Your gift keeps the next class on the path from camp to college.
In August 2011, Ontario Brown was one of the first boys to walk into the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy. He was starting seventh grade at a school that did not yet have a senior class, a graduate, or a track record. What it had was a promise.
Ontario had lost his father the year before, at 10. His mother chose BOMLA because she wanted her son surrounded by men who would mentor him. He found them. He became a teen board member and his class's president, and he grew up inside the House system that teaches a boy to be his brother's keeper.
"My experience as a student gave me the opportunity to grow as a young man and learn what it means to be a man," Ontario says.
In 2017 he crossed the stage with BOMLA's first graduating class, carried in part by a Troy Broussard Scholarship from the Opportunity Rising Foundation. He went to Texas Christian University, earned his degree in 2021, and started teaching. At Pinkston High School he was named Teacher of the Year. Then he did the thing he had always planned to do.
"I always knew I wanted to come back home," he says.
Today Ontario Brown teaches math at BOMLA, on the same campus where he once sat as a student, in front of boys who look at him the way he once looked at the men who mentored him. "I hope that I can teach them how to navigate life," he says.
Every young man at BOMLA has a version of that path.
The district funds the classroom. The mentoring, the college visits, the summer camp and the advising that carry a young man from his first day to a college degree depend on people like you. This year BOMLA turns 15. Your gift on North Texas Giving Day keeps the next class of Brothers moving from camp to college.
Friends of Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy invest in and empower endangered young men, in order to develop leaders and role models for our community. We support an academically rigorous, character-based, single-gender education that includes rich experiences outside of school.
Early giving opens Thursday, August 27, and runs through North Texas Giving Day on Thursday, September 17. Schedule your gift now and it counts the moment the day begins. Thanks to Communities Foundation of Texas, 100% of every online gift goes straight to Friends of BOMLA.
Give today, and stand with 15 years of Brothers who believe, achieve and succeed.
The mission of the FRIENDS of the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy is to invest in and empower endangered young men, in order to develop leaders and role models for our community. We support an academically rigorous, character-based, single-gender education that includes rich experiences outside of school. In doing so, we champion a replicable model for Dallas ISD and other school systems to benefit increasing numbers of students.
FRIENDS of BOMLA bridges the gap between available school district funding and necessary student opportunities for the young men of BOMLA by supporting:
Student Enrichment
Supports individual student achievement by offering opportunities to participate in local and national Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs, college tours, study abroad experiences, and leadership development initiatives.
Professional Enrichment
Allows teachers to stay updated with the latest trends regarding single education, teaching methodologies, and technologies to drive student success.
Program Enrichment
Sustains and expands school programs by providing access to state-of-the-art tools such as calculators, iPads, cameras, uniforms, and software.
Join FRIENDS in providing support for our College Bound Program.
$30,000 - (70) Laptops
$6,000 - (1) College Tour
$5,000 - Naviance Tracking Software
$4,000 - SAT/ACT Tutoring
$3,000 - (4) College Fly-ins for Seniors
$2,000 - (2) College Fairs
FRIENDS of Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy (BOMLA) affirm its commitment to the advancement of diversity, equity, fairness, inclusion, and justice in its policies and programs. One of the key strategies the organization relies on to fulfill its vision is a deep and long-term commitment to equitable outcomes for the students, families, and communities we serve. By employing data-driven strategic initiatives and programs, the resources available through FRIENDS of BOMLA directly improve learning outcomes for students who need them most.
FRIENDS of BOMLA’s board of directors, staff, and volunteers, welcome and celebrate all people and recognize the rights of individuals to live their lives with dignity, free of discrimination regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, economic status, nationality, and other diverse backgrounds.
FRIENDS of BOMLA will continue to work to make our services and programs accessible to everyone. We believe in the public sector for the public good. Advancing equity and inclusion is critical to the success of our communities and our nation.
Organization name
FRIENDS of Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy
Tax id (EIN)
45-4884806
Causes
Education - K-12
Operating Budget
$100,000 - $249,999
Counties Served
Dallas
BIPOC Leadership
Board Chair
Address
P.O. Box 398455