Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to To’ni Wheeler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

To’ni, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

At One By One Mentoring, we are committed to building a society where every young person can easily realize their potential and achieve their goals. We believe that providing our mentees and members a nurturing environment is essential to their overall development. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders, and through personalized attention and guidance we are essentially providing them with all the resources they need to thrive as leaders in years to come.

Many adults lacked the personalized attention and guidance growing up and state if they had someone to believe in them or help them navigate through life, then they would be living a completely different lifestyle. Personally, I yearned for a mentor or someone to lookup to at a young age but never found one to take me under their wing. Therefore, I had to figure out life by myself through trial and error. I wasted a lot of time and resources over the years. Now, that I have a better understanding of life, I want to share my knowledge and experiences with the younger generation and help them.

To’ni, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is To’ni Deon, and I am the Founder of One By One Mentoring. I was born and raised in Oak Cliff my entire life. My community shaped me into the person I am today. I graduated from Duncanville High School in 2015 and Langston University in 2018 with a degree in Sociology and Business Marketing. I have a love for volunteering, teaching, and learning. With those three passions, I wanted to create a team of individuals who enjoyed my interest. OBO started as an organization in 2019 before the covid pandemic started and in 2021 it became an official nonprofit in March of 2021.

One By One Mentoring has two programs: mentorship and leadership. The mentorship program is for youth ages 11-17 and the leadership program is for men and women ages 18 and older. However, both programs are required to be servant leaders and do monthly community service hours to give back to our community. With both programs combined we have a total of 36 members as of today. The goal is to have 50 at the end of this 2023 year.

I am most proud of my OBO members and their willingness to be better people and to give back to our community. Every day is a success story for us because we make it our mission to improve and impact those around us rather its small or huge. Some of the OBO members have been rocking with me constantly since 2019, when OBO was just an idea of mine and have continued to show up and show out every single day until we became a nonprofit. My members show me more love and support than some of my own family members. I make it my mission to tell my members daily that I love them, and that OBO would not be here today without them!

We are not just an organization; we are a family. Family means everything to me, so for those who are seeking for a place of belonging and want to join our team, be prepared to embrace love, support, and lifelong friendships.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My work ethic and compassion speak for themselves, and people notice immediately. I am a hard worker and I hardly play around when it comes to my business. I work long nights and wake up early to chase my goals and dreams. My faith and purpose remind me to keep going when time get tough, and my back is against the wall, and I feel stuck. We all face adversity at some point in our lives, some more than others, but what matters the most is how you respond.

As for my compassion, I do everything with the mentally of all or nothing. My heart is always present in any situation or project that I start, especially when it comes to my mentees and members of One By One Mentoring. I give 100% of me to everyone every time.

As mentioned before, I love volunteering and giving back to my community. I started at the age of 14 during my high school years. Over the years, I have gained relationships with a lot of people all over the DFW metroplex. Because of these connections, OBO is able to network with some of the greatest organizations and community leaders in Dallas.

Any advice for managing a team?

There are three things: respect, leadership, and transparency. In my line of business, I need my team in order to keep it running smoothly. They know, without them, OBO will struggle and come to a standstill. As a leader, I know my members look up to me and trust that I will do right by them. I have to gain their respect if I want them to confidently follow me down this path of growing our organization. The more confident that I am as a leader, the easier it is to manage a team of individuals and maintain a high level of morale.

With transparency, I believe if I am upfront and open with my members, then they will have better understanding of what is going on within the organization and will be more willing to stick around and help in areas that we may lack. Yes, there are pros and cons with being upfront and open with your members/team. Sometimes being upfront can cause your team to panic and shy away. However, as a leader you have the ability to bring peace to the panic and worry that your team may showcase.

Respect, Transparency, and Leadership have worked wonders for me over the years as being the Director of One By One Mentoring and has helped my organization to greatly improve and grow in numbers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.onebyonementoring.org
• Instagram: onebyonementoring
• Facebook: One By One Mentoring
• Other: Cashapp $OneByOneMentoring

Image Credits
One By One Mentoring