The Ever Forward Club

At Winters Middle School WINTERS JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT  Principal José Bermudez Jose Bermudez  and his team saw the problem firsthand—too many students feeling alone, disconnected, unheard. So they took action. 💡 In the past two years, they launched a Wellness Center—a space where students can send anonymous messages about their struggles, a place where they don’t have to suffer in silence. Why? Because in today’s world, where face-to-face connection is fading, technology has changed the way kids interact. 📵 More screen time. 💬 Less real conversations. 🙍♂️ More isolation, more loneliness. But last week, something powerful happened. Ashanti Branch Ashanti Branch  stepped into that space and changed everything. He didn’t just talk—he connected. He led students through The Mask Challenge, and for the first time, they got quiet, they reflected… and they opened up. 💭 Imagine what happens when young people feel truly seen, truly heard. When they realize they’re not alone. That’s what happened in that room. And for many, it was a life-changing moment. 🔹 Parents, educators, mentors—THIS is why we need to step up. Young people are struggling, but the right guidance, the right conversations, and the right leadership can break through. 👊 Be part of the movement that’s giving young men the tools to unmask, heal, and grow. 💥 Join the Advocates for Young Men Community today: https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 #MillionMaskMovement #EverForward #MentalHealthMatters #YoungMenMatter #FathersMentorsLeaders #BreakTheSilence #StepUp #TakingOffTheMask

Here's a moment that speaks louder than words—a father, overcome with emotion, after simply sharing a meal with his daughter. 💭 Why? Because moments like these matter. More than gifts. More than lessons. More than anything money can buy. In a world full of distractions—social media, broken homes, divorce, and the pull of modern vices—our kids don’t just need us to provide. They need us to be present. 📵 Put the phone down. 🗓 Make the time. 👀 Give them your full attention. Because if we don’t, someone—or something—else will fill the gap. ✅ For daughters, a father’s love sets the foundation for her worth, her confidence, and the kind of love she accepts in the future. ✅ For sons, a father’s presence teaches strength, emotional intelligence, and what it truly means to be a man. 💭 Are we showing up the way our kids need us to? Or are we letting the world raise them? 🔹 Parents, mentors, role models—this is your call to action. If you want to make an impact on the young men in your life, it starts NOW. 👊 Join the community that’s shaping the next generation. Be the advocate they need. 💥 Tap in here: https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 🎥 Credit: @ashawndell on Instagram #FathersMatter #QualityTime #MillionMaskMovement #EverForward #RaisingStrongKids #Fatherhood #ParentingWithPurpose #TakingOffTheMask #StepUp

At the Young Men’s Conference, Devon Gaster  delivered a message that hit deep—what you believe about yourself will determine the life you build. If you believe you’re not enough, you’ll shrink. If you believe you have no value, you’ll settle for less. If you believe you have no control, you’ll blame everyone else. But when you choose to believe differently? That’s when everything changes. ✅ When you believe you are valuable, you start treating yourself and others with respect. ✅ When you express how you really feel, you build real relationships—not ones based on masks. ✅ When you build the right mindset, you attract success, purpose, and a life you’re proud of. 💭 What beliefs are guiding your life right now? Are they pushing you forward or holding you back? This is why mentorship, guidance, and community matter. Too many young men are carrying toxic beliefs that keep them stuck. But they don’t have to. 🔹 Parents, mentors, teachers—this is where YOU come in. If you want the young men in your life to build confidence, emotional strength, and success—it starts with what they believe. 👊 Be part of the movement that’s shaping the next generation. Join the Advocates for Young Men Community today. 💥 Visit: https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 #YoungMenMatter #MillionMaskMovement #EverForward #BreakTheCycle #FathersMentorsLeaders #GuidanceChangesLives #TakingOffTheMask #StepUp

