Thirty-one African American high school students from the L.A.M.P. (Leadership, Achievement, Management, Professional) Mentor Program arrived early at Pasadena Church on a mission to help those affected by the Eaton wildfire.
The L.A.M.P. Mentor Program is the social action component of Gamma Zeta Boule and the principal activity of the Gamma Zeta Boule Foundation (GZBF) of Greater San Gabriel Valley. Outfitted in t-shirts emblazoned with the L.A.M.P. logo, the group was greeted by Pasadena Church Pastor Kerwin Manning, who led them in prayer.
Days before the event, Gamma Zeta Boule President Ramsey Jay, Jr. expressed to the boys on a Zoom call the importance of rising to meet the challenge of this critical moment, especially for Altadena, where generations of African American families have lived and lost homes.
“The Calvary is not coming to save us,” Jay declared. “We are the Calvary, and we must save ourselves.”
Joined by more than 80 L.A.M.P.-connected volunteers and GZB mentors, the Grainger Corporation, and a Denny’s Mobile Relief Diner with a fully functioning kitchen that serves free meals to communities affected by natural disasters, the mentees got to work in a coordinated effort unloading trucks, setting up tables, arranging donations, and distributing much-needed toiletry kits, household goods, school supplies, clothes, blankets, diapers, food, gift cards, and more. Some directed traffic, others placed water pallets in car trunks and restocked supplies. By day’s end, the group had serviced over 100 cars as they drove through the church parking lot for five hours nonstop.
For St. John Bosco High School senior L.A.M.P. mentee John McCovey, the donation drive was an extension of lessons he’s learned in school – to be kind, generous, and charitable.
“Though my family wasn’t directly affected, I know several families that were, so it meant a lot to me to do my part to help Altadena,” John said.
Fellow mentee and SJB classmate Jamar Taylor saw it as an opportunity to grow. “The drive helped me do what L.A.M.P. teaches us, to bless others as they start over,” noted Jamar.
Mentee Darren Wyche, a junior at Rise Kohyang School said he felt compelled to be there and that it was “an honor to give back with my L.A.M.P. brothers.”
The show of support by these young men also touched the mentors who led them. “Never have I seen as many young men working so diligently, so joyously, and so unselfishly as a unit of brothers as I saw in the young men that day,” said GZB mentor Dr. Earl Charles.
“No one had to remind them why they were at the Pasadena Church, they knew exactly why and exhibited the ‘L’ in L.A.M.P. – leadership, by doing what needed to be done,” he added.
Charles also noted the many who came to him to express how impressed they were by how the mentees carried themselves throughout the day.
“We often say that L.A.M.P. Mentees are here to change the narrative, and that was never more evident than what we witnessed and demonstrated that day. I accepted their praises, but I was not surprised. We (the mentors) see this in these young men every time we are together,” he said.
President Jay echoed those praises with a mantra he has instilled in the boys often -“Excellence is the standard, and the standard is excellence.” After this day, he added to that tenet.
“In challenging circumstances, excellence remains the standard, and the standard remains excellence, and this excellence is all the more required when circumstances are challenging. Saturday was a perfect demonstration of this standard being practiced by the mentees,” stated the president.
To learn more, get involved, or donate, visit www.gzbfoundation.org
