youthwithapurpose.org
We are available for school assemblies and educator conferences 

Later today we will begin distributing Golden Tickets. This is what you will find on our first Golden Ticket:


A MENTOR FORCE
GOLDEN TICKET

IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU! (Repeat this to everyone you meet!)
WE HOPE THE OWNER OF THIS GOLDEN TICKET,
IS FILLED WITH HEART SMILES!



PRESENT THIS TICKET AT HOLY CROSS, MARYLAND & NIAGARA, FROM 6-8pm ON THE TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF MAY, 2014
(If you don't have a ticket in your hand, just imagine that you do and we will too!) DO NOT BE LATE. THERE WILL BE FOOD & SMILES.

YOU WILL EARN HOW MENTORING RAISES GRADES, REDUCES SUSPENSIONS & MINIMIZES BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS.

THIS EVENT WILL HIGHLIGHT UNFAILING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO BE MENTORED,
FOR FOLKS TO BECOME MENTORS AND FOR MENTORING ORGANIZATIONS TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY..

In your wildest dreams you could not imagine the marvellous SURPRISES that await those who take control of their destiny. "SUCCESS IS A SEED INSIDE YOU, ALREADY PLANTED AND WAITING TO GROW."

www.youthwithapurpose.org or [email protected]

This is a story that will be the back of the ticket:

Once upon a minute in a near away land there lived many children. They went to city schools where they found many good teachers. Sadly the teachers were forced to feed the children a fairly steady diet of tests. The children's poor hearts were burdened with the weights of life in their neighborhoods. The sidewalks had cracks that many children fell through. They named the cracks poverty, segregation and violence. Then one day some mentors appeared, they became teammates with teachers and parents. They helped the children learn how to climb the mountains of life. They told the children: "When life is hard; make diamonds. When life is a struggle; become a butterfly. When life is irritating; become a pearl! Whatsoever mountain you climb, climb it with all your might."

The children, their schools and a city were changed in the blink of an eye. 

MENTOR FORCE TIP of the DAY
Thursday, April 17, 2014

POVERTY CAN BE AN ADVANTAGE

          There are many of us who spend our lives building relationships with young people in violent and impoverished areas. Learning how to embrace struggle is one of the keys to success. Just for clarity and understanding purposes, my definition of success is simply another word for: "trying." Someone who never gives up regardless of the adversity that one is faced with, is successful.

          Poverty can become a prison. Many poor folks embrace social service programs and church hand-outs as a type of freedom from their misery. Those hand-outs can become the handlebars of a life prison cell. Children in our schools need to be taught the benefits of embracing struggle. If you read our Mentor Force Tips with any regularity, you most likely have read about our teaching curriculum called: "The BDP Theory."

• Butterfly's are created to struggle from their cocoon to freedom. 
• Diamonds are created through hard times and pressure.
• Pearls are created through irritants.

          The life story of Booker T. Washington contained in his book:

 "Up From Slavery" should be required reading for every human being with a heartbeat. One's circumstances in life need not be a prison of acceptance. Teaching children to "Try, try again" will help instill initiative in their hearts. Here is a passage from Booker's book about success:
 "In later years, I confess that I do not envy the white boy as I once did. I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. Looked at from this standpoint, I almost reach the conclusion that often the Negro boy’s birth and connection with an unpopular race is an advantage, so far as real life is concerned. With few exceptions, the Negro youth must work harder and must perform his task even better than a white youth in order to secure recognition. But out of the hard and unusual struggle through which he is compelled to pass, he gets a strength, a confidence, that one misses whose pathway is comparatively smooth by reason of birth and race." 

Thanks for your time.
Go do something nice for somebody.

 Bob Kuebler
Founder / Mentor Force

Mentor Force is an organization of initiators.
We help young people who are at risk of leading impoverished and violent lives.
We teach teachers, mentors and youth leaders how to build healthy relationships that make young people feel valued. Our goal is to ensure that every student has the benefit of being guided by a Mentor. If we can help you reach your potential as a Mentoring organization please contact us:  
716-830-8240 or [email protected]. www.youthwithapurpose.org
We are available for school assemblies and educator conferences

           Would you like to share a word of encouragement with about fifty thousand young folks by offering them some guidance that will help them become world changers? 


          We are writing another book about mentoring and we would like you to include your advice. Would you like an opportunity to share your wisdom that has helped you become who you are? Building a Mentor Force is not about me or you, it's about working together to create a better future for tens of thousands of young people in desperate need of adult relationships.

          The books and curriculum that we have already written
only tell part of the story. Your story will add value and become a seed in the hearts of many who will read this book. We will pass on your words through our mentoring programs and in our next book: 
"Mentorology Volume Two - Mentor Force."

          We know you are busy. The few moments of your time that it will take to write a few sentences may benefit thousands of lives. Your words will not only change lives, your words may save lives. All of the folks whose encouraging words are printed in our book will receive the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped struggling young people become stronger. We will also give you a free copy of the book along with our thanks for caring enough to share the scholarship of your character with disadvantaged youth. 


          We look forward to receiving your mentoring tip or mentoring success story at: [email protected]

          We have not yet selected a literary agent or publisher for this project. Our goal is to ensure that whoever we partner with will assure us that this volume will be made available worldwide to as many teaching, mentoring and youth organizations as possible. We want to get it into the hands of folks who will use its collective wisdom to teach young people how to use initiative to create their own opportunities to escape poverty.

Thank you for all you do.
We appreciate you.

Bob & Linda Kuebler
Founder/Director
Youth With A Purpose Inc
Mentor Force 

Here is a link to Mentorology Volume One:
http://www.amazon.com/Mentorology-Volume-One-Building-Mentorship/dp/1494395851 

After many years of working with young people in the neighborhoods and schools of the inner city, we have experienced failures and victories. We have gained some wisdom that we now teach.

Our blog: "Mentor Force Tip of the Day" contains advice on mentoring.

Our book: "Mentorology Volume One - Building A Mentorship" provides many relationship building tools.

Here is a short description of Mentor Force:

"Mentor Force is a collaboration of Mentors
who become teammates with teachers to help reinforce
 the study skills needed for a satisfactory education.
We go right to the core of Character Education,
helping students deal with social and emotional issues
 that are barriers to learning. 
Our team approach to mentoring helps to raise grades, reduce
suspensions and minimize behavioral problems."

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=782649625078568&set=vb.129118327098371&&theater

Life Church Buffalo is encircling a City in prayer. Youth With A Purpose Inc. and Mentor Force met up with Pastor Craig McLeod and his team of prayer walkers as they spread compassion on city streets. Thank you, we appreciate you. #JLYASDW

This is a post from Pastor Craig on their Facebook Page at Life Church Buffalo:

"Second day... Circling The City in prayer.... Mile 10... Check in with Bob Kuebler, founder of "Youth with a Purpose", a ministry serving youth in our city. We are prayer walking a thirty five mile journey, five miles a day leading up to Easter, knowing that God is calling us to change our city through the love of Jesus Christ. Check back with us tomorrow."

Go ahead, take a step and leave an impact! Contact us and together we will form a partnership that will leave a legacy that will impact thousands of young people in Buffalo and worldwide.  [email protected]

If you are looking to visit a church this week, please consider Life Church. They are friendly folks who love their neighbors - in the country and in the city!

Thanks for your time.
Go do something nice for somebody.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=782649625078568&set=vb.129118327098371&&theater

HSA - Hood Service Announcement
 Everyone should have a job. Working to earn your own money is something to be proud of. Anybody who is sellin' drugs on the corner will eventually get caught and sent to the box. They take away your rights and you can't climb aby mountains when you are locked up. GO TO THE JOB FAIR! This has been a Hood Service Announcement from:
 Youth With A Purpose & Mentor Force

A job fair for teens and young adults will be held today from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Buffalo Employment & Training Center, 77 Goodell St.

Buffalo Youthworks and Career Fair is open to jobseekers ages 16 to 21. It will feature more than 35 companies and organizations looking for new employees.

Last week we gave our students in Buffalo Schools #6 an assignment: tell us what your dream is and we guarantee we will do something to make your dream come true. Last week a young lady filled out her form and one of her dreams was to be a writer. We asked Rod Watson from The Buffalo News to visit our class and share some of his expertise. This was not a Buffalo News assignment, Rod is a good friend who I knew would share his compassion with students.

Rod volunteered his time and gave the whole group of 6th, 7th and 8th Graders a short course on becoming a writer. He told the class that all of your classes are important and needed in the writing profession. Even math is important because you need a budget to run a newspaper. Rod spent some extra time talking to the young lady who wants to be a writer. He said she is a star and he will look out for opportunities to make her dream come true. Thank you Mr. Watson, you are a star. We appreciate you for taking the time to make a difference in the lives of school children.

HOW to MENTOR Part Two

We hope your day is filled with heart smiles! In our last post on "How to Start Mentoring - Part One"  we told you about the "UGLY FISH SHARE" or personal interests inventory. We said we would share our UGLY FISH SHARE with you so here it is, enjoy and happy relationship building! 

Here are a few suggestions on how to use the Ugly Fish Share:

• You pick and choose from among the questions, 
• PERSONALIZE IT! 
• One good method of gaining information about somebody is the "Interview Method." Pretend you are a famous Talk Show Host like Bob Letterhead or Opera Winfred and conduct a humorous interview with your new mentoree. You both will smile!
• If you find an ugly fish (topic that really interests your mentoree) GO WITH THE FLOW!
• This is just an "Icebreaker" or "Get-To-Know-You" exercise. Build a relationship before you build rules.

Please contact us with any questions or suggestions: [email protected]

The Mentor Force UGLY FISH SHARE 


Name


Nickname, AKA, Fake Name or What do you want to be called?



What is your favorite restaurant? 



What was your most embarrassing moment? 



What is your favorite food? 


What is your biggest fear? 



Do you have a favorite Bible story? 



If you could meet one person in human history, who would it be? 



If there was one thing you could change about your friends, what would it be?




What makes you feel sad, glad, mad or happy? (pick one!)




Do you have a pet rhinoceros or a dog, cat or fish?




Where would you like to travel?




Have you ever wanted to own a rocket-ship?




Do you have a favorite holiday?




Can we celebrate your birthday today?




Have you ever had blue hair?




What is your dream?




What have you done to make your dream come true?




Do you like school?




If you could be any animal, what would you like to be?





Have you ever been in a food fight?






What do you do when a friend cries?






If you could have a "Do-Over" what would it be?






Do you know what forgiveness is?






Have you ever kissed an ugly fish?






Have you ever been to a funeral?







If you could be any crayon in the box, which one would you be?






What famous person would you like to be?






Can you loan me a million dollars?






If you had a million and you won't give it to me, what would you do with it?






Should people who ride skateboards wear seat-belts?






Are there any dumb questions that you would like to ask me?






Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.
Bob Kuebler
Founder / Mentor Force

Mentor Force is an organization of initiators.
We help young people who are at risk of leading impoverished and violent lives.
We teach teachers, mentors and youth leaders how to build healthy relationships that make young people feel valued. Our goal is to ensure that every student has the benefit of being guided by a Mentor. If we can help you reach your potential as a Mentoring organization please contact us: 716-830-8240 or [email protected] We do school assemblies and conferences.