IN 2022

Son of a Saint reached one of the most prodigious milestones in its organizational history:

The completion of constructing and opening an inclusive home that will welcome generations of young men.

The Ochsner Health Son of a Saint Bivian Lee Jr. Center, A Home for Our Boys, is a safe space, a hub for growth, and a launchpad for relationships that will last a lifetime.

When I founded Son of a Saint in 2011, I had an ambitious vision and paired that with a heavy dose of persistence. With meaningful, generous, and consistent support from my friends and family in those early years, I was able to keep the inspiration, passion, and drive to continue fighting the good fight to bring Son of a Saint to life. In 2022, we saw a major component of that vision come to life with milestones accomplished and dreams realized.

We doubled the number of mentees enrolled in our program, and we graduated a new class of mentees from high school, all with postsecondary plans in place, ranging from Tulane University, the Art Institute of Chicago and Florida A&M University, to Louisiana State University, Southern University, Grambling University to Louisiana Tech University and University of Louisiana Lafayette.

Our team closed out a $5.1 million capital campaign to complete construction and proudly open the doors of our new headquarters, officially known as The Ochsner Health Son of a Saint Bivian Lee Jr. Center, which is better known as A Home for Our Boys or “The Clubhouse.” The ability to fully activate and optimize The Clubhouse has been a game changer for our boys and the Son of a Saint team. We have programs and activities each day of the week, from study hall, to ACT prep, to nutrition and cooking classes, to robotics, to college prep sessions — and so much more.

Son of a Saint also had a record-setting summer in 2022. We provided opportunities for 85 mentees to attend summer camp, we provided travel experiences for 20 mentees in DC and New York City, and we implemented academic support to help mentees stay on track for the next grade. We also provided tuition assistance to 100 boys, helping them sustain momentum in their school careers at their respective academic institutions.

In 2022, Son of a Saint traveled to Ghana in Africa, with 20 high school-aged mentees, marking our second trip to Ghana since 2019. The experience was nothing short of eye-opening and life-changing, leaving an indelible impression on the trip’s participants. Our mentees returned with a new perspective on the world, increased maturity, and refreshed purpose and drive.

As we move forward through 2023 and into the years ahead, we have more meaningfully transformative work to do as we uplift and encourage the 200 mentees in our program now, including the more than 30 program graduates.

That’s 200 young minds, 200 dreams, and 200 futures.

Our services deepen and our connections strengthen as we look ahead to continue providing mentorship, education, life skills experience and so much more — therapy sessions, internships, travel experiences, academic scholarships and support. We are providing real impact in real time for these young men’s real lives.

EACH YEAR, SON OF A SAINT SELECTS A GROUP OF BOYS AGES 10-12 TO ENTER OUR PROGRAM AND THE CONNECTION REMAINS INTO THEIR EARLY ADULTHOOD

These young men are fatherless due to their father’s death, incarceration, deportation or single motherhood, and are often boys in crisis.

Son of a Saint employs a holistic approach, using a network of volunteers and partner agencies that enable us to address every boy’s individual needs. Each boy remains an official mentee until he is 21, but the connections remain, and we continue to advise and support him in the years of adulthood that follow.

Our goal is to graduate self-sufficient, independent thinkers who are leaders and who give back to their community.