There e many y to I d, nd
m 0 tod y' mo t effective Afri
American I de are makin a
rio difference quietly and eU -
tively in th ir own communitie .
They truggle ou ide of the pot
light, putting their belief into tion
nd maki ng differen along th
way.
On of the goal of the BI ck
Communi ty Crus de for Children
(BCCC) i to be a source of inform a
tion about programs that are making
a difference for Bl k children, youth
and famHi . By haring what we've
learned about a variety of program
mod 1 we hope to encourag all
who have a desire to help. Sometim
it' much ier to imagin what i
po ible when you can e what is
already being done.
These are a few program that
demonstrate how mu h people can
accomplish when they make a com
mitment to making a difference:
N tion I In tltute ror Re-
nslble atberbood nd F mUy
Development (NIRF&FD): Charles
Ballard, who was separated from hi
father at age three and became a fa
ther himself at age 17, founded
NIRF&FD to help young men be
come re ponsible, nurturing, re-
ourceful fathers. The Cleveland,
Ohio-based Institute offers one- on
one counseling and crisis manage
ment for fathers, along with services
to mothers and grandparents. "There
are many factors that influence a
young father, or (the way) any father
interacts with his child," Mr. Ballard
explains. "Our program takes a holi -
tic approach to family dynamics by
offering ervices to every member of
the family that interact with the
... -oI .. .-rul1li: ..... JJ is now working in
cl . Ip young men be-
orne better fathers so they can te ch
the next eneration to pro per and to
help make a better world.
Urban Strategies Council:
The Urban trategles ouneil
(U C), in Oakland, California
(which is also one of the Western
Region offices of BCCC), has fo
cused attention on positive outcomes
for familie and children, the strate-
. gies required and opportunities for
action. As advocates for viable ef
forts to combat persistent poverty
and' build healthy and productive
families, the USC, headed by Angela
Glover Blackwell, brings informa
tion and expertise to people at both
the grassroots and policy-making
levels throughout the' city.
The USC promotes the use of
data to inform policymakers, and
works with others in the community
to assure that sound concepts and
policies are put into action. "While
we must continue to demand that na
tional leadership act aggressively to
create opportunit(ies) for all, com
munity efforts can mitigate the ef
fect of poverty and ombat it per-
i tence," M . Blackwell ay. "Lo
cal experience in Oakland convinces
me that together. we can create posi
tive change." ,
• Manh ttan Valley Youth
Program: Bing a teenager has
never been easy. Today, it is harder.
than ever, with harsher realities and
greater ri ks confronting our youth,
who have fewer pe ple to turn to for
guidance. The Manhattan Valley
You h Program known as "The Val
ley," was created by John �es in
197 ) to fill thi void f r teens 10 New
York City. With a central fa ility at
the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
and five satellite centers in area
• schools The. VaJley offers an array
o activtti --from OED preparation,
job readin trai ning, youth and
family counseling and substance
abuse prevention, to videography,
horus and new letter production.
Each year, Th Valley erv
5, young ex-of enders and c�ool
dropou . Rai ing elf-e tee� IS .at
the forefront f The Valley mrs-
i n and a vital, part of each of its
rograms.' While their programs
See LEADERS, A10
essr CHANCE:
Match
MAY 1. 1993
Lotto Ticket
CD
II ig II III lid Park
I' ch 01 r pen
7-H.S. Graduation 7:00 p.m.
Bd. of Ed. meeting 7: 0 p.m.
Jun 14-1 H.S. emester exams, gr. 9-11, morning only
June 16-I7-K-8 cl morning only' no K-8 afternoon cl
ployee equally valuable to 1" he
ed.
Porter aid that the ba ement
would be clo ed off. but he ex
pre ed concern that the poisons in
the bement could eep up to the r t
of the building.
PO T R ID TH T thi
could not happen and the city did
earch on the i u.
Cooper aid that he complain of
her employe demonstrat d that
problem alre dy exi ted on the first
floor, but dded she could not talk
about conditions on th ond floor,
ince none of her union members
worked there.
She aid h understood council
desire to tudy the i u 0 a new city
hall before taking tion, because of
th city' evere budget problems,
which the mayor argued made it n -
ary to eliminat a large number of
jobs.
o IDT w a
po ibility of ving city hall located
t Woodward and Californi but h
w not king ci ty co uncil to app ro
the plan,j t to" e od olid 100
at it," ong with others that came up.
Council Pre ident Pro Tern
Chri tine Franklin aid he wanted
more time for council to explore alter
native including the po ibility of
p erving the building, cleaning up
environmental problem in the b -
ment and getting an elevator.
Porter id th city could not po -
ibly afford uch changes in th old
building.
Franklin also took i ue with a city
propo al for moving the city's Publ�c
Safety Department and th courts 10
the city hall building after moving
present city workers out.
"If the building i giving city em
ployee cancer, are not the court em-
hool C I
d r
May
M Y II-Bd. of Ed. m ting, 7: 0 p.m.
H.S. nior exams
cbool clo ed: Memorial Day
June
•
. ........... '1_a.n OV r 40 years in (I
or1:iMtatlai·n is admired and �oIleded arou
rUI_na . ust a sampling from th ( ledionl any
24