Honoré Center gets early Christmas present, receives substantial donation

Texas-based identity protection firm AllClear ID donated $100,000 to the Honoré Center for Undergraduate Student Achievement, an initiative that focuses on developing Black males for classroom leadership, last week.

The Honoré Center recruits young men from disadvantaged backgrounds who are deemed to have character and classroom leadership potential, and outfits them with the tools they need to be successful in college.

Warren Bell, founding director of the Honoré Center, says the ongoing challenge is identifying college-ready young men to become the next generation of Black male classroom leaders.

“We have a local education landscape that is in short supply of qualified Black male educators, resulting in great career opportunities for those young men willing to seize the opportunity we offer them,” Bell said.

Bell began visiting local high schools in October in hopes of finding young men interested in participating in the program. According to Bell, he is searching for young men who want to “make a difference in the lives of young people just like themselves.”

“We underwrite most of their costs to attend college and major in Education at a fully-accredited program right here in our city,” Bell said.

The students receive substantial resources and support for up to five years—including campus housing and meals, a personal computer, textbook vouchers and a monthly $100 stipend—while they complete their degree. The students must agree to serve for a minimum of two years as classroom teachers upon completion of their degrees.

Experts have said that more than 500 new classroom teachers will be needed over the next 10 years in New Orleans. Organizations, such as Teach for America, have already indicated that they can provide only about 150 of those educators within that time frame. The Honoré Center is hoping to fill those future teaching vacancies with “Honoré Men.”

On December 1 and 2, the Honoré Center, which is housed at Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO), welcomed a visit from AllClear ID Founder and CEO Bo Holland. During his visit, Holland presented a $100,000 check to university officials and the Center’s namesake (retired) Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré.

Company officials toured the SUNO campus to witness progress made since being ravaged by Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago. They also spent time hearing personal testimonies from students enrolled in the three-year-old pilot program, which was created to help more young men living in the New Orleans area during the city’s post-Katrina school climate to succeed at the college level before serving their communities as classroom teachers.

It takes nearly $10,000 per year to support one Honore’ scholar’s rent, textbooks, meal plans and other basic needs living on campus. That doesn’t include additional assistance provided as needed for clothing, hygiene supplies and other amenities that the program tries to provide to help the students focus primarily on their academic and personal success.

“We were delighted by Bo Holland’s gesture of support for our efforts,” Honoré said, “because it represents an investment not only in these young men but also in New Orleans’ future classrooms.”

Other major supporters are W.K. Kellogg and the Ford Foundation.

This article originally published in the December 14, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.