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December 9, 2024
An Evanston community organization that provides basketball and cheerleading programs for middle school students received a boost this week when Northwestern University pledged a four-year sponsorship package of $100,000. The Fellowship of Afro-American Men (FAAM), created in 1968, works with children at a time in their lives when they seek nurturing and positive role models outside of the school environment.
"We founded FAAM with the idea of using basketball as a vehicle for teaching self-respect, decision-making and the importance of education,” said FAAM co-founder Bill Logan, the first Black police chief in Evanston’s history. “It is important to give our youth a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves. We thank Northwestern for their generous support and value their partnership in our mission.”
As part of the partnership, Northwestern students, faculty and staff will tutor and mentor FAAM students at sites around Evanston, including the Robert Crown Community Center and the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center. FAAM students also will be able to visit the Northwestern campus frequently throughout the year and take in special events and NCAA games hosted by the University’s varsity sports teams.
FAAM students can participate in a STEM program run by community and University staff that features programs on entrepreneurship, sports and technology, academic support and reading enhancement. They also will receive an account on Northwestern’s STEAMville platform that enables students to track their participation and connect them with other learners through the STEM ecosystem.
