Our Mission
MAM's mission is to help build Godly youth in under-resourced neighborhoods by teaching them to love God, love others and love self, thereby positively impacting their families and neighborhood.
Our faith-based programs are designed and delivered with the goal of positively changing the life of each youth through:
• Improved spiritual growth – Love God
• Improved relationships with others – Love Others
• Improved personal behavior – Love Self
“Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...love your neighbor as yourself.”
MAM Highlights
MAM is pleased to report the following accomplishments for 2012 - 2013:
MAM started the MAM Academic Diligence Program, a homework help program, Academic Diligence, in September 2012 with one-full time and 14 part-time instructors conducting academics for over 525 elementary and middle school participants at nine sites. Academic Diligence is designed to help MAM participants become more diligent and hard-working in their studies and therefore help them succeed in high school and life beyond MAM.
In partnership with the Salvation Army, MAM is running its mentoring and sports programs through the gym at the new Salvation Army Kroc Center, opened in February 2013, serving youth in the 38104 zip code. MAM staff is actively building relationships with the youth at Fairview Middle School.
MAM Story
1998
The Memphis Leadership Foundation (MLF)'s vision for a ministry that promoted the ideals of sportsmanship and a Christian ideal of living to urban, at risk youth became a reality with the founding of Memphis Athletic Ministries (MAM). MAM initially served a small population of urban youth through one-time activities.
2001
Community sports activities initiated to entire community epitomize MAM's desire to foster unity among diverse segments of the community. MAM recognizes that putting youth in non-traditional neighborhoods in a fun-loving, safe atmosphere helps them see sameness, not differences.
2003
With the completion of the Memphis Grizzlies Athletic Center, the dream of a multipurpose building with basketball courts and meeting rooms to provide underserved youth with a nurturing environment was fulfilled. The MAM Park Golf Course was also opened as another avenue for broadening life experiences for urban youth and teaching them the Gospel.
2005-2011
MAM added a total of nine neighborhood youth centers, strategically placed in impoverished neighborhoods throughout urban Memphis.
Today
In 2013 MAM serves over 1,100 youth daily with after school and summer programs. Our small group and one-on-one mentoring programs are academics, financial literacy, Bible studies, life skills development, recreation and sports. Over 8,000 youth participate in our county-wide sports activities. MAM has 45 full-time employees, over 40 part-time employees, countless volunteers and over 140 community partners.
