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Though it was a frigid Saturday morning, a group of high school and middle school students got out of bed early Feb. 9 to learn how to better manage and grow their money. With the area still digging out from a major snowstorm the night before, they received insight, advice and guidance about “needs, wants and desires,” excessive spending, savings and entrepreneurship. 100 Black Men of Syracuse sponsored the financial literacy workshop, which was led by author and financial educator Me’Shae Brooks-Rolling.

	Me'Shae Brooks-Rolling offers some advice to a couple of  100 Black Men mentees following her presentation. Click here  for other photos from the Feb. 9 financial literacy workshop.

 “Teaching our youth to understand and manage their finances provides them with a valuable tool for obtaining future success and sustainability,” said 100 Black Men of Syracuse President Vincent B. Love.

Most of the youth participating in the workshop that day are enrolled in the 100’s manhood training program and the organization’s mentoring groups at Fowler High School and Westside Academy. Other attendees were from Jamesville-DeWitt High School, and several are members of the Junior Frontiers of the Mohawk Valley.

“Our students were prepared and hungry for this kind of information,” said Glenn Williams, Mentoring Committee Chairman for the 100 and program leader for the organization’s manhood training program. “You could see it through their high level of attention and engagement with Mrs. Brooks-Rolling throughout the two-hour workshop.”

The multi-media training room at the South Side Innovation Center, where the 100 Black Men of Syracuse office is located, was the venue for the first in what the organization hopes will be a series of financial literacy workshops to benefit the community it serves.

Be part of the solution. Consider sponsoring a 100 Black Men of Syracuse financial literacy workshop. Contact us at (315) 443-8749 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

From time to time, we hear back from individuals and organizations we work and collaborate with during the year. The following is a recent example.

"Dear 100 Black Men of Syracuse:

"Last year, about 20 youth involved in your organization spent a rainy Saturday in June at Kirk Park helping restore viable habitat along Onondaga Creek. Youth helped haul composted soil, prepare a garden plot, plant a native species wildflower garden and plant approximately 50 native trees and shrubs. Despite the long, hot, dry summer, almost all of these plants survived and are doing well! The participation and work of these boys and young men really made a positive difference."

— Onondaga Creek Conservation Council