Andrew Clawson Andrew first started attending Rise Up at the age of 8 (then called Boys to Men).   He attended Coach Marion’s BTM group weekly.  Andrew was well loved by all of the youth.  Like many of the boys, he quickly fell in love with the game of basketball.  It was not unusual for his [...]

Jackie Sayee Jackie lights up every room she enters.  She’s been doing that at Rise Up since the first grade!  From day one, she and her family planned on her going to college.  She excelled academically throughout her school career. One of Jackie’s distinguishing characteristics is her desire to help others.  She participated in our [...]

Katelyn Crowder Katelyn has been a part of the Rise Up family since she was six.  At that time, she became a mentee of Robin DeMonaco.  She had to overcome many obstacles, but with her mentor’s support and her own determination, Katelyn is on her way to doing great things with her life. Throughout the [...]

Natisha is a single mom to four wonderful children (ages 10-16) who are involved with Rise Up! through both mentoring and our SKIA Program. She first learned about Rise Up! several years ago through her daughter’s teacher who thought Natisha’s family could really benefit from Rise Up! The teacher’s husband also happens to be a [...]

Caroline Kangwa moved to the United States in 2000 and then in 2007 moved to Tennessee. Caroline is a single mom to three of our SKIA kids: George and Georgia are twins and will be in the 6th grade and Darrell will be in the 9th grade. Caroline is also a full time nursing student [...]

Tony began his journey with Rise Up! when he was in the second grade. He had a friend, Triston, who was attending Boys to Men regularly. One day, Triston invited Tony to join him. During those first few years of Tony’s participation, Boys to Men was meeting in a church. Tony remembers playing battleball in […]