About Us

Growing up, my mother raised me in the Ellis project area of NE Canton. My father was not in the picture much; he had other commitments usually imposed upon him by a judge. So safe to say I was heading in so many different directions with no strong role models in my life guiding me and controlling a lot of the impulsiveness associated with being a preteen and teenager. However, my life took a much different route once I met one person, Officer Lamar Sharp. He showed many kids and me that being positive and being a leader was the best road to take. Lamar is a Canton Police Officer and was the first Community Officer that allowed so many kids to trust and believe there was a future for each of us. He was the main reason I am a police officer myself today. Lamar’s Be A Better Me Foundation still stands today as a testament to the resilience and impact one person can make on their community.

One of the advantages of being a police officer in a smaller community is that you can do more community policing. During these times, I spoke to the kids and realized the East Canton and Osnaburg communities needed a mentoring program. The main premises of the mentoring program would focus on creating a safe place for kids and positive role models to spend time with and create lifelong positive tools and experiences that they can utilize in the future. We’re not just talking about the lower-income kids; all social and economic classes would benefit from it.

Every day in our society, we hear of violence in our schools and communities. I truly believe if more communities reached out and provided a place for our kids to talk, then maybe we could prevent the unimaginable from happening to our world. Having a mentoring program like this is simply the right thing to do. Let’s show the world that our community can lead the way in helping our children create a brighter future.