( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) Grantees Leader Breeders Inc. and No Struggle, No Success, Inc. Help Baltimore Youths
ENSPIRE Contributor: Gabrielle Maya
Baltimore is a city filled with community, history, and culture. However, many challenges impact its youth. Fortunately, organizations like Leader Breeders Inc. and No Struggle, No Success, Inc. are stepping up to provide mentorship and support, empowering Baltimore’s youth and those reentering society to thrive. Leader Breeders Inc. focuses on academic enrichment, career development, and physical activity success. No Struggle, No Success, Inc. provides support for incarcerated people. It offers mentorship, reentry services, and financial help. These Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) grantees understand the transformative power of mentorship, and their programs are making a significant difference in the lives of Baltimore residents.
We connected with Leader Breeders Inc. and No Struggle, No Success, Inc. to learn more about their mission and how they provide mentorship and support with funding and assistance from the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund. They emphasized how their mentorship initiatives open doors for underserved communities and extend their impact to more young people in Baltimore.

Can you describe the specific mentorship programs offered by Leader Breeders Inc. that prepare inner-city youth for academic and career success? How do these programs identify and address Baltimore’s unique needs?
Leader Breeders Inc.: Leader Breeders Inc. empowers Baltimore’s youth with programs and services that provide academic support, career readiness, mentorship, and personal development. Our key programs include:
- Reading Literacy – In partnership with Reading Partners, we offer after-school tutoring for first through fourth graders who are six months to two years behind grade level. The 10-week program provides one-on-one sessions to help students build the foundational tools necessary to progress back to grade level.
- Mentorship—Our mentorship program includes biweekly and monthly sessions between mentors and mentees. We also offer Life Skills workshops, exploration trips, engaging activities, summits, roundtable talks, and panel events.
- Sports Engagement—We offer clinics and tournaments in various sports to keep participants physically active. Through athletics, we can teach our youth discipline, teamwork, and life skills. Our youth have participated in basketball, softball, volleyball, acrobatics, and tumbling.
Our primary partners are local colleges and universities, where we recruit mentors. Most of our mentors are collegiate student-athletes from Morgan State, Coppin State, Towson, and Loyola University Maryland. Our mentees come from local schools and recreation centers via our partnership with Baltimore Rec and Parks and local grassroots AAU basketball organizations like Team Melo and Team Thrill.
No Struggle No Success, Inc. prioritizes mentorship in its reentry program. Can you elaborate on the process of matching mentors with individuals who are reentering society?
No Struggle, No Success, Inc.: Mentorship is at the heart of No Struggle, No Success, Inc.’s reentry program, providing the guidance and support individuals need to transition back into society successfully. Our personalized matching process aligns mentees with mentors based on their unique goals, challenges, and interests. We prioritize pairing individuals with mentors with lived experience or professional expertise, fostering meaningful connections that empower mentees to navigate their reentry journey confidently.
What qualities do you look for in mentors, what holistic approaches do you use to help individuals, and how does this mentorship contribute to reducing recidivism rates?
No Struggle, No Success, Inc.: We seek mentors who are compassionate, resilient, and committed to positive change. Strong communication, patience, and a deep understanding of systemic barriers are essential qualities we value. Our holistic approach addresses critical areas of reentry, including:
- Employment Readiness: Resume building, job training, and career connections.
- Mental & Emotional Support: Counseling access and peer support.
- Life Skills Development: Financial literacy, time management, and conflict resolution.
- Community Engagement: Encouraging involvement to build a sense of belonging and purpose.
Our mentorship program focuses on these key areas and helps reduce recidivism by equipping individuals with the tools and support they need for long-term success.
Leader Breeders Inc. and No Struggle, No Success, Inc. emphasize mentorship in empowering Baltimore’s youth and individuals reentering society. From your perspective, why are mentors so crucial in creating pathways to success for underserved communities?
Leader Breeders Inc.: Mentorship is essential for underserved communities. It provides guidance, exposure, and emotional support to help youth overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. Mentors serve as role models, offering accountability, encouragement, and access to opportunities that empower mentees to build brighter futures. Considering our mentors are primarily collegiate student-athletes and local professionals in different industries, it gives our mentees insight into other worlds and opportunities they can aspire to.
At Leader Breeders Inc., mentorship is the key to breaking barriers and inspiring the next generation of leaders. We try our best to expose the youth to as many things as possible so they can try various things and then figure out what they’re most passionate about. Once they identify a passion, we pour into them from all angles and help them figure out ways to hone in on that passion. From there, the hope is to figure out a way to monetize that passion with a career.
No Struggle, No Success, Inc.: Mentorship is a game changer for individuals reentering society and Baltimore’s youth. It provides crucial guidance, accountability, and encouragement, helping mentees overcome obstacles and unlock their potential. Mentors serve as role models, bridging knowledge and opportunity gaps and offering real-world advice that inspires confidence and resilience.
Through mentorship, individuals gain the skills, mindset, and support network needed to create sustainable pathways to success and contribute positively to their communities.
How does BCYF’s support contribute to your organizations’ abilities to scale mentorship capabilities and reach more Baltimore youth?
Leader Breeders Inc: Baltimore Children & Youth Fund’s (BCYF) support has been instrumental in expanding our mentorship programs and impacting more of Baltimore’s youth. Their investment enables us to scale our efforts by providing essential resources for mentor training, program development, and outreach initiatives. BCYF also assists with capacity building, which allows us to continuously evaluate programming and develop systems to ensure we’re accountable for serving the needs of both our mentors and mentees.
With BCYF’s backing, we can connect with more young people, offering guidance, career readiness, and life skills that empower them to succeed. Their support allows us to address community-specific challenges and provide tailored mentorship that fosters growth, confidence, and long-term success. Thanks to BCYF, we can strengthen our impact and create more opportunities for Baltimore’s youth to thrive.

No Struggle, No Success, Inc.: The funding and technical support provided by BCYF (Baltimore Children & Youth Fund) has a transformative impact on our organization’s ability to tackle critical issues such as barriers faced by children, challenges of having incarcerated parents, and the need for peer mentoring. By training mentors and delivering holistic support, we’re addressing trauma, mental health, and life skills in a way that uplifts the community.
BCYF’s support strengthens our mission and amplifies the voices of grassroots and minority-led organizations like ours, ensuring representation and influence in decision-making spaces where they are often excluded. BCYF is a powerful testament to how collaboration can break barriers and create meaningful progress. Thanks to BCYF, we’re not just growing – we’re making a lasting impact and building a stronger Baltimore.
Investing in mentorship programs like Leader Breeders Inc. and No Struggle, No Success, Inc. is an investment in Baltimore’s future. Providing young people and returning citizens with the tools, resources, and opportunities through these organizations will help them on a new path to success. The BCYF is crucial in empowering these organizations through their mentorship capabilities to reach Baltimore residents in need. For more information on how to give back in Baltimore, explore BCYF by visiting http://bcyfund.org/ or visit Leader Breeders Inc. and No Struggle, No Success, Inc. for details.
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