FEDERALSBURG — On July 20, about 80 people gathered at the Federalsburg Volunteer Fire Company banquet hall to recognize Men For Change’s People of the Year.
The Federalsburg nonprofit’s slogan is “changing our community through service.” They are geared toward mentoring youth and trying to help them make productive choices. This was the 14th year of the recognition awards.
There were six people honored for their work: Federalsburg’s District One Councilman Brandy James, Principal of Federalsburg Elementary School Stephanie Brohawn, coach and volunteer William Eric Smith, community activist Cynthia Fletcher, Haitian community liaison Cederick Turner and Roberta Butler of the NAACP.
Betty Jarman, the media spokesperson for Men For Change, said, “The keynote speaker for this event was Vaughn Evans Sr. He was the principal of the North Dorchester Middle School in Hurlock.
She said, “The Men For Change theme this year was ‘Let’s Get Busy,’” which featured heavily in Evans’ address.
In his speech, Evans urged the audience to get busy doing productive, positive things to support youth with the resources they need to become successful.
“They are our future leaders and enterprising entrepreneurs,” he said.
He said that the essence of his message aligns with Colossians 3:23-24, which encourages community service and giving back. The bible verse starts, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”
James, whose son was in the program years ago, said she is something of a “behind the scenes person” for the nonprofit.
“I am just part of a puzzle, and it takes more than me to push the wheel. It is a community effort,” she said. “It was exciting to be acknowledged, but it was more exciting and more rewarding to see the others who were acknowledged.
“So much greatness being acknowledged — magnificent work. It is because of those individuals that so much goodness is happening in Federalsburg,” James said.
Recognizing these volunteers is part of MFC’s mission. They want the community to know what is happening.
“This is important because we want the broader community to know the people that are doing outstanding volunteer, work without any fanfare. These people are not looking for recognition. We want them to know that we appreciate the work that they are doing,” Jarman said.
State Sen. Johnny Mautz (R-Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, Wicomico) made citations for all the honorees, though he was unable to attend the event in person.
A recent graduate who participated in the program was also honored Saturday evening. 2024 Colonel Richardson High School graduate Elson Davis was presented with a certificate.
Jarman said, “The event was well attended by young people, young Black men. I thought that was a wonderful thing that they were there to support the honorees.”
Jarman also took the opportunity to highlight an upcoming partnership between Men for Change and another local organization, the Federalsburg Activity Center.
“We are also partnering with the Federalsburg Activity Center and their after school mentoring program and other activities going on at the center,” Jarman said. “It is still in construction, but we hope it will be open by September.”
This project, still under construction, is repurposing the Dollar General in Federalsburg. Men For Change is still open to receiving donations.
“Once the center is open, we will need more volunteers,” Jarman said.
Most Popular
Comments / 0