We used to have authoritative parenting—structure, discipline, and respect. Then we moved to permissive parenting—more freedom, less control. Now? We don’t have either. What we have today is surveillance parenting. We track their phones. We monitor their every move. We make sure they don’t fail, don’t struggle, don’t make “bad choices.” But here’s the truth: We’re not raising independent, resilient kids—we’re raising young people who are constantly watched, but never truly guided. 📵 We don’t discipline—but we don’t empower. 👀 We don’t set firm boundaries—but we track their every step. 🚫 We shield them from failure—but we rob them of growth. And then we wonder why young men struggle with confidence. Why they feel lost. Why they don’t take responsibility for their lives. Because we never actually give them the space to own it. 💭 What do you think? Are we over-parenting with control and under-parenting with leadership? Drop your thoughts below. 👇 🔹 Parents, mentors, educators—this is YOUR wake-up call. Young men don’t need surveillance. They need real guidance. Strong role models. A system that teaches them how to stand on their own. 👊 If you're ready to be part of the solution, join the movement that’s empowering the next generation. 💥 Step up today: https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 Credit: Abigail Shrier & @realalexclark on Instagram #ParentingCrisis #RaisingMen #MillionMaskMovement #EverForward #StrongFathersStrongSons #FathersMentorsLeaders #StepUp #TakingOffTheMask

At Redwood High School Redwood Continuation High School  Ashanti Branch Ashanti Branch  stood before a room full of young men and shared the truth he once hid from the world. Growing up in Oakland, raised by a single mother, he learned early how to be tough. Angry on the outside. Sad on the inside. 💥 Surrounded by poverty. 💥 Chaos on every corner. 💥 Drugs and prostitution just outside his door. But he made a choice. He refused to let his environment define him. He fought through the struggle, found his purpose, and dedicated his life to helping young men do the same. 📢 Today, his work has impacted lives across the world. Young men who felt unseen, unheard, and trapped behind their masks are finally breaking free—because someone dared to show up for them. 💭 The question is—who is showing up for the boys in your life? 🔹 Fathers, mothers, teachers, mentors—this is YOUR call to action. Young men need more than discipline. They need guidance. They need safe spaces. They need YOU. 👊 Step up today. Join the community of advocates who are changing the future for young men. 💥 Tap in now: https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 #YoungMenMatter #MillionMaskMovement #EverForward #BreakTheCycle #FathersMentorsLeaders #GuidanceChangesLives #TakingOffTheMask #StepUp

A father tells his son not to interrupt him when he's speaking. He sets the boundary firmly. Some say this is strong parenting—teaching respect, discipline, and self-control. Others argue it shuts down a child’s voice, making them feel unheard. 💭 What do you think? Is this the right way to teach young men discipline and respect? Or does it create distance? Here’s the truth: Raising boys requires balance. They need structure, but also space to express themselves. Boundaries, but also belonging. Respect, but also real connection. 🛑 Too much control? They rebel. 🛑 Too much freedom? They drift. This is why fathers, mentors, and role models matter more than ever. Young men need guidance, not just rules. They need someone who doesn’t just demand respect, but also models it. 👊 Are you ready to lead with both strength and understanding? Join the movement that's empowering the next generation of young men. 💥 Step up today: https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 Credit: @bagboynetwork on YouTube #RaisingMen #FatherhoodMatters #MillionMaskMovement #EverForward #StrongFathersStrongSons #FathersMentorsLeaders #StepUp #takingoffthemask

Charles Hawkins Charles Hawkins  stood in front of a room full of young men at our Young Men's Conference and gave them something priceless—proof that their circumstances do not define them. He grew up in Mississippi, surrounded by poverty. Drugs on the corner. Peers choosing the streets. Struggle at every turn. But Charles? He chose different. He fought for more. ✅ He had parents who loved him. ✅ He had mentors who guided him. ✅ He put in the extra hours to succeed in school. ✅ He wrestled with guilt, faith, and identity. ✅ He MADE IT OUT. 💭 His story is proof: When young men have love, guidance, and support, they can break cycles. They can rise above. They can become more than what the world expects of them. And last weekend, these young men heard that message loud and clear. 🔹 Parents, mentors, uncles, teachers—this is YOUR reminder. 🔹 The boys in your life don’t just need discipline. They need direction. They need someone to believe in them, to challenge them, to show them what’s possible. 👊 Are you ready to step up? Join the movement that’s empowering the next generation. Become an advocate today. 💥 Tap in now: https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 #YoungMenMatter #MillionMaskMovement #EverForward #BreakTheCycle #FathersMentorsLeaders #GuidanceChangesLives #TakingOffTheMask #StepUp

We live in a world where teenage boys retreat behind screens, locked away in their rooms, lost in the digital abyss. Disconnected. Distant. Silent. But here’s the truth: Boys don’t just “open up” on their own. Connection has to be pursued, built, and sometimes even forced. Lisa Bevere says it best—the secret to raising sons isn’t just talking at them. It’s engaging with them. Showing up. Being there. 🏀 Play a game. ♟️ Pull out the board games. 🃏 Deal the cards. 🏕️ Go outside. 🎯 Do something together. Because real conversations don’t always happen across the dinner table. They happen in the moments in between. When you're in the middle of a game. On the ride home. While throwing a ball back and forth. 💭 The question is—are we creating those moments? Or are we letting them slip away? Society won’t teach our sons how to be present. We have to. That means making time, scheduling time, and even forcing time to connect—because that’s how trust is built. And trust? That’s where the real conversations happen. 👊 Parents, mentors, teachers—this is YOUR call to action. If you’re ready to step up and create deeper connections with the young men in your life, join our community of advocates today. Because boys don’t just need advice. They need presence. 💥 Step up today. Join us at https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 Credit: @lisabevere on YouTube #RaisingSons #ParentingBoys #MillionMaskMovement #EverForward #FathersMentorsLeaders #BePresent #ParentingWithPurpose #LisaBevere #TakingOffTheMask

At East Bay School for Boys @eastbayschool we had a conversation most young men never get to have. Ashanti Ashanti Branch  spoke on how society trains boys to hide their struggles, to suffer in silence out of fear of judgment. Justin opened up about his own mask—leading his team on the field while secretly carrying the pain of being placed in foster care with his little sister after domestic violence shattered their home. 💭 How many young men are carrying invisible burdens? And who is creating the space for them to speak, to heal, to be seen? The truth? Boys are taught to suppress. To "man up." To pretend they’re okay. But that silence is breaking them. 🔹 Parents, teachers, uncles, mentors—this is where YOU come in. 🔹 If you have a son, student, or young man in your life who needs support—you don’t have to do this alone. We’ve built a powerful community of advocates who are stepping up, learning how to create safe spaces, and helping young men navigate their emotions without shame, without fear, without masks. 💥 It starts with you. Step up today. Join the community at https://lnkd.in/gCwaZuP7 #YoungMenMatter #MillionMaskMovement #FathersMentorsLeaders #EverForward #BreakTheSilence #MentalHealthForBoys #takingoffthemask

🔥 LOCK IT IN: MAY 24, 2025 🔥 The 21st Annual Community Challenge is BACK—bigger, bolder, and built for IMPACT. This Dance-A-Thon isn’t just about moves; it’s about momentum. It’s about showing up, standing out, and pushing forward—together. 🎭 Theme: COSTUME PARTY (Bring your wildest, most creative fit!) 🌍 Join us LIVE or VIRTUALLY—no excuses, just energy! This is more than an event. It’s a call to action. A space to connect. A moment to step up. Are you in? 🔥 SAVE THE DATE. 🔥 More details coming soon—so keep this on your calendar! #DanceAThon2025 #SaveTheDate #DanceWithPurpose #MillionMaskMovement #EverForwardClub #TakeOffTheMask