Men throughout the Virgin Islands are asked to join fathers in cities across the U.S. and around the world in the Million Father March and Rally and the Back to School Day of Prayer.
The Million Father March is sponsored nationally by the Black Star Project, a group that encourages parents and the community at large to be active in their children’s education. An estimated 600,000 men in 475 cities participated in 2008. This year, an estimated 800,000 men from 550 cities are expected to participate. The Million Father March also provides an escort of safety, support, and encouragement to children of all ages on their first-day-of-school.
Events in the Virgin Islands are sponsored by by Mothers Against Guns and the Stop the Bleeding Foundation.
Rallies will be held Saturday at 4 p.m. in Sunny Isle Shopping Center on St. Croix, and at 6 p.m. in Emancipation Garden on St. Thomas.
Gov. John deJongh Jr. and Lt Gov. Gregory Francis will take part in the rallies, which will feature motivational speakers. At the end, fathers in attendance will be asked to pledge to accompany their children to the first day of school on Monday.
Sunday is the Back to School Day of Prayer in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Clergy in the churches of the Virgin Islands will lead their congregations in prayer for returning students here and abroad and pray for the fathers and father figures to be with their children during the school year.
On Monday, organizers ask thousands of fathers and father figures to accompany their children to school and continue to be involved in their children’s education during the school year.
While the event specifically mentions fathers, organizers hope that stepfathers, godfathers, mentors and other father figures will attend the rallies, take the pledge and accompany their children to school Monday.
“Gang recruitment, bullying and random violence go way down on any day that a group of men are at a school,” said Phillip Jackson, executive director of the Black Star Project.
According to Jackson, children whose fathers take an active role in their educational lives earn better grades, score higher on tests, enjoy school more and are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college. Additionally, children have fewer behavior problems when fathers listen to and talk with them regularly and are involved in their lives.
For more information, visit the Mothers Against Guns website or the Black Star Project website.
