The Amer-I-Can Foundation for Social Change was founded in 1988 by Pro Football Hall of Fame member, actor, civil rights leader and philanthropist Jim Brown. Today, the Foundation is led by its President, Monique Brown, who has been actively involved in the organization for more than 25 years.
The core of The Amer-I-Can Program is its 15-chapter life skills curriculum. Mastery of these skills allows individuals to meet their academic potential, conform their behavior to acceptable societal standards, and improve the quality of their lives by equipping them with what they need to confidently and successfully contribute to society.
For 33 years, Amer-I-Can has served a wide range of audiences. Our focus is at-risk and high risk youth in underserved schools and juvenile detention facilities. We have also had a significant impact with adult incarceration and reentry programs.
Increasingly, however, communities are realizing that our Program is for everyone. We are training academicians, corporate leaders, community outreach workers, professional sports teams and more. To help others, we must first be our best selves.
PHILOSOPHY & PURPOSE
Socio-economic problems are the great plague of our time. They cannot be separated from the decline of our civilization. Unless they are solved, we will face even more difficult times. With the cost of social welfare programs, law enforcement, incarceration, recidivism, and treatment escalating into billions of dollars, the most important consideration should be the saving of lives. What are the problems? Significant gaps in our educational system, poverty, gang killings, drug abuse, racism, political corruption, joblessness and poor housing are just a few. The list is almost endless.
However, there is hope. We believe that the failure in personal development and the lack of self-esteem are the root causes of the aforementioned problems that plague our society today. We believe that by enlarging the scope of individual lives; by introducing them to self-determination techniques; by motivating them with goals; by showing them how to improve and achieve success and financial stability, we will save lives that now seem to be lost.
The journey to successful completion of a goal represents the heart of the Amer-I-Can Program. It is the path and the understanding of each step along that path that is the backbone and structural foundation upon which our program solidly rests.
Success is not only for the elite, the well-educated, and the wealthy. Success is there for those who want it, plan for it, and take action to achieve it. Once this understanding has been firmly established, any person will be able to change his/her thinking from I Can’t to I-Can, by accepting the responsibility of determining the direction of his/her life.
The common concern of the group is that each of us helps the other become a better person.