Making It Matter
He's been on both sides and knows how hard it can be when your parent is in jail. That's why we're proud to recognize Michael Bond as one of our 2008 Upstate Black History Makers. Michael was raised in church and knew the difference from right and wrong. But when he grew older Michael found it easier to put that aside and get involved in things he isn't proud of. And as a single parent, one of the hardest moments of Michael's life was being sentenced and incarcerated on his son's fifth birthday. Michael did his time and came out a man determined to make the lessons he had learned count. After relocating from New Jersey to Anderson, South Carolina Michael became active in his community and was proud to serve on Clemson University's "Building Dreams" project, a mentoring program for children of prisoners.When he was approached to take over as Executive Director of "We Stand For Kids," Michael was honored. We Stand For Kids (www.wsfk.org) is a five year old, community based, not-for-profit organization based in Anderson, SC, that mentors children of incarcerated parents.
WSFK runs an after-school program that provides tutoring and activities with the help of student volunteers. Michael credits Dr. Evan Whitaker and the students of Anderson University with much of the success of the program, noting that many of the students who are required to volunteer only eight hours for their courses have donated as much as 70 hours of their time to help.
In addition, Michael organizes monthly birthday party outings for the children, who may not be able to afford a party otherwise. In the summer, they offer a 10-week all day summer camp. Last year, after a recent gang intervention, Michael was able to organize a 17 & under boys' basketball team that competed in a Tri-County league. Michael noted that it is activities like these that help keep kids off the streets.
Michael hopes to continue to build a network of resources for families of those who are incarcerated. He wants to be able to work with other agencies to provide educational, employment, and caregiver support resources to all who need it.
Michael has a wife, Paula, and four children: Jamal, Malcolm, Chastity & Chancellor. Michael is an active member of Valley Brook Outreach Baptist Church. Michael is a member of the African American Leadership Council in Anderson. For his desire to help children when they need someone to look up to, 107.3 JAMZ is proud to salute Michael Bond as a 2008 Upstate Black History Maker.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Music Guide®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.