|
|
| 3rd ANNUAL FATHER’S DAY EXTRAVAGANZA: Mall Father’s Day Event Showcases Stylish Dads and Benefits a Great Charity! The Father’s Day Extravaganza will highlight a multitude of family-friendly activities for youth to enjoy. Attendees can play games, register to win cool prizes for dad, giveaways, enjoy live entertainment, and purchase books before the Best Dressed Dad Search begin.
WHEN: June 19th. Saturday before Father’s Day.
WHERE: Greenbriar Mall - Near Macy’s - from 1pm – 4pm.
WHY: The event is designed to bring families together and show appreciation for local Dads while drawing attention to M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc.’s initiatives.
WHO: Celebrate Father's Day with Greenbriar Mall and Medu Bookstore as we join forces once again to support local non-profit organization M.E.N.S. Wear Inc! The event features several ways to show Dad a little appreciation while getting the entire family involved in giving back to the community. The event is being held in conjunction with Greenbriar Mall’s Annual SummerFest!
WHAT: Best Dressed Dad Search (Pre-registration Preferred!) If you think your Dad (or husband, or brother, or friend) is a well-dressed, stylish and chic guy - then bring him out to strut his stuff for our panel of judges for the chance to win a cool Father’s Day prize package including a $250 Greenbriar Mall Gift Card and a keepsake recognition plaque. We’re looking for stylish real men, not professional models. The general public is invited to come out and cheer for their favorites at this family friendly event. Pre-register by sending your complete contact information as well as contestants full name, address, email address, home number and cell phone number to info@menswearinc.org. Walk-up registrations on the day of event will only be considered if time permits.
Medu Bookstore ~ Book Fair Fundraiser (While Supplies Lasts!) Hey book lovers! Medu Bookstore has made available selected books to purchase at deep discount prices during the Father’s Day Extravaganza! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to support M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc.’s initiatives and programs. Books for sale will be located exclusively at the M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc. exhibit booth.
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: Angelia O'Neal, Founder of M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc., is available for media interviews. Photo opportunities include: registration of Dads, local business exhibitors, live entertainment, contestants "walking the runway", children reciting Father's Day wishes, on-stage "family fun" activities, selection of semi-finalists, finalist featured with charity representatives and local celebrity judges.
MORE ABOUT THE CONTEST Contestants must be men 21 years of age or older with at least one child to enter. Selection is based on the final decision of the judges, all decisions are final. Contest limited to first 150 men. Contestants must be present at time of registration. See entry form for official contest rules or visit www.menswearinc.org.
By Denise Bolds The gap in education still remains in the American education system for black male students and the gap is GROWING. African American males are more susceptible to drop out of school by 6th grade, have the highest suspension rate and special education designation. The new education system for the black American male is the prison system; prisons are being built faster than schools. Why? Dr. Marvin Lynn’s provocative research gives light to our black sons and why this gap is only capturing our black sons. Please join Denise Bolds, MSW author of Raising Princes to be Kings: A Single Black Mother’s Guide to Raising Her Black Son and her guest Dr. Marvin Lynn, associate professor of curriculum and instruction, and an affiliate faculty member in African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He conducts research on the work and lives of African American teachers in public schools. He also writes in the area of critical race studies in education. Education MUST stay on the forefront of awareness and positive action – our young black sons need us. This discussion will focus on Dr. Lynn’s latest publication: “Examining Teachers’ Beliefs About African American Male Students in a Low-Performing High School in an African American School District.” This research paper was published in Teachers College Record: Volume 112 Number 1, 2010. Get ready to be EMPOWERED!!!
Urban Prep Academy senior Keith Greer, along with his classmates, celebrates the news they will receive a free prom in Chicago because 100 percent of the graduating class was accepted into 4-year colleges or universities.
The entire senior class at Chicago's only public all-male, all-African-American high school has been accepted to four-year colleges. At last count, the 107 seniors had earned spots at 72 schools across the nation.
Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman surprised students at an all-school assembly at Urban Prep Academy for Young Men in Englewood this morning to congratulate them. It's the first graduating class at Urban Prep since it opened its doors in 2006.
Huberman applauded the seniors for making CPS shine.
"All of you in the senior class have shown that what matters is perseverance, what matters is focus, what matters is having a dream and following that dream," Huberman said.
The school enforces a strict uniform of black blazers, khaki pants and red ties -- with one exception. After a student receives the news he was accepted into college, he swaps his red tie for a red and gold one at an assembly.
The last 13 students received their college ties today, to thunderous applause.
Ask Rayvaughn Hines what college he was accepted to and he'll answer with a question.
"Do you want me to name them all?"
For the 18-year-old from Back of the Yards, college was merely a concept--never a goal--growing up. Even within the last three years, he questioned if school, let alone college, was for him. Now, the senior is headed to the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. next fall.
Hines remembers the moment he put on his red and gold tie.
"I wanted to take my time because I was just so proud of myself," he said. "I wanted everyone to see me put it on."
The achievement might not merit a mayoral visit at one of the city's elite, selective enrollment high schools. But Urban Prep, a charter school that enrolls using a lottery in one of the city's more troubled neighborhoods, faced difficult odds. Only 4 percent of this year's senior class read at grade level as freshmen, according to Tim King, the school's CEO.
"I never had a doubt that we would achieve this goal," King said. "Every single person we hired knew from the day one that this is what we do: We get our kids into college."
College is omnipresent at the school. Before the students begin their freshman year, they take a field trip to Northwestern University. Every student is assigned a college counselor the day he steps foot in the school.
The school offers an extended day--170,000 more minutes over four years compared to its counterparts across the city--and more than double the number of English credits usually needed to graduate.
Even the school's voicemail has a student declaring "I am college bound" before it asks callers to dial an extension.
Normally, it takes senior Jerry Hinds two buses and 45 minutes to get home from school. On Dec. 11, the day University of Illinois at Champaign- Urbana was to post his admission decisions online at 5 p.m., he asked a friend to drive him home.
He went into his bedroom, told his well-wishing mother this was something he had to do alone, closed the door and logged in.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" he remembers screaming. His mother, who didn't dare stray far, burst in and began crying.
That night he made more than 30 phone calls, at times shouting "I got in" on his cell phone and home phone at the same time.
"We're breaking barriers," he said. "And that feels great."
M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc. Convenes Community Roundtable on the "Dress and Image" Issue for Young Males Atlanta, GA - March 3, 2010 - M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc. (Making Employment the Next Step), Atlanta's premier community-based organization serving at-risk men and male youth, will host a groundbreaking forum on the issue of appropriate dress for young males on Wednesday, March 17, 6 to 8 p.m., at Morehouse College' s Executive Conference Center. Entitled "The Image of a Man...What Does Image Really Mean?" --- the program will convene a diverse group of speakers from Atlanta's education, human service and business sectors to address this controversial issue in a Roundtable format. |
The Mandate  M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc. has undertaken the Male Dress and Image Roundtable as a function of the organization's mandate: "To reinvent the positive professional male image." The organization is seeking to engage at least 250 persons from across metro Atlanta in the Roundtable, with particular attention to involving young people. "The effect of the popular 'low-hanging, just-below-the-buttocks' pants style as a factor in negative and offensive behavior among male youths has emerged as a very heated topic in recent months," said Corey Sutton, Board Chair for M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc. The M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc. Roundtable intends to begin identifying positive strategies for addressing the problems that have arisen on campuses, work places and in the overall community from improper and almost indecent dress practices by some young men. |
Did You Know?  Sutton cites the criminal designation that Flint, Michigan officials recently gave to wearing saggy pants in public; offenders who show their underwear or expose their buttocks are punished by up to 93 days to a full year in jail and/or $500 in fines. Here at Georgia's Savannah State University, Sutton notes, administrators took a stand by terming the wearing of sagging pants as ". . . none the less distasteful, offensive and not in keeping with what is expected of serious 'University' students." |
| More About The Roundtable Leaders and representatives from eight area organizations and agencies --including the colleges, youth services, employment programs and the legal system-- will serve as Roundtable panelists. A number of special guests from professional agencies and community groups will serve as an Advisory Group to the Roundtable. Both the Roundtable Panel and the Advisory Group will include young adult participants. They will be called upon to share their perspectives on the issue of appropriate male dress and the recent controversy. To register and/or get more information, call M.E.N.S. Wear, Inc. at 404/567-5939, ; or e-mail news@menswearinc.org. Parking will be available for $3 in the campus parking deck, very near the Morehouse College Executive Conference Center. |
|
Connections forged through mentoring open the doors to greater opportunities. Although affirmative action laws were put in place to address inequities in the workplace, they do not provide any mechanism for enabling African Americans to ascend up the corporate ladder. Most successful professionals can attribute much of their achievement to their mentoring relationships. Unfortunately, mentors tend to be drawn toward proteges that remind them of themselves. This frequently unconscious bias is human nature. Since most of the people at the top are white males, most of their proteges are the same. Mentors Make a Difference Studies of African American executives show a direct correlation between job growth, promotions and salary increases and having mentors: - Not having an influential mentor or sponsor was reported as one of the top barriers to advancement of African American female executives, according to a 2004 Catalyst report. An earlier Catalyst study showed that 69 percent of those with mentors were promoted, compared with 50 percent of those with no mentors.
- According to Korn/Ferry International's 1998 study "Diversity in the Executive Suite: Creating Successful Career Paths and Strategies," formal and informal mentoring and support from superiors and coworkers are key factors that help place minority executives on the organizational fast track.
- Korn/Ferry International's study also shows that African American executives who reported having informal mentors at work (73 percent) had faster salary and total compensation growth than those without one.
The Difference for Me In my work as a technology professional, writer and entrepreneur, I've taken time to establish relationships before seeking the guidance of my intended mentors. I have been fortunate enough to have had a best-selling author, chief technology officer, human resources consultant, venture capitalist, knowledge management expert and a national healthcare magazine publisher as mentors. These mentors introduced me to industry leaders, helped me write proposals, provided invitations to important events, counseled me on career changes, critiqued my presentations, helped me learn complex Web-development programming languages, assessed potential business deals, referred potential clients to me and coached me on project-management techniques. Their support and advice have helped be to become more focused, gain confidence and learn to trust my decisions. As a result, I am now experiencing a higher level of success and I find that great opportunities are starting to find me. How to Find a Mentor - Be direct and ask. If you are uncomfortable, simply ask for career advice and go from there.
- Identify common interests that bridge to relationships.
- Model yourself as a great protege, ready to assist with a project, office function, charitable event or other mutual endeavor.
- Demonstrate your abilities and commitment to your career. Seek out collaborative projects within your organization that showcase your work.
- Use your network to meet new people and find potential mentors: Participate in workplace social activities, go to your work's recreational facilities and attend industry events.
- Participate in mentor programs sponsored by professional associations.
- Investigate formal mentoring programs at your workplace. If there aren't any, approach human resources about pairing you with a mentor.
- Look to retired professionals as potential mentors.
- Ask members of your alumni association, fraternity or sorority to serve as mentors.
- Join committees within mainstream and African American professional associations and get to know the other members.
- If your company has an African American employee network, join and get to know the key players.
- Mentors are busy people too, so you must present yourself as a worthwhile time investment. If someone turns you down, continue developing that person into a strategic ally.
The rewards you will gain by constantly working to develop these relationships are invaluable and can ultimately lead to career success.
http://menswearinc.org/Documents/Georgia%20Men%20Hit%20Hardest%20by%20Recession.pdf
For some, success is a state of mind!
It’s an old adage that you can feed a man fish for a day and he will be full for a day. Or you can teach a man how to fish and he will be full for life. There’s just something about knowing how to do things that makes us feel more complete and equipped to deal with life. Teaching young men how to manage their time, how to have more business etiquette and how to look for previously unseen opportunities ultimately leads to a new way of thinking. Change would come quicker If more of us would take the time to get involved with someone in need of encouragement, training and knowledge. It’s organizations such as M.E.N.S. Wear Inc. (Making Employment the Next Step) that are taking the initiative to do just that and then some. Located in Atlanta Georgia, M.E.N.S. Wear Inc. focuses on individuals with barriers preventing them from achieving success and teaches them how to reconnect with mainstream society to become productive individuals within the Metro Atlanta area.
Founded in 2003, M.E.N.S. Wear Inc. continues to grow each year and has partnered with the E.S.P. (Employment Services Providers) to offer training in the following areas: 10 Week Skills + Employment Readiness Curriculum
Professional Wardrobe Services “to Eligible Clients”
Fatherhood Initiative
Project Second Chance (Re-Entry Program)
Project Manhood The goal of the 10 week skills curriculum is to have gained self-esteem and confidence, a sharper image and improved communication skills. During this 10 week period a participant will have been tutored on the importance of proper interviewing technique, being a positive role model, business negotiations with other organizations in the community and the importance of having a strong family. As you can see, the task ahead of M.E.N.S. Wear Inc. is a tough one, yet attainable. They have attracted national sponsors such as Microsoft, H& R Block, The Boys and Girls Clubs, Morehouse College and Dismas Charities, but could use the help of someone just like you. Your caring heart and kind deeds could be the difference that enables someone to achieve success in life. We encourage you to log onto the M.E.N.S. Wear Inc. website to see how you can get involved with turning someone’s life around today! With a vision of becoming a world renowned institute for men and male youth desiring self-sufficiency, M.E.N.S. Wear Inc. is moving in the right direction, one person at a time. For more information: log onto www.menswearinc.org
call 404-567-5939
Or look for them on Facebook.com & Linkedin.com
Plight Deepens for Black Men, Studies Warn
By Eric Eckholm
The New York Times, March 2006
…Especially in the country’s inner cities, the studies show, finishing high school is the exception, legal work is scarcer than ever and prison is almost routine, with incarceration rates climbing…even as urban crime rates have declined.
Although the problems afflicting black men have been known for decades, the new data paint a more extensive and sobering picture of the challenges they face….In a society where higher education is vital to economic success…programs to help more men enter and succeed in college may hold promise…“We spent $50 billion in efforts that produced the turnaround for poor women, we are not even beginning to think about the men’s problem on similar orders of magnitude…”
An Emerging Catastrophe
By Bob Herbert
The New York Times, July 2004
…This is a tragic situation for the men and their families and a serious problem for society at large. Such a huge all-but-permanently-unemployed population is an obstacle to efforts to achieve full employment and its accompanying benefits. These men are not contributing to tax revenues and they are consuming public and social services. And some, inevitably, are engaged in criminal and other anti-social behaviors.
Figuring out ways to get this population gainfully employed would turn a net societal deficit into a real benefit…it’s just wrong to allow so many Americans to remain in a state of social and economic degradation without attempting to alter the conditions responsible for their suffering…
| |
| |
|
|