ELEVATE YOUR G A M E

Elevate Your G.A.M.E. was founded in 2002 by Gipson Lyles (chairman of the board of Elevate Your G.A.M.E.) and Michael Freeman (the executive director). Michael Freeman met Gipson Lyles (the principal of Compton High School in 2001) at his high school class reunion dinner in the fall of 2001. Gipson was there to share an update on Compton High, but all Michael remembers about his presentation was his appeal for help. Michael responded to Gipson's appeal and went back to Compton High to meet with Principal Lyles to discuss how he might help. Gipson shared his vision for establishing a mentoring program on the campus and Michael knew right then that he was to be the one to help Principal Lyles bring this vision into reality. A few months later on April 13, 2002, Elevate Your G.A.M.E. was born with a kick-off event that matched the first set of mentors with the first set of students. Compton High School, the “birthplace” of the program, has provided a strong base from which the program has grown internally and externally. In our first year we mentored 30 students. Five years later (school year of 2006 – 2007) we mentored over 170 urban youth through our mentoring programs at four locations: Compton High School, Walton Middle School (in Compton), the Northpointe Apartments in North Long Beach and Harbor Teacher Preparatory Academy High School (Wilmington) in the LAUSD. One year after its inception, Elevate Your G.A.M.E. developed a Summer Internship Program which provides on-the-job mentoring for the program's high school teens during the summer.