Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

A Warm Welcome: 100 Men Greeting extend a hand to Harrisburg students.

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A Harrisburg student leaps high as she is greeted at Ben Franklin Elementary during 100 Men Greeting.

The weather cooperated on this day, the cool temperatures and sunny sky adding to the bright faces and cheery “good mornings” exchanged between students and greeters.

The young learners donned new sneakers, pressed clothes and freshly beaded hair. Some jumped up to meet the hand that greeted them; others tentatively held it out for a tap.

The 10 men standing outside Ben Franklin Elementary on Monday were part of 100 Men Greeting, welcoming students to the first day of school in the Harrisburg School District.

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Jamar Johnson, a graduate of Harrisburg High School, helped coordinate the event. He said he feels that young people only hear about negative and violent things that happen in the city and wanted to offer them an opportunity to see smiling, friendly people as they begin the new year.

“If you bring all these men together, they can be a positive movement,” he said.

The concept is simple. Local men greet students and teachers with high fives and words of encouragement. Johnson said all men, from every walk of life, are invited to participate.

On Monday, men greeted students outside all 11 schools in the district, with the goal of having 10 men at each school. Outside Ben Franklin, a financial adviser, a Vietnam veteran, two state employees, an attorney, a housekeeping manager and a web developer participated.

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Many of the men have worked with Floyd Stokes, the program’s executive director, on other projects, including the American Literacy Council’s 500 Men Reading Week.

This is the second year for the event, and Johnson said that district Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney reached out and asked that they return this year.

While it served as an example of men doing positive things, greeters also started their day at Ben Franklin for another reason.

Calvin Hynson, past PTA president and open gym organizer for Ben Franklin, said he participated because he wants to “show support for the kids and teachers.” As he greeted the students, he admonished them to “get some education and respect your teachers.”

Logan Street resident Charles Ray spoke up from his electric scooter.

“It teaches the kids that we, as a whole, care for them,” he said, adding that his time in Vietnam impressed upon him the need to show kindness at every opportunity.

Students and teachers alike appreciated the morning.

“From a cultural perspective, it’s beyond wonderful to see my brothers greeting the kids,” said 24-year teaching veteran and second-grade teacher Kalem Calien.

Louise Roman thanked the men as she stepped off the sidewalk after bringing her children to school.

“As a single mother raising six kids, to have a male influence that’s not the father is a blessing,” she said,

Ben Franklin Principal Will Towson added the greeting is valuable because “students get to see positive role models on the first day of school.”

The line of students trickled down, and the men began heading off to work, welcoming the stragglers as they went.

“It’s wonderful for fathers and men to take a stand and make a positive impact for children and literacy in the community,” said Nick Linn, who greeted the children, his own two young sons by his side.

Author: Susan Ryder

 

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