Athens, Ga. – A University of Georgia counseling professor’s group of mentoring programs, aimed at developing and nurturing academic and social skills, especially in young African-American males, has received a grant from AT&T through the Athens Area Community Foundation.
Deryl Bailey, an associate professor in the College of Education’s department of counseling and human development services, began the Empowered Youth Program in 2002 as an expansion of his original Gentlemen on the Move program.
Today, the EYP includes two more groups: Parents of Empowered Youth and Young Women Scholars. These programs also include Saturday academies and workshops.
The programs provide K-12 students in Athens area schools with tutoring, guidance and social skills training while offering a supportive structure for their parents. UGA faculty and graduate students work with participating elementary, middle and high school students in Saturday academies held on the UGA campus. The group also holds semester exam lock-ins and summer academies, and closely monitors students’ progress in school.
The latest funding will provide travel expenses for students to visit college campuses and other educational destinations. In addition, it will fund new computer equipment, volunteer training, new vocabulary and reading curricula, according to Bailey.
“It’s through support from organizations like the Athens Area Community Foundation that makes our work possible,” said Bailey. “We’d like to thank Paul Chambers and AT&T for this generous grant.”
Bailey joined the UGA faculty in 1999. He earned his Ph.D. in counselor education from the University of Virginia. He developed the original Gentlemen on the Move program in 1989 when he was a counselor in a North Carolina high school.
The AACF was established in 1994 as an affiliate of the Battle Creek Community Foundation. It is a non-profit organization that provides a platform for philanthropy, serving the interests of Athens-area residents and donors.
