Fundraiser held to empower children at charter school

For a fifth year, 100 Black Men of Las Vegas and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Las Vegas Chapter, held a joint fundraiser to buy toys and bicycles for students at The 100 Academy of Excellence.

The 100 Black Men, who founded the charter school in the historic west Las Vegas, have spent thousands of hours tutoring and mentoring its students over the years.

Programs for both groups, which have affiliate chapters throughout the United States and in other countries, focus on mentoring, education, health and wellness and economic development.

More than 200 people attended the party Dec. 19 at the Elks Lodge on Sahara Avenue. Guests were greeted in the lobby by men and women from both organizations. Amid decorations that included Christmas trees, Christmas lights and a white sleigh, guests dined on an early Christmas dinner. The buffet included baked chicken, turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, salad, peach cobbler and gourmet fried rice.

“We are all about empowering our young people to have a better life,” said National Coalition of 100 Black Women of Las Vegas President Sylvia Allen.

Mardana Hunter, a teacher at the 100 Academy, added: “I think having mentors from the 100 Black Women and 100 Black Men really shapes the students. I can see the difference in the way the kids dress.”

They also show more respect for themselves and others, she added. Hunter has twin boys who attend fifth grade at the academy.

Some of the guests included Ida Gaines, Berl Warren, Beverly Dabney, Teresa Bolden, Arthur Williams, Bette Bowden, Floyd Shepherd, Joe and Marguerite Jones, Pat Kendricks, Kenneth Pearson and wife Toni, Betty Jean Wilkinson, Toni Pettaway, Harvey Williams, Cynthia Mosley, and Glen and Cynthia Thompson.

Winston Sanders, Emergency DJ-Sound, provided the music as guests hit the dance floor for plenty of line dancing.

A flat-screen TV, wine and gift cards were some of the raffle items. A trip to anywhere in the world Southwest flies was part of the live auction. Betty and her husband, Ray Wilkinson, won the bid.

“It is wonderful to have a community of like-minded people in the 100 Black Men who all want to help our young people grow and develop into good citizens,” said Joe Jones, incoming president of 100 Black Men of Las Vegas.

The Wendell P. Williams and Jo Mackey schools also receive support from the 100 Black Men.

Other guests included Leonard and Jeri Ratliff, Ted and Bess Mason, Lillian Mitchell, Henry and Sharon Taylor, Bob and Minnie Daniel, Bill High, Connie Sykes, Gwen Rogers, Patty Hester, Ken Kennard, Arnold Fauria, James and Rita Wade, and Ron and Judy Jackson Jones.

The motto of 100 Black Men can sum up what both groups hope to accomplish in the schools. It is, “What they see, is what they’ll be.”

The event was sponsored by the Sands Corp.