PYOne.org

Residential Learning and Development Program
for Non-Traditional Students and At-Risk Youth

Connecting Kids and Horses to New Vision and Purpose
Project Arrowhead: A proposed learning and entrepreneurial environment where the Mustang that helped build America, and at-risk youth, the potential builders of America, connect, discover and define new vision and purpose.


For 2007, the New Mexico HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Program, reports that incidents of HIV/AIDS among youth and young adults comprised 32% of all new cases in New Mexico. (1% less than 13 years, 4% 13 -19 years and 27% 20 - 29 years)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the national number of HIV cases may actually be higher than the number of AIDS cases reported considering most adults with AIDS first developed HIV as teenagers. HIV is the seventh leading cause of death for teens between the ages of 13 and 24 and every year approximately 3 million American teenagers contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) which facilitates the transmission of HIV.

The CDC urgently advises that youth be age-appropriately educated about the HIV/AIDS virus and associated unsafe sexual behaviors practices to prevent infection. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm

The Project Arrowhead provides a special opportunity to help educate youth about HIV/AIDS as well as provide hope and new direction for those youth already living with HIV.
A program of Protect Yourself 1, it offers the following:

• Engages at-risk teenage youth in a multicultural, safe, residential applied learning environment where they can re-direct their focus and energies, mature, and find a purpose for themselves to contribute to, and compete in, both the local and global communities.
• Utilizes the horse as a “teacher and companion” with which our student/apprentices re-learn the skills of caring, delayed gratification, trust, teamwork, leadership and building meaningful and productive relationships. (The mustang and the at-risk youth share a common experience of being neglected and dismissed as “wild” and useless problems.)
• Connects these youth and horses, so that, under professional and nurturing guidance, the two “become one in spirit” to face the exciting challenge of overcoming distrust and fear to discover and define new purpose and vision.
• Transforms the “learning environment” into an incubator where these youth gain the skills, competence and professional etiquette to pursue a craft or profession in the equine industry.
• Makes use of, and transforms unused available land (with access to trails or open land to manicure trails) with safe, residential structures into a base to launch and develop a world class equestrian school and a profitable sports, training and equestrian tourism center and community.

The applied learning program is structured into two parts. The first introduces the student (who is selected, screened and counseled in collaboration with Youth Development, Inc.) in three modules to basic understanding of horse culture and history and is supplemented by mentor/tutors who help students who have (or are potentially) dropped out to meet their high school GED requirements.

The second section is comprised of three advanced options including horsemanship and sports riding, breeding management and wilderness survival and tourism. The student is encouraged to develop entrepreneurial skills and business etiquette that can be applied to creating business opportunities in agriculture, animal husbandry and breeding, tourism and outdoor education, international equestrian sports management. An organic farmer's market, mounted security consulting, wilderness survival and riding seminars, themed equestrian vacations, breeding and horse boarding are revenue streams planned to evolve within three to five years help fund the program.

Charles Fox
Director of Development

Charles Fox is an entrepreneur, educator, motivator, world traveler and the first African American to run a global broadcast satellite TV network, WORLDNET TV. When President Clinton appointed Mr. Fox to the position to promote the United States abroad, Mr. Fox established international relations that opened doors to nations previously closed to western media. Earning the Meritorious Honor Award from the International Bureau of Broadcasting for leadership, staff development and programming initiatives, Charles Fox is a “big picture” strategist known for transforming ideas into innovative programs, products, and business opportunities. Additional highlights of his career include launching a minority-owned broadcast TV company, developing and producing award-winning public affairs, cultural, news and entertainment programs for ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS networks and affiliates, transforming a fledgling mid-Atlantic film industry into a culturally diverse and inclusive globally competitive media market and affecting social change through engaging communications and events management.
 
Mr. Fox has consulted and/or made presentations before such organizations as the Federal Communications Commission, the Beijing TV International Producer’s Conference, the United Nations Committee on Non-Government Organizations, the Native American Producers Conference (Santa Fe, NM), and the Johns Hopkins and Ohio Universities Education, Entertainment and Social Change Conference.

An alumnus of the Johns Hopkins University graduate writing seminars, Mr. Fox has taught and/or administered visual arts and communications courses and programs at American University, Frostburg State University, Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University and Ohio University.  

Throughout his career, Mr. Fox has always taken time to mentor young people. “Like my parents, a missionary and school teacher, I have a passion and skill for motivating and empowering youth to reach their potential.” Charles Fox initiated professional and youth development projects for students of diverse populations in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions including the Ohio University Appalachia Discovery Club, the Warner Bros College Screenwriters Project and the U. S. Department of State Diplomacy through Diversity Internships.  

When introduced to Project Arrowhead, the vision of his longtime friend, musician, world-class marathon equestrian and Founder of Protect Yourself 1, Inc, JAR/Jean Albert Renaud, Mr. Fox saw and seized the opportunity to combine his seasoned skills and interests to fulfill one dream: “creating an environment to engage, motivate, empower and provide at-risk youth the opportunity to discover and define a new vision and purpose.”

Guide Program Inc. came to Sunshine Acres in August 2005 to follow Protect Yourself 1, Inc. 's Project Arrowhead.