Group seeks mentors for young men at DISD's Carter High School

A Dallas pastor who organized a record turnout for a middle school dad’s breakfast is hoping to create a more permanent mentoring program at another school.

Don Parish used Facebook to ask men of all incomes and races to show up to the Dade Middle School dad’s breakfast earlier this year. More than 600 men answered the call.

Now Parish and Michael Hicks are asking men to come out again, but this time to organize mentorship efforts for students at DISD’s Carter High School.

“We're doing this because we see a need for men to get involved in the lives of young men,” Parish said.

The duo is part of a non-profit called A Steady Hand and the Carter HS program is part of a continuation of what they made happen at Dade M.S. After the dad’s breakfast there, they took about 200 students to the University of Texas at Austin on a college tour.

They say male figures are key to ensuring the next generation of young men grow up properly. make

“They don’t know something until they see it. When they see a man doing something, it’s like ‘I want to do that,’” Hicks said.

The ultimate goal is to have a mentor for each of the approximately 575 young men expected to attend Carter H.S. in the fall.

“Come on campus twice a month during the lunch time hour, have lunch with the mentee and show up to some extracurricular activities when you have time. I think that’s simple,” Parish said.

The mentor meeting is set for 7 p.m. at Sprague Field House on Thursday, July 19. Dallas ISD will have workers on hand to screen and clear mentors to be on campus.

More information: https://www.beasteadyhand.org/