A new campus organization affiliated with 100 Black Men of America Inc., the largest network of African American male mentors in the nation, has been proposed forSaint Augustine’s University.
The SAU organization would be formed under the supervision of the 100 Black Men of Triangle East Inc., the local chapter of 100 Black Men. The campus organization is part of the Collegiate 100 program of 100 Black Men of Triangle East.
The purpose of the Collegiate 100 is to implement the mentoring and tutoring programs of 100 Black Men. The participants assist the parent organization with the development of the social, emotional, educational, and physical needs of young black males who have few or no positive role models in the communities in which they live. 100 Black Men of Triangle East also has Collegiate 100 organizations at N.C. State University and N.C. Central University.
The proposal is awaiting the formal approval of President Everett B. Ward.
Al Sullivan, who serves as president of 100 Black Men of Triangle East, is leading the effort.
“The organization is a mentoring and community service organization that has been around for over 30 years,” Sullivan said. “Nationally we have 98 chapters and 96 of those chapters are based in the U.S while the other two are international. … We are part of the bigger national organization which has been around since 1963.”
Mr. Sullivan also sits on the national board, as the chairman of change and transformation.
Howard Walker, a business major, has been selected as the student president for the Collegiate 100 organization here at SAU.
One of the first projects on which SAU’s Collegiate 100 chapter expects to focus on is the Saturday Academy Mentoring Program for Young Men, Mr. Sullivan said. “This program will work with young men in grades six through 12, working with them on a variety of topics. Some of these things include career readiness, goal setting, and diversity.”
The program consists of not only group mentoring but one-on-one mentoring as well. Mr. Sullivan expects that SAU would be of great assistance partnering with the academy.
“We have adult mentors already and the young men at SAU will be paired with our young mentees,” he said. “The students will add to our capacity while they working with our students.”
Mr. Sullivan is working with Walker, helping to navigate the first steps in getting SAU’s Collegiate 100 organization off the ground. “Our support is important, as well as networking, and providing access to internships and opportunities for our collegiate students,” Mr. Sullivan said. “We recently won a grant from Wells Fargo and we will be using that to help students understand things like finances, entrepreneurship, and other things such as navigating the corporate environment.”
100 Black Men of Triangle East also would offer educational support and assisting students involved with opportunities to further advance academically. “We have a law school scholarships for students to attend Drake University Law School, in Iowa,” he explained. “Five collegiate 100 students per year have the opportunity to get a full ride, three-year scholarship to go to law school. The students compete nationally and five are selected each year.”
Mr. Sullivan stressed that proposal envisions a mutually beneficial partnership. “The Number One goals is that the students will help to add to our capacity to mentor these middle and high school students,” he said. “For us, we also want to be sure to help mentor and network with the Saint Augustine’s students as they transition from college to the workforce. Those are our main two goals. Third, this will help us collaborate and partner to do community service work. We do community service work in four pillars. The first pillar is mentoring, the second is economic empowerment, the third is health and wellness, and the fourth is education.”
Although any male student could join the organization, there are requirements. Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.5, be comfortable with working with young people, and demonstrate good character and behavior that is worth emulating for our students, he said.
For more information, visit the website of 100 Black Men of Triangle East Inc., 100bmte.org. or contact them at 100blackmentriangleeast@gmail.com.
— Jazmin Powell