Our People
MenzFit 2018
by Bryan Carter
Classic jazz and sounds of the old school by DJ Head Rush filled the air as I walked to the Conversation Hall, setting the tone for what’s to be expected by Philadelphia’s own MenzFit. Co-hosted by Harry Hairston (NBC10) and Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. for the second year. Attendees were treated to a silent auction, refreshments and tasty appetizers by local business Birdies Biscuits. Our models for the evening were Jack Drummond (Director of the Mayor’s Office of Black Male Engagement), State Representative Morgan Cephas (serving the 192nd Legislative District), Senator Sharif Street, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown, Councilwoman Helen Gym (women’s winner of 2017’s “Who Wore It Best”) and last but not least, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. (2017’s Men’s winner of “Who Wore It Best”).
Owned and operated by Rhonda Willingham, MenzFit has been around for over ten years, enhancing men from all walks of life plagued by setbacks, mishaps and challenges all of us have endured or succumbed to. Despite their client’s obstacles, MenzFit pushes onward, upgrading our male peers while allowing them to embrace a sense of self they may have shied away from in previous years.
“I’m excited. This is our 11th year and our 3rd time for our annual event. It’s always a lot of fun when people come out to support an important cause that changes lives, families and communities.” – Rhonda Willingham, CEO of MenzFit
I personally enjoyed the event. I stood there, grinning to myself that someone saw a problem and acted on solving it. I think about the moments where my attire wasn’t the best and how wearing aging street/professional wear made me feel. To our male readers, have you had a moment where you felt embarrassed about your clothing, shoes, hair, or simply what you looked like? Maybe you needed a cut, new footwear or something upgraded in your arsenal. If you never experienced the inability to enhance yourself, consider yourself blessed.
However today? Now? I understand why the clothes makes the man. It’s something about looking smooth, sharp and fresh that does something to a man. It’s not the same feeling of getting a haircut. You KNOW you look good and the validation from random strangers helps to bring out our confidence.
As the evening drew closer to the fashion show, I was able to chat with attendees about the event: “It’s more of a hand up than a hand out. The moment I stepped into the office I felt a department store setting. Those mental aspects are important and the folks helping are just as important. Sometimes the level of services we give people is not what they could be. You can make people feel like they’re the men who get fitted at Men’s Wearhouse. That’s what stuck out to me first.” – Shani Newton
“This is my second year attending. I support MenzFit because their work is very important on a personal level. I remember when my father was down and out and having a suit is what changed his life.” – Jose Aguirre
Jay Amin and Malcolm Jenkins, Co-Owners of Damari Saville
What I liked most about the event was the fashion show and learning about the socioeconomic upgrades each client received. We heard testimony from one of the gentlemen explaining his plight, the seriousness of his dedication and how the support made him feel about himself:
“I did 32 yrs in prison. I heard about MenzFit and how they’re preparing men to re-enter society. I took the workshops. If anyone thinks I look good or feel good, that’s because I do. Fatherhood, economics – they don’t just put you in a suit. They build up the man wearing the suit. Once I finish with the program, I have the chance to mentor someone else.”
The biggest takeback from the evening: pay it forward. Damari Saville, co-owned by Jay Amin and Philadelphia Eagle Malcolm Jenkins, sponsored clients a week worth of suits once they were able to secure job placement. By far, