Raised by a “phenomenal” father and a community of neighborhood moms, Michael Lynch had a network of support that enabled him to weather the instability all too common for young men of color.
“Almost all of the men in my family have been incarcerated at some point,” says Lynch, co-founder and CEO of Improve Your Tomorrow. “They had tremendous abilities but limited opportunities to harness those skills.”
Lynch always knew he wanted to do something for young men of color. Inspired by a 2008 campaign rally for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama, Lynch worked as a senior legislative advisor in the California State Legislature before co-founding Improve Your Tomorrow at a Sacramento school in 2013.
Improve Your Tomorrow equips young men of color to attend and graduate from college through a 12-year commitment of wraparound support beginning in sixth grade. Participants benefit from a college access mentor, study halls and workshops, brotherhood events and college tours. Lynch recalls one student who went from receiving failing grades to earning a 3.8 grade point average, graduating from college and returning to the program as a mentor and leader.
Improve Your Tomorrow now serves six states, and Lynch sees the Fellowship as a means to learn the skills he needs to scale the organization’s programs nationally. “When we’re successful, all young people will grow up with fathers or father figures who provide the love and joy they need to thrive,” he says.