Published: November 29, 2008 11:07 pm         

Men of Action

Fatherhood group plans banquet

DANVILLE — Men in general, and African-American men in particular, have been challenged by educators, politicians, religious leaders and even entertainers to become more involved in their children’s lives.

One local man, Leonard Bryant II, and the group he leads as East Central Illinois Community Action Agency’s fatherhood in-volvement coordinator, spearheads local efforts to accomplish that goal.

Bryant’s group, Men of Action, works to mobilize fathers, other male relatives and positive male role models in the commu-nity to step up for kids in the schools. In addition to calling for more involvement, the group offers guidance from members who’ve proven themselves as positive role models.

“I’ve been involved in this program for five years,” Bryant said. “I saw the lack that needed to be filled. I saw that when fa-thers participated in the lives of their children, it was like bringing water to a thirsty person. The kids gravitated to them.”

On Thursday, the Rev. MacArthur Pendleton, a former Danville resident, will speak about filling this void at a banquet held by Men of Action at the Days Hotel. His topic will be how men can be a positive influence in the lives of their children and in their community. Dinner will be provided at no charge and drawings for prizes will take place.

Members of Men of Action are currently putting their ideas into action in classrooms throughout the area. Members are in-volved in Head Start classrooms in Danville, Hoopeston and Westville. These volunteers also maintain a presence at the Center for Children’s Services, Laura Lee Fellowship House and at Danville elementary schools including East Park and Cannon.

Bryant Young, a member of Men in Action, has volunteered in Head Start classrooms at the Roselawn site.

“I became involved when my son, Bryant Jr., was in this program,” Young said. “Now he’s in first grade.

“When I was first asked to volunteer, it was brand new to me. I like kids — I have four of my own and lots of nieces and neph-ews. But I wasn’t sure what was involved.”

Young soon learned he might help in the classroom, accompany the children on field trips or help serve the kids their break-fast. There was no one way to help.

On a recent school day, the rewards in this type of volunteer work were easy to see. From the moment Young entered the classroom, all the students’ eyes were on him. By the time he finished reading to them, many had moved closer to where he sat and tried to get into his lap.

“I get a lot of love out of this,” Young said.

It’s not only preschoolers that appreciate a male presence. Bryant sees a real need for fathers to get involved through high school.

“Male participation there verges on zero, none,” he said. “People know what needs to be done, which is to get involved, but they don’t know how to do it.

“There’s an assumption that if the father is in the school, there must be trouble,” he said. “For some men, there’s a flashback to their own school days. They’re intimidated.

“We’re looking to stir awakening with (Men on the Move,)” Bryant said. “We need positive advocates for kids, positive role models from the community in all the schools.”