“There has been a marked difference in my life,” said Jacques A. DeGraff, a 46-year-old head of a Manhattan construction and development company, who chartered the bus. “It has renewed my commitment to some of my existing activities and has led me to take on new challenges.”
Specifically, Mr. DeGraff said, he has worked on a program, scheduled to begin in February, under which members of One Hundred Black Men, a civic group he belongs to, will volunteer to serve as mentors for students at Roosevelt High School in the Bronx.
Mr. DeGraff also said he has set up a meeting for January with leaders of One Hundred Black Men and representatives of other black civic and fraternal groups to discuss the need for black foster parents.
“We will introduce everyone to the problems of going through the bureaucracy of becoming foster parents,” Mr. DeGraff said. “We want to make sure that we follow up on the commitments we made at the march.”
NY TIMES: Answering the March’s Call;More Community Involvement by Black Men
