Syracuse, NY -- Vincent Love volunteers as a mentor in part because he knows what guidance means to a boy who needs it. “One of the things that’s so fulfilling for me is that when I look back to my own childhood, growing up here in the streets of Syracuse, I can remember older gentlemen — because I didn’t...
Fowler High School ninth-grader Terrell Poe (left) and Glenn Williams, of Syracuse, help spruce up a 9/11 monument at Sheridan Park in Syracuse Saturday. Syracuse, NY -- Vincent Love volunteers as a mentor in part because he knows what guidance means to a boy who needs it.
“One of the things that’s so fulfilling for me is that when I look back to my own childhood, growing up here in the streets of Syracuse, I can remember older gentlemen — because I didn’t have a father in my household — but I can remember older gentlemen in the neighborhoods that played an important role in my growing up,” Love said. “And some of them may not necessarily have been what society would call a role model, but at the same time, they instilled in me a foundation of: ‘That’s not right,’ ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ ‘You’re too young to be involved in this.’”
Love is president of 100 Black Men of Syracuse, a nonprofit volunteer group with a focus on providing mentors to young African-American males. Its programs are open to any young person who is interested, Love said.
The group was out in force Saturday. Some 25 men and young men helped spruce up city parks as part of a citywide community service effort, the “A-OK Acts of Kindness Weekend,” sponsored by Women Transcending Boundaries.
Jermaine Holley, 13, was glad to be part of the 100 Black Men volunteer crew.
“100 Black Men, they teach you how to grow into a respectful man. When they ask you to come out, you can’t hesitate. You say yes,” Holley said.
The organization is looking for more adults who feel that way. It begins the new school year with a goal it sets ever year — to recruit more mentors. Love is hoping that an event Tuesday will help with that.
Bryan Preaster (left), and Allan Aberdeen, both of Syracuse, prune bushes Saturday morning at Huntington School in Syracuse during the Acts of Kindness effort sponsored by 100 Black Men of Syracuse. National radio talk show host Michael Baisden comes to Syracuse with his “One Million Mentors” campaign. Baisden will hold a free event about mentoring that will feature a local panel. It will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Crouse-Hinds Concert Theater in the John H. Mulroy Civic Center, 800 S. State St. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Members of 100 Black Men will be there. The group’s drill team will perform. Love hopes the spotlight on mentoring will net it more volunteers.
The group, which has 32 members, runs mentoring programs and provides other services to students at Fowler High School, Blodgett K-8 and Hughes K-7. It offers a “manhood training” program two Saturdays a month, takes students on college visits and sponsors an SAT prep course, among other projects.
Kemet High, 14, attends the manhood training program, which he said teaches him how to be respectful.
“I usually walk out with a lot that I’ve learned,” he said.
The organization focuses on city youth because that’s where the need is greatest, said Robert Sykes, vice president of operations for 100 Black Men, pointing to the high dropout rate and number of kids who come from single-parent homes.
Sykes works for National Grid as resource manager for Upstate New York and has a grown child. Love, an accountant and deputy treasurer for the North Syracuse school district, has grown children, too. He has been part of 100 Black Men since Jerome Walker and Walter Eiland founded it several years ago.
In 2006, the two men rounded up a group of 25 or so men who met at a local coffee shop to talk about issues in their community, Love said.
“And out of that meeting we talked about a concern about what’s going on in our community and realized that, OK, it was time for us as African-American males to step up and begin to take care of our own. You know, we could no longer sit back, depend on other institutions, other people, to take care of issues that involved our youth and our community,” he said.
That led the men to 100 Black Men of America, a national nonprofit that provided a template for what they wanted to do. Eventually, 100 Black Men of Syracuse was accepted into the national organization and became its own nonprofit.
“Since we have started, our presence has grown, and it continues to grow,” Love said. “And that’s what we want. We want people to know that there is a presence of African-American men in the community that are concerned about the community, that are concerned about youth.”
Contact Maureen Nolan 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com