In 2000, the Waitt Family Foundation sponsored, with Futures without Violence, the first national Peter Hart Research survey that posed the question, “What would men do to prevent violence against women and girls?” The answer came back, loud and clear. Men wanted to become involved, but felt they were never asked, and they would work with boys.
Following this research, In 2004, Futures without Violence made the decision to gather male leaders and movement leaders, and the decision was made to use the power of relationship forged by athletic coaches with young male athletes to change social norms among young men and boys,.
Key advisors were co-creator ML Carr, and men already doing the work such as former NFL player Don McPherson, and women's rights activist Jackson Katz, who had led the way with his "Mentors in Violence Prevention" curriculum he created at Northeastern University.
The on ground training version of the “Coaching Boys into Men” campaign kicked off in New York in 2005, with the support of coaches and athletes M.L. Carr, Herb Williams, Amani Toomer and his father Don Toomer, the National High School Athletics Association and feminist icon Gloria Steinem, as well as Founding Fathers Chairman Ted Waitt.
“Coaching Boys into Men” has been introduced in all 50 states and continues to grow across the country. View map of CBIM Communities here
Willie Mays, Sergio Martinez, and Joe Torre on April 12, 2012 at a gathering of national leaders in violence prevention called “The Y Factor-Men Leading by Example”. Futures without Violence’s International Center to End Violence. Photo by Joseph Driste courtesy of Futures without Violence