Nationwide — Calvin T. Mann, President and Founder of Encourage Me I’m Young (EMIY) Inc., a Detroit-based non-profit organization has launched both a mobile mentoring bus and an apparel line to inspire Black youth.EMIY is all about supporting Black and brown boys, girls, and their families against the negative forces they deal with every day.
“Negative influences have been normalized today, like violent video games and toxic social media–and it’s causing higher suicide rates, more bullying, heightened racism, more violence, and substance abuse,” Mann said. “We’ve created a new line of family-friendly apparel that schools and families can use to create positivity in our communities and help us continue the important work of encouraging others.”
The EMIY mobile mentoring bus (as seen on Fox 2 Detroit) is used to reach young Black youth who are in crisis because of not having a positive figure in their lives. The concept is to pull up at sporting events and community activities and provide immediate encouragement to the young children who are there.
In addition, the bus enables Mann’s organization to travel from “block to block” and “community to community” to connect with these young people and provide them with career pathways, access to college or entrepreneurship, and the ability to see their potential.
The EMIY Apparel line is designed to inspire communities to support and encourage Black youth and families. The shirts and hoodies feature the EMIY logo with inspiring phrases such as “Dedicated to Legacy,” “Beautiful is the Only Way to Say Family,” “I’m Possible,” “Good Fathers Only,” and “(Swag) Standing With an Awesome God”.
Mann comments, “I started EMIY Apparel because I saw the need for the world to be more encouraging, black youth aren’t getting the support and encouragement they need, so I decided to bring that to the marketplace.” He adds, “Over the years, I’ve watched many young men turn into strong grown men through the work we do in the community, sports, and schools. I’m planning to keep it going far into the future as we have seen our EMIY Apparel inspire globally as well.”
People can be seen wearing the apparel line on Run’s House season 4, BET, NFL Network, NCAA Basketball, Lebron James Classic, MTV, Paramount, YouTube, and Apple TV.
About the Founder
Calvin Mann is an author, and advocate who has created several initiatives supporting boys, men, and families since 1992, after serving as a basketball coach at Ferndale High School and other AAU teams from 1987 to mentoring still today after 38 years. Mann says that profits from his apparel line will be invested in initiatives such as Conservation of Eagles, suicide prevention, and other activities including enhancing the mobile mentoring bus.
For press inquiries or interview requests, contact info@emiyapparel.com