Harvard Business School African-American Alumni Association Launches Literacy Initiative

Boys & Girls Club of America
Saturday, 23 February 2002

Members of the Harvard Business School African-American Alumni Association (HBSAAA) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (B&GCA) today announced a new initiative to help combat childhood illiteracy.

HBS African-American alumni have grown to more than 1,300 and are recognized leaders in business, government and academia. The HBSAAA believes that it is uniquely positioned to leverage the leadership, talents, community standing and geographic dispersion to address a long standing issue in the African-American community - a greater need for literacy improvement among young people. This has led to a partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, an organization with a demonstrated expertise and national network to ensure the maximum potential of tangibly and positively impacting this important social issue.

"Connecting Through Caring" is a program that will provide books and tutors for millions of Boys & Girls Club members nationwide. The purpose of "Connecting Through Caring" is to impact in a real way the lives of K-4 African-American youth and other Boys & Girls Club members through learning and working with black HBS-educated role models.

"The ultimate goal is to develop a life-long love of reading and an expanded sense of the possible," said Ann Fudge (MBA 1977), one of Harvard Business School's most distinguished graduates. "As a board member of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, I know firsthand the value of working through Clubs to reach kids. We're very proud to collaborate with Boys & Girls Clubs in this vital program." Ms. Fudge is the luncheon keynote speaker at the HBS African-American Student Union H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference on Saturday, February 23rd at the Cambridge (Mass.) Marriott.

Phase I of the initiative is a book drive, benefiting selected Boys & Girls Clubs in Boston and Atlanta. Local Club libraries and youth will receive books donated from an 80-volume list of recommended children's literature stressing cultural and character development themes.

Phase II will include a reading and coaching program, staffed by HBSAAA volunteers initially in Atlanta and Boston. Alumni in Boston and Atlanta and current HBS students in Boston will regularly visit local Clubs to work directly with the children. "We hope this positive hands-on approach to reading will favorably impact overall academic performance and extend the horizons and imaginations of our youth through the excitement of the written word brought to life by caring role models. We plan next year to apply lessons learned for a national rollout of this program in Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. This will enable HBS African-American business leaders and their colleagues to have a direct and positive influence on the development of our most important resource for the future of America, our children," said Kenneth A. Powell (MBA 1974), president of the HBSAAA.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America President Roxanne Spillett said, "We are very pleased to join with the HBSAAA in this vital program. Our members need role models; indeed we know that's what works best - adults spending time with kids. This program will offer our children a chance to learn and develop a love of reading. Most importantly it will encourage Boys & Girls Club members to interact with African American students and alumni from Harvard Business School. What better role models can a child have?"

Dr. Carter Savage, vice president of youth development services for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, praised the HBSAAA effort. "The exciting part of this initiative to me, " he said, "is that the kids in our Clubs will see black adults reading to them. They need to know that attending a school like Harvard is not an insurmountable dream."

Today, members of the HBS African-American Student Association and attendees at this weekend's H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference in Cambridge announced preliminary totals of an on-campus book drive by netting more than 600 books valued at $3,000.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) comprises a national network of 3,000 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than 3.3 million young people, primarily from disadvantaged circumstances. Known as "The Positive Place for Kids," Clubs provide guidance-oriented programs on a daily basis for children 6 - 18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff. Key programs emphasize character and leadership development, educational enhancement, career preparation, health and life skills, the arts, and sports, fitness and recreation. National headquarters is located in Atlanta.

HBSAAA serves over 1,300 African-American, African, and other black graduates of Harvard Business School, with the goal of positively influencing both the School and the broader community.

For more information, or to contact Boys & Girls Club of America, see their website at: www.bgca.org