End of The Year Letter

Dear Supporters and Friends,

Three of my new mentees ages 13-17 lost their mom in January. Their grandmother was the only person who would keep them together and take all three in. What their grandmother wasn’t prepared for, however, was the challenge of caring for young men who just lost their only parent in the midst of a pandemic.

Like many in their situation, they acted out. They skipped school, snuck out of the house, and even had a few run-ins with the law. A school counselor recommended to their grandmother that she contact Caught Up, a Detroit nonprofit, a mentorship program that inspires, molds, and empowers young men to be productive members of society.

The three young men joined Caught Up and the first thing we did was hold them accountable for their actions in school, but we also provided them with moral and academic support. They went from being chronically absent to almost perfect attendance. One is on the honor roll. “Their behavior has drastically changed,” says their grandmother.

BUT WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS AMAZING WORK WITHOUT YOU! THANK YOU! Each year we aim to raise $100,000 to educate, train, and support 200 students. It takes $500 per student, each year to educate and train students during school and after hours, and on weekends, and provide professional instructors and mentors.

For the past seven years, we have worked with over 500 students with heart-warming results. We discovered remarkable young people in some of the roughest neighborhoods in Detroit. Young men who society already left behind. But with support from Caught Up, these students are on track to finish their education in high school and a majority have gone on to college to become productive citizens in our communities.

Three years ago, we opened Caught Up Center, a safe place for our mentees to work out in our gym, eat healthy and learn life skills from financial literacy and college preparation to how to support incarcerated youth entering society.

Please take a moment to consider our work and our cause for our children and for a stronger Detroit and make a donation. We look forward to meeting you soon and introducing you to our not-as-well-known (yet), successful nonprofit in Detroit.

Thank you in advance for your care and support!

Toson Knight

Executive Director