Why The First Aid by Meakaela Disanka Youth Mentorship Program Was Created

The youth are our future, and investing in them means investing in a future we all share. This program was founded on the idea that every young person deserves someone in their corner — someone who can encourage them, help them recognize their potential, answer the questions they may not know who to ask, and help them navigate the opportunities available to them.

This mission is also deeply personal to FAMD's founder. As a first-generation African American, the founder grew up surrounded by people who cared deeply and wanted to see them succeed. Teachers and school faculty provided meaningful encouragement and played an important role in recognizing their potential. At the same time, there were many things that were difficult to navigate without personal guidance.

With family building their lives in America for the first time, there were certain systems, opportunities, and decisions that simply weren't familiar to them. Their family provided love, support, and encouragement, but there were some things they could not always teach or navigate because they were learning them too. Much of that personal guidance eventually came during college.

That experience sparked some bigger questions: What if young people could have that same type of guidance at an earlier stage? What if a student had someone they could talk to about their goals, their future, school, careers, college, or simply the things they were trying to figure out? And what if access to that kind of guidance wasn't dependent on where they grew up, how much their family knew about navigating certain systems, or what resources happened to be available around them?

First Aid by Meakaela Disanka Youth Mentorship was created to help answer those questions, and ensure mentees that aiding them is our first priority! The program provides free mentorship to students from elementary school through college, with a particular commitment to making meaningful guidance, encouragement, and resources accessible to young people in underserved communities.

FAMD believes that mentorship is about more than telling a young person to dream big. It is about helping them understand what is possible, giving them the tools to pursue it, and making sure they know they don't have to figure everything out alone.

"Every child deserves the opportunity to feel seen, supported, and capable of becoming who they are meant to be."