In what is known as 100 Men Welcome, male volunteers lined the halls of Foundation Charter Academy in Trenton, New Jersey, to encourage students arriving at school.
The delightful event occurs on the 100th day of the school year, and the volunteers are community members of all different demographics who just want to encourage the young scholars to be inspired, reports The Trenton Daily.
Once students filed through the soul-train line of positive reinforcement, they were herded into the gym for an assembly that included guest speakers and a rousing rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
The assembly also included powerful call-and-response affirmations between the students and the volunteers.
According to NJ.com, elementary school leader of student culture Eric Bullock led an affirmation that stated, "I will follow YOU!… Show me the way!… Keep me protected!"
Primary school Principal Natasia Cooper didn't hesitate to let the volunteers know how important showing up was for her students.
"I hope all of the men in here know how much of a part you play in the lives of our scholars especially our young girl scholars, so thank you so much for all that you do and for coming here today and showing your support," Cooper said.
Rev. Darrell LaRue Armstrong offered a closing prayer.
"God, let these young men and young women grow up to be game-changers, and world changers, not only to change our country but to change our world," Armstrong said. "And may it start right here by changing our city and our neighborhoods… May they always have what they need."
100+ men converge on Foundation Academy Charter School, Trenton, NJ.. Congratulate them on a 100 days in school. pic.twitter.com/iOpOmfpYFf— AEI INS. BROKERAGE (@aeiinsurance) February 3, 2017
Similar initiatives have taken place throughout the country.
In 2015, AJ Johnson of Connecticut orchestrated the “Calling All Brothers” initiative in an effort to combat racial stereotypes, according to A Plus. He called for Black men, dressed to the nines in suits, to greet kids for the first day of school. The foundation is still going strong and welcomed kids to school for the 2019-2020 school year.
“In an urban community, people say that Black men [aren't] valued or there aren't enough Black men doing something. I wanted to prove everyone wrong," Johnson said.
Hundreds of Black men showed up to a Washington elementary school to greet students in 2016, according to The Seattle Times. The men were encouraged to wear their work attire, and everything from police uniforms to academic regalia was represented in the crowd.
Additionally, in 2017, dozens of mostly male volunteers showed up to greet students for their first day at Las Vegas’ Kelly Elementary School. Principal Alaina Criner estimated that 9 out of 10 of her students were raised by female family members and maybe didn’t have a positive male role model, according to KTNV.
Criner said she brought in the volunteers, "just so they have someone to look up to, someone that maybe looks like them, or someone else in their life as a role model."
Watch 100 Men encourage their community's young scholars below:
