Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 9-23-16 Online Edition

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2016
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The Tampa Chapter Of The Links, Incorporated Rolls Out Mentoring Program For Boys
Men who attended the preparation workshop were, front row, left to right: Connecting Links Frank Lee, retired Banker; Gerald Peterson, Attorney; Albert Coleman, Hillsbor- ough County employee; Roland Daniels, retired Chevrolet car dealership owner; Judge Perry Little, I. V. Spears, Jr. retired Exec with Reynolds; and Howard Harris. Second row: Connecting Links Bruce Curry, retired Navy Captain; and Keith Harris, VP Human Resources, Tampa Bay Lightning; Heir-O-Links Richard Dance, Pharmacist; and Cyril Andrews, IV, Senior, Finance Major, USF; Connecting Links Norman Frorup, VP Banker; and Jerry Bell, Retired NFL Player, Consultant; Robert Irvin, Polemarch, Kappa Alpha Psi Fra- ternity; Ross Anderson, Founder/Director, Men of Vision Club; Men of Vision members: Keyshawn Spain, Kollin Spain and Pierre Alsaint.
Not shown: Connecting Links Paul Sheehy, II, M. D; Bruce Taylor, retired Burger King franchise owner; Dayle Greene, media personality; David Myers and James Brookins, M. D.
Members of the Tampa Chapter of The Links who attended the Male Mentoring Workshop were, seated from left to right: Jewel Warren, who wrote the curriculum from the book, The Eagles Who Thought They Were Chickens; Phyllis Lee, Margarette Spears, STY facet chair; Kay Andrews, president; Ozepher Wilds, STY facet co-chair; Ruby Brown, and Joyce Daniels. Standing, left to right: Evelyn Bethune, Patricia Parker, Sonja Garcia, Kendra Frorup, Marsha Lewis Brown, Ruth Bell, Casey Curry (wrote the curriculum), Verneka Rhodes, Sonjia Little, Yolanda Anthony and Hosetta Coleman.
The program is for 5th grade boys at Paul L. Sheehy, M. D. Elementary School
The Tampa Chapter of The Links, Incorporated held its first Male Mentor- ing Workshop in preparation for the im- plementation of its monthly mentoring program for boys at Paul L. Sheehy, M. D., Elementary School. The group will mentor 36 fifth grade boys called the Royal Gents. The Links also mentor the 5th grade girls at Sheehy and a group of 8th grade girls at Van Buren Middle School.
This program was previously estab- lished at the school, but had become in- active in recent years because of the lack of sponsorship. The Links seek to fill that void and contribute to higher, pos- itive outcomes for our youth.
The Royal Gents will benefit from exposure to positive male role models from a wide range of careers who will share their experiences as well as en- courage the pursuit of higher education.
Research tells us that there is empir- ical evidence that participation in such
programs results in young men most likely to stay in school, graduate from high school and pursue higher levels of education; less likely to participate in gangs, less likely to be involved in sub- stance abuse and less likely to be in- volved in the juvenile justice system.
Some of the key components ad- dressed will be character development, self-esteem, life skills, higher education, career exploration, leadership skills and involvement with the law.
“Our goal is to address the needs of our young boys and create a path that will encourage them to become edu- cated, positive adults members of our community,” stated Link Margarette Spears, Chair, Services To Youth Facet (STY).
The Mentors will meet with the Royal Gents the third Friday of each month throughout the school year as well as provide enrichment experiences such as field trips to college campuses, MOSI and sports venues.
Friday, September 16, 2016, was the kick-off for all of the mentoring pro- grams.
The Royal Gents program focus will be a book entitled The Eagles Who Thought They Were Chickens by Mical Wynn. The curriculum activities in- clude building self-esteem, goal-setting, study skills and providing a launch pad for school success. The young scholars will be provided with the text, The Ea- gles Who Thought They Were Chickens, individual journals, custom neckties and more. Their achievements will be celebrated at the end of the school year in a culminating event.
Successful males throughout the city will meet with the boys in their group mentoring session and will be available for questions, advocacy and support. Many of these men are hus- bands of Link members, called Connect- ing Links.
"I think this is a fantastic pro- gram. This book is one of my husband's favorites and he's used it for years with great success when participating in The Great American Teach-In, The Links African American Read-In and other youth based programs. He will be the opening speaker and kick off the pro-
gram,” stated published author and Blake High School instructor, Mrs. Casey Curry.
“Many young African American males have bought into the stereotype of failure and mediocrity. The message of this program is that you are not the neg- ative names people place upon you and you can rise above anything and accom- plish your goals. You don't have to ac- cept failure or predictors of failure.
“The young students will learn to shed "chicken thoughts" and "chicken words" like dumb, stupid and I can't. They will place "eagle words" in their vocabulary, like smart, scholar, brilliant and I can! The mentors and mentees are both extremely excited as are the leaders of the Links Services to Youth Facet, Margarette Spears and Ozepher Wilds. We believe in serving our community and lifting as we climb and there is no better way to do that than planting seeds of success in our children,” Mrs. Curry concluded.
Ms. Kay Andrews is president of The Tampa Chapter of The Links, Incor- porated.