{"id":11802,"date":"2024-01-31T13:24:36","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T18:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=11802"},"modified":"2024-01-31T13:24:36","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T18:24:36","slug":"community-members-share-knowledge-with-youth-at-16th-annual-african-american-male-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/community-members-share-knowledge-with-youth-at-16th-annual-african-american-male-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Members Share Knowledge with Youth at 16th annual African American Male Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Business owner Marckel \u201cKELO\u201d Bonds led a session on entrepreneurship during the 16th annual African American Male Summit. Students divided into teams to brainstorm ideas for their own businesses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Cindy Butler Focke<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Marckel \u201cKELO\u201d Bonds is a busy business owner. He is the founder and CEO of Coffee Black, a media and client services agency specializing in entertainment, arts and culture.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 20 he was one of more than 25 presenters to volunteer for the 16th<\/sup> annual African American Male Summit at Frank W.\u00a0 Cox High School. Several hundred African American VBCPS middle and high school students and parents attended.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m blessed to be able to share knowledge with youth,\u201d said Bonds, who is also a partner in several apparel companies and serves as a development officer for the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art.<\/p>\n

Young Entrepreneurs<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Damien Dancy presented his team’s idea for a business called \u201cLiving is Sharing\u201d during the entrepreneurship session led by Marckel “KELO” Bonds, left, at the African American Male Summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Several dozen young men piled into a classroom for Bonds\u2019 presentation on entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

Some important aspects of starting a business were discussed during the 30-minute timeslot, including identifying a passion or problem, doing research, making a business plan, building a team or network, and funding. Be creative, he told them. \u201cLook at other brands. How did they become successful?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came a challenge. Three teams had two minutes to come up with business ideas not focused on fashion, music or entertainment. The room was abuzz with chatter until time was up and ideas were pitched by a student spokesperson in an abbreviated \u201cShark Tank\u201d-like style.<\/p>\n

Damien Dancy spoke on behalf of \u201cLiving is Sharing.\u201d \u201cWe feed the homeless and go around and buy food,\u201d the Tallwood High senior said. Social media will be used to \u201cput it in front of other eyes,\u201d he added. Startup funds would come from an online crowdfunding source.<\/p>\n

Other business ideas included \u201cNews for You,\u201d a news website supported by advertising to allow people from diverse backgrounds to post their opinions, and a unique type of workout headset. The $140 technology product would be promoted by social media influencers.<\/p>\n

Bonds applauded the young entrepreneurs before they headed to other sessions that focused on topics including computer science, mental health, web development, social awareness, the military and technology.<\/p>\n

Bonds, a Christopher Newport University graduate, said he gave of his time because he would have benefited from an event like the summit when he was a youth growing up in the small Virginia town of Bedford. Plus, he enjoyed interacting with the students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was excited they were receptive and really, really interactive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Professions in Mental Health<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Several hundred VBCPS middle and high school students attended the 16th annual African American Male Summit Jan. 20 at Cox High School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mental health therapist Rennel Marshall\u2019s presentations were well-attended. He is the only African American male mental health outpatient therapist at Children\u2019s Hospital of The King\u2019s Daughter\u2019s. His hope is for \u00a0more young black men to consider the profession.<\/p>\n

African American males who come in for first-time treatment rarely return, he noted. \u201cIf they see someone who looks like themselves, a lightbulb may go off.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was glad to provide information to attendees who approached him later asking how to get help for mental health concerns, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and the need for speech therapy.<\/p>\n

Preparing for Financial Success<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
LaMont Henry, right, shared his expertise during the wealth management session during the African American Male Summit at Cox High School. He answered questions from, l-r, Nicholas McIntyre, Styles Clemmons and Amari Hoggard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last session of LaMont Henry\u2019s wealth management seminar was packed.<\/p>\n

The president & CEO of Henry Wealth Management explained that purchasing stocks in the S&P 500, which includes stocks such as Apple, is like \u201cbuying ownership in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students learned the difference between simple and compound interest and were encouraged to \u201cstart saving as soon as you start to earn consistent income.\u201d\u00a0 Learning money management concepts at an early age contributes to financial success later in life, he added.<\/p>\n

One example really caught their attention: Saving $100 a week for 50 years would likely yield $2 million based on an average compound interest of 7.2%.<\/p>\n

\u201cSave from earnings income and invest from excess,\u201d Henry advised. Students asked lots of questions about how to manage their money.<\/p>\n

Henry is a 2006 Cox graduate who was glad to give back to his alma mater. Spreading knowledge to youth is important, he said. \u201cThere\u2019s plenty I wish I knew when I was their age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Princess Anne High basketball player Styles Clemmons wants to pursue a career with the National Basketball Association. \u201cI\u2019m going to have to be good with money,\u201d he said. Styles said the summit provided lots of valuable insight. Collaborating with others on problems helps determine \u201chow we can be better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His teammate Nicholas McIntyre also attended the wealth management session. \u201cI want to save money,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t feel I do that well.\u201d Nicholas attended the summit to experience the \u201cblack excellence culture,\u201d he said. \u201cThe value is only enhanced if the people are here taking in the voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rounding Out the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Panel discussion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The day\u2019s theme \u201cThe Power of Infinite Hope,\u201d resonated throughout the finale of the day. \u201cWe must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope,\u201d said the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. before his 1968 assassination.<\/p>\n

VBCPS Director of Community Engagement Dr. Admon Alexander, Virginia Sen. Aaron Rouse and Virginia House of Representatives Dels. Alex Askew and Michael Feggans led a panel discussion in the auditorium with all attendees.<\/p>\n

Each offered some final words of advice. \u00a0\u201cEnjoy life,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cBe better today than the day before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCelebrate your victories\u201d advised Askew.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach day be true to yourself,\u201d added Feggans.<\/p>\n

\u201cConquer the day and make it your best,\u201d Rouse said.<\/p>\n

Tallwood senior David Osborne was glad he attended the summit. His takeaway included learning about colleges, how music is a great way to express feelings, and taking an idea and making it a reality through entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything is possible if you put your mind to it,\u201d David said.\u00a0 \u201cFollow your dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Several hundred VBCPS middle and high school students attended the 16th annual African American Male Summit Jan. 20 at Cox High School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The 16th annual African American Male Summit was held at Cox High School on Jan. 20. More than 25 community members shared their knowledge with males in grades six through 12.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cindy Butler Focke Marckel \u201cKELO\u201d Bonds is a busy business owner. He is the founder and CEO of Coffee Black, a media and client services agency specializing in entertainment, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":11796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11802"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11810,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11802\/revisions\/11810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}