Image via Kollin Washington

By: Rece Allen, Associate Sports Producer 

The Morehouse College National Alumni Association (MCNAA) is set to hold a community outreach event called The First Five Hundred for the home-opener this weekend . Over 500 students from Atlanta middle and high schools will visit Morehouse as the Maroon Tigers face Miles College at B.T Harvey Stadium on Senior Day for the first home game of the season on Oct. 14.

The First Five Hundred initiative was started to give kids a chance to experience the Morehouse and HBCU culture. Morehouse has built relationships with schools and community centers in Atlanta to make this opportunity happen.

MCNAA has a continuous partnership with the YMCAs in the Atlanta area according to 1988 Morehouse alum Michael Levesque, Executive Director of MCNAA. The 500 students coming to the game are also coming from YMCAs, local organizations, sports teams and more. 

Mira Donaldson, a volunteer from Spelman College helping in the First Five Hundred Community Outreach, explained when she grew up she was not familiar with HBCUs. She raved on the importance for kids of color to experience the culture an HBCU has to offer at an early age.

“Hopefully, we can provide a welcoming environment for them and set the standard for Black individuals chasing after a goal. We want to show them they can do whatever they put their minds to,” she said.

The partnership with the YMCAs has several different focuses that all circulate around the community. MCNAA looks to bring Black collegiate perspectives and mentorship to grade school children and also prioritize community service in these spaces.  

MCNAA set up The First Five Hundred Community Outreach to not only provide kids a taste of the Morehouse culture, but serve as a way to fill up the stands and promote support for the football team. 

Ade Abney is the Chief of Staff of MCNAA and a 2017 Morehouse graduate. 

“We also want to fill up the stands and seats for our football games. We want to promote a culture of supporting the teams. We understand the record of our team, but we still want to promote that type of culture,” Abney said.

The students will also have activities around the stadium to do, along with being able to tour the campus with volunteers from the Morehouse community and Alumni Association.   

“I want students to learn about the Morehouse culture. I want students to be impressed when they come on campus. I want them to understand that we are a part of a larger community of Atlanta, Georgia as well, but also blacks across America,” Abney said.

He also believes this event should be repeated in the future and become a tradition for every home game. 

“I think we should repeat it for every home game. I think we should include more of the Atlanta community in the things we have going on, on campus,” he said.

The First Five Hundred will not only help kids in Atlanta learn about Morehouse, but will also provide more support for the football team by bringing more people to watch the game. This can bring more exposure to Morehouse football and work towards the goal of the community outreach event, which is creating a supporting culture around Morehouse. 

Copy Edited by: Auzzy Byrdsell, Editor in Chief