When Dorianne Johnson moved back to Huntsville, Ala., and took over as the Huntsville Parks and Recreation superintendent of community services in December 2021, she spent her first few months out in the parks talking with youth in the community.

When she was hired, Johnson, who had previously served as an athletic director, was asked about her initial plans for the department. She immediately mentioned a male mentorship program. Approximately three months later she met with her new team and began to implement the idea.

While discussing and evaluating various programming possibilities, the need for male mentorship resurfaced again and again, particularly with the two team members who grew up in the area and who were familiar with the needs in the community.

It was agreed that area youth needed mentoring in a more nontraditional way, such as in group activities. The program, it was decided, would serve young men ages 7-17 with the goal of engaging and inspiring them in a variety of activities that encouraged them to learn and inspired them to focus on their education.

As planning continued, the boys got to know each other through various events like trips to Topgolf, hockey games, soccer games and other various sports games. Athletes and professors were also brought in to speak to and interact with them.

Putting positive male role models in front of the boys, Johnson knew, would have a major impact. Many of Johnson’s male staff members also volunteer as mentors in the program. Criteria for the mentors is that they be 19 years of age or older and pass a stringent background check. She mentioned she has had many college students apply.

The first year of the program was August 2022 through May 2023. The group met once a month: Registration was held online for boys throughout the entire city of Huntsville. It is promoted through the city’s marketing department and there is no cost to parents. Activities range between two and three hours each and tend to take place on Thursdays or Saturdays.

Registration for the 2023-24 mentorship program, which took place in August, was full within a week and accrued a waitlist. It began in October and will meet twice a month through May 2024. The program kicked off with a parent engagement orientation meeting at Topgolf.

The ability to meet twice a month this year is due to the city receiving a grant that assists the parks and recreation department with costs. There are a total of 10 mentors this year, with 50 boys participating in the program.

One requirement of the grant is that the male mentorship program provides resources to help the young men, so Christian counseling, speech therapy, Boy Scouts and nutrition training flesh out the programming. The department also provides resources for parents to help children that are designed to combat the threat of opioid abuse as well as spread awareness. The health coordinator emphasizes that this need is prevalent throughout the county.

In order to promote a focus on education, the male mentorship program hands out medals twice a year for academic excellence, which means average grades of C or better.

Johnson mentioned that every two months she and her team decide on a theme. This year’s first theme project was a do-it-yourself construction project in which boys received tool belts, safety gloves and toolboxes that they got to take home afterward. There were also martial arts classes to help the boys focus on self-control and becoming more self-assured, and an etiquette dinner was added to teach self-advancement and career coaching. There will be three parent engagement programs this year as well.

“Next year we will take a mentee group of six kids that will give ideas for activities for the next year,” Johnson stated.

One parent said her son had never really left her side and was very shy, but she had heard about the program, and, after attending, her son came home very excited to continue with it. He is now more focused on grades and is entering the talent show at school.

 “I would say just get started. Sit down and reach out to other cities and find out what they’re doing and get started,” Johnson reflected. “One of the reasons we were awarded the grant is because we already had a program in place. First, decide if there’s a need. Second, decide what it would take to meet that need. Third, plan and get started.

“One thing about mentorship programming is, you don’t need a ton of money to do it. Be creative. They need to have a good time and see good leaders in front of them. And, if mentors are donating their time, it needs to be organized. Keep it simple. Don’t make it hard for them,” she emphasized. One of Johnson’s greatest resources is her personnel. “It’s fun work when you’re passionate about it,” she said.

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