Baltimore Youth Empowerment Fox45 Feature
Fox45 News brought cameras to the War Memorial in downtown Baltimore. What they found was not a charity event. It was an organization three years into building something Baltimore's young men had gone without for too long.
“Baltimore is extremely tough, so we're trying to get kids to fall in love with themselves and eliminate the crime and negative behavior and put them in a position be be successful.”
Baltimore Is Tough. That Is Not an Opinion.
Anyone raising a son in Baltimore City knows the weight of that sentence. The city's challenges are real, specific, and daily. Single-parent households, under-resourced schools, neighborhoods where the wrong decision at the wrong moment changes the trajectory of a life.
Darren Rogers, Founder and CEO of I AM MENtality, does not soften that reality. His words from the Fox45 feature say it plainly: "Baltimore is extremely tough, so we're trying to get kids to fall in love with themselves and eliminate the crime and negative behavior and put them in a position to be successful."
That is not a mission statement written for a grant application. That is what happens when a person decides to do something about what they see every day.
Baltimore's young men were not lacking programs. They were lacking people willing to stay.
What Fox45 Covered and What It Actually Meant
In 2019, Fox45 News featured I AM MENtality at the organization's three-year anniversary fundraiser, held at the War Memorial in downtown Baltimore. The annual event brought together supporters for a silent auction, raffle, and an evening built around the organization's continued growth.
At the time, I AM MENtality was serving nearly 100 young men. The coverage captured a milestone. But what the cameras captured on the surface, a room full of people celebrating an organization, pointed to something deeper: a nonprofit that had spent three years doing the work before asking for recognition.
That is not how most organizations operate. Most lead with visibility and build credibility after. I AM MENtality built the credibility first.
Founded in 2016 to Fill a Specific Gap
I AM MENtality was founded on January 16, 2016, with one focus: Baltimore City male youth, specifically those facing adverse circumstances. Not a broad youth initiative. Not a one-size program applied to whoever shows up. A targeted model built around what young men in this city actually need.
The four pillars that structure every program, leadership development, workforce development, financial literacy, and health and wellness, exist because Darren and his team did the work of figuring out where the gaps actually were. The organization serves young men ages 8 to 18. The approach is what the team calls backwards mapping: assess the real need first, then build the path to get there. No predetermined curriculum forced onto a student who is not ready for it.
That model matters. It is the difference between an organization that checks boxes and one that changes outcomes.
What "Fall in Love With Themselves" Actually Looks Like
Darren Rogers uses that phrase, fall in love with themselves, because it names the root of what too many of these young men are missing. The presenting issues, absenteeism, acting out, disengagement, are symptoms. The cause is almost always a young man who does not know his own value.
I AM MENtality does not start with curriculum. It starts with the person. When a mentor sits with a young man and does the work of understanding who he actually is, what he is carrying, and what he is capable of, the program that follows has something real to build on.
That is what the Fox45 feature caught a glimpse of. And it is what the organization has continued to refine, expand, and deepen in the years since.
Three years in, Baltimore took notice. The work did not start when the cameras showed up.
From 100 Young Men to Over 400
The Fox45 feature documented I AM MENtality at 100 young men served.
The organization serves more than 400 today, with a long-term goal of reaching 1,000. Programming takes place at the Fred B. Leidig Recreation Center and Liberty Recreation and Technology Center, both in Baltimore City.
The growth reflects something real: families in Baltimore refer their sons to I AM MENtality because the organization has earned that trust. Partners like United Way of Central Maryland, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, Arbor Dog Foundation, and Greater Baybrook Alliance have invested in the work because the results are documentable and the model is replicable.
Press coverage from Fox45 was one signal. The partners and the families who keep coming back are the longer record.
What I AM MENtality Provides That Most Programs Do Not
Most youth nonprofits build a program, then find the young people to fill it. I AM MENtality works the opposite direction. The organization enters a school or a rec center, meets the young men where they are, identifies what they actually need, and builds the intervention around that.
The results can look like financial literacy instruction for a student who is ready for it. They can also look like securing tutoring and mental health resources for a student who needs that foundation first. The organization does not apply a single template. It applies a team.
That team includes mentors, program coordinators, and staff who work across Baltimore City schools and recreation centers daily. The Fox45 fundraiser three years into the work was a moment of celebration. The model behind it is what actually moves the needle.
How You Can Be Part of This
I AM MENtality has been doing this work in Baltimore since 2016. The organization does not need your pity. It needs your investment, your partnership, and your belief that Baltimore's young men are worth showing up for.
Learn more about the programs that serve more than 400 young men here. Read about the people behind the work here.
Every dollar donated directly funds programming, mentorship, and the operational structure that keeps this model running. Donations are processed securely through Network for Good.
Let’s Work Together
Whether you're ready to donate, explore a partnership, enroll a young man in our mentoring program, or simply learn more about what we do in Baltimore City — we want to hear from you. Reach out and a member of our team will be in touch within one to two business days.