Three of the nation's largest African-American fraternities – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. – have joined with the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) organization to help Black boys succeed.
The fraternities, which collectively represent 250,000 college educated-men, see their involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters as mentors and advocates for African-American youth as part of a catalyst that might begin to break the negative cycles of crime, violence and low academic achievement, BBBS officials say.
Many of the children mentored through Big Brothers Big Sisters' nearly 400 agencies are from single-parent families. According to BBBS, research finds that children with mentors are more likely than their peers to stay in school, avoid violence, reject illegal activities and have positive relationships with their families and others.
“When you look at those people who really need mentoring the most, the majority are African-American, and the majority of those are Black males,” said Richard Lee Snow, executive director of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. “We feel as a national leadership organization that we need to step up to the plate and bridge this gap that continues to grow of our young boys not having role models and mentors.”
BBBS says that the collaborative effort will expand Big Brothers Big Sisters' nearly 20-year national partnership with Alpha Phi Alpha. Together, the fraternities will work with the organization to develop programs to encourage members and friends in their large professional, personal and social networks to also support the BBBS’ expansive network of volunteer mentors for youth.
“We recognize that most of the Black boys who are without a father in their household probably need someone who looks like them to be available to them. We see it as part of our responsibility to reach out to members of our communities and help,” said Charles Johnson Jr., communications director for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.
The fraternities agreed that officially joining in a national initiative with the BBBS was a natural fit.
