Each Wisconsin Streak Select staff member values education, and has the personality and desire to mentor our youth. After passing two personal background checks, our mentors serve as positive role models to work with our youth, and assist with our overall mission of developing a complete and positive person.

We offer group study halls, which are weekly or monthly activities depending on the needs of our youth, during the academic school year. Participants will connect with the mentors/basketball coaches, receive academic assistance from outside tutors, and share a meal and fellowship together.

We enjoy presenting this opportunity for our youth to be challenged and set goals. Development takes place in several areas: discipline, time management, overcoming conflict, risk and reward concepts, self-esteem and confidence building, breaking down obstacles, working on teamwork and on common goals, sharing cultures in a small community, and growing both physically and mentally, and appreciating opportunities and each other.

Academic and College Prep Support

All of our youth participants must be in good academic standing with their respective middle and high schools and show that they are moving along at an above average level in order to continue participating. We provide assistance by working with the schools, and providing a progress report and tutoring sheet that participants must submit to the Streak organization when facing academic difficulty. We take academic success very serious, which is why we provide tutorial opportunities and mentorship.

The Streak has partnered with the LIGHT Youth Empowerment Program in the Madison,WI area, an integral part of the Nehemiah: Center for Urban Leadership Development.  LIGHT operates several after-school academic tutoring sites around the Madison area. They help students reach their full potential in life, assist with future planning and college prep, have transparent conversations about college, and provide support to students holistically through academic skill building, developing relationships and overall encouragement. We are excited to provide an after-school tutoring component for our youth. As we expand to other communities away from Madison, we will work to locate community entities and resources to help us with tutoring and college prep in those areas.

It is also our goal to offer a college tour each year along with our community partners. Our desire is to expose our youth to institutions and opportunities, while at the same time, keep our participants engaged, developed, and exposed to these opportunities as they pursue loftier dreams of attending college.

We are working hard to raise funds for Wisconsin Streak Academic Achievement Scholarships to reward excellence in the classroom for our participants, and also provide a scholarship to those from our organization that matriculate to higher learning opportunities. Our goal is to surround this recognition with an awards banquet.

Life-Skills Development

We work with community partners in order to develop and offer life-skills workshops and activities for our youth.  The focus will be to challenge and motivate our youth and to expect high achievement and growth.

Other aspects of our life-skills activities include: providing guest lectures, presenting discussions, and attending programs and activities that explore societal issues, future life planning, working through self-esteem issues, and addressing leadership through individual and group work.

Learning how to take care of the body is part of this component. We will work with our youth 1-1 routinely and also in a group setting for the basketball component, to relay the importance of being dedicated to fitness, proper hygiene and nutrition. Working to achieve particular fitness levels, relaying fitness tips and techniques, and providing information on how to improve healthy daily living are other aspects we address.

We are developing a brown-bag series for community partners and our youth to address education, the value of giving back, and other life skills areas such as interpersonal communication, the ability to learn new skills, problem solving, stress and anger management, writing and numeracy skills, collaboration and goal setting, and many others.  

Community Service

We will stress the skills of leadership, emphasizing the importance of learning to give back to the community at an early age. Our community service activities will involve teamwork, appreciating the economical and physical situation of others, engaging with those from different backgrounds, and developing a stronger sense of self and purpose.

The endurance of community service, along with an attitude of selflessness, will be emphasized as our youth work collectively to achieve realistic and aspirational goals.

*Overall, the sky is truly the limit with what we can do to help our youth flourish in the academic and leadership setting, and on the hardwood with our basketball component. We need your support, and welcome any resources, insights, and overall support!