Dr. Waverly M. Futrell observed that in numerous disadvantaged neighborhoods, too many children seemed at risk of failing due to academic and economic deprivation. In 1995, he approached his spiritual advisor with the concept of establishing an after-school, church sponsored tutorial program. Dr. Futrell began planning for and doing research on establishing a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring youth at risk. By 1997, he transformed what had operated as a church ministry into a dedicated outreach program: Memorial Youth Outreach Council, Inc (MYOC).

MYOC provides numerous educational enhancement programs designed to address the needs of disadvantaged youths, including one-to-one mentoring and tutorial initiatives. Dr. Futrell has expanded the reach and effectiveness of the Memorial Youth Outreach Council by working in collaboration with the National Mentoring Partnership (NMP) initiative.

Volunteers and mentors have joined in increasing numbers, as have students seeking the mentoring services and guidance the organization offers. And the program has since produced heartening results. MYOC helped graduate its first mentored student from high school in 1997. The student went on to receive 10,000 dollars from the NMP for tuition at Atlanta University. Students whom the streets might have otherwise claimed have now gone on to graduate university. Clearly, the MYOC has played a crucial role in transforming disadvantaged lives into ones that could grasp -- and pass on -- new advantages.

Over the past ten years, Dr. Waverly Futrell has taken no salary, honorarium, or any fees for his work in the MYOC. He acts solely on his deep conviction that every child deserves a quality education and equal opportunity to achieve the best to which he or she aspires. Dr. Futrell spares no effort to see that this most democratic of American ideals become a reality for those most in need.

Read More Hero Stories >