Centennial Summer Series NYC Vol. 2 The 90's Party

Pre-Father’s Day “Daddy & Me” Reading Program

 Harlem, New York – On Saturday, June 11, 2011, the Corridor Five of the Second District hosted a Pre-Father’s Day “Daddy & Me” Reading Program at the Harlem PAL Center located on 441 Manhattan Avenue. This kick-off event was held during National Father’s Week in New York City. On this day 30 Omega men from across the 18 chapters of Corridor Five came together to read donated books to children who traveled as far as Long Island and Rockland County to participate in this event in Harlem. The event was held in partnership with the Police Athletic League (PAL), a well-known youth organization, and the target audience was children from pre-Kindergarten to fifth grade. The program consisted of individual book readings, a gift-wrapped presentation of books to the PAL Staff for its library, two artistic performances, an arts and crafts corner, and three educational raffle drawings. At the end of the program, the children got to keep the books that were read to them by their fathers, male guardians and Omega men. A total of 52 books were received by individual children on this day. The featured performer was Paul McIntosh, a noted poet, youth advocate, and author who brought down the house with his stirring medley of Langston Hughes’s works such as Mother to Son, A Dream Deferred, and Dream Boogie.”

The event was chaired by Bro. Dominick Boyce, Second District’s Fatherhood & Mentoring Representative and a Deputy Corridor Five Representative in New York.

The purpose of the event was to create a new community partnership that would promote fatherhood and mentorship and exhibit the positive impact that Fathers and male role models can have in the life of children. Further, the Fraternity wanted to offer a free opportunity for fathers/guardians and/or male role models from the Fraternity to bond with children from the surrounding community. Brothers were invited to bring their children too. The impetus for this event was the Fraternity’s partnership with President Barack Obama’s White House Fatherhood & Mentoring Initiative and the Fraternity’s adoption of an International Fatherhood & Mentoring Initiative at the 76th Grand Conclave in Raleigh, North Carolina. Corridor Five would be the first and lead Corridor to sponsor an event under our Fraternity’s International Initiative. Our thanks go out to he Brothers of Corridor Five under the capable leadership of Brother Kevin J. Woodhouse for another honorable project that has impacted lives in a positive manner.