Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 9-22-17

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017
Men Of Vision Participate In Clean Up After Hurricane Irma
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Recently, the anticipation of the impending arrival of Hurricane Irma left every- one scrambling to secure their homes or relocate to a safe place. We were fortunate in that we did not suffer a direct hit from the hurricane.
However, it left downed power lines, damages roofs, fallen trees, and debris all over the county. Within days after the crisis was over, Ross An- derson and the Men of Vision, Inc., went into action.
The young men worked tirelessly cleaning lots, road- ways and the yards of resi- dents. They removed tree branches and other debris cre- ated by the storm.
Partnering with
Tampa Bay Beautiful, the group cleaned the area around Middleton High School. They also worked in conjunction with the Coastal Clean Up to remove trash and tree branches from Rowlett Park.
Anderson said, “As a community we MUST do more to support and contribute to our young men and women who are not only doing well in school, but who are giving back to the community in which they live.
“As we watched different new outlets last week, they re- ported on youth who made bad choices, but no one showed the youth in our community who make the right choice on a con- sistent basis. We tips our hats to Rod Carter of News Chan- nel 8, who featured the young men on his program.”
Several years ago, Ander- son was a classroom teacher at Sligh Middle Magnet School. In his role, he observed a trend that seemed to be gathering speed daily. He watched as sev- eral African American students drifted away from school and toward trouble.
In 2005, Anderson felt compelled to break the cycle and founded the Men of Vision organization. The first chapter came into existence at Sligh Middle School. Since that time, the program has expanded to include several high schools, middle schools, charter schools, and even an elemen- tary school. Some campuses also offer young ladies a female vision of the program.
Keep
Front Row:
School; Isiah Johnson, III, Brook De Bartolo High School; Reshea Thomas, Tampa Bay Technical High School; Byron Keaton, Tampa Bay Technical High School; Kevinson Celestin, Middleton High School; Albert Jones, Steinbrenner High School; Ashne Petite, Seminole Heights High School; Mezerson Cesar, Brooks De Bartolo High School; and Cyrus Wade, Overall MS Vice President, Middleton High School. Shown on the second row are: John Johnson, Middleton High School; Alex Guerrier, Middleton High School; Jamar Smith, Middleton High School;, Eric Vincent Alumni HCC, Devin Johnson Chamberlain High School; Aaron Webb, Brooks De Bartolo High School; Calvin McClarin, Steinbrenner High School; Imhotep Alkebu, Lan, Wharton High School; Lee Jackson, III, Bower Whitley Career Center; Devin Smith, Tampa Bay Technical High School; A. J. Boodoosingh, Cristo Rey High School; Tyrik Jones, Tampa Bay Technical High School; Marc Joseph, Middleton High School; Equanic Anderson, Middleton High School; and Jaen Ray Jefferson High School. Shown on the third row are: Josh McDonald’s; Rio Oliver, Strawberry Crest High School; Ricardo Watson, Jefferson High School; Robert Ruiz, Tampa Bay Technical High School; Pierre Alsint, Overall President of Men of Vision, Hillsborough High School; Kaleb Harden, Middleton High School; Xavier Green, Tampa Bay Tech- nical High School; Markel Smith Simmons Career Center; and Kristopher Henson, Middleton High School. Craig Cook and Victor Andrews- Powley are not shown in the photograph.
Among those participating in the cleanup after Hurricane Irma were: Coach Larry Green, Ross Anderson, founder of Men of Vision, Inc., Pierre Alsint, Hillsborough High School Overall President; Gregory Pierre, Middleton High School; David Brown, Middleton High School; David Brown, Middleton High School; Coach Courtney, Aaron Webb, Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School; Kristopher Henson, Middle- ton High School; JaMarcus Thorpe, Steinbrenner High School; and Dr. O’Brien, Men of Vision Sponsor.
Anderson has also had the pleasure of observing many the young men graduate from high school and attend college or enlist in the military.
In addition to education and community service, An-
derson said he focuses on ap- pearances, they take group field trips to colleges and uni- versities, and participate in clean-ups and other events tak- ing place within the commu- nity.
Anderson said he realizes that there are many others in the community who are help- ing the young men of the next generation to accomplish their goals.
However, he said, “We
need to support them in any way that we can. Instead of raising money to bury one of our young men, let’s raise money to send one of them to college or a trade school of his choice.”
David Brown, Middleton High School; Dayshun Sutton, Tampa Bay Technical High School; Isaiah Hopkins, Middleton High
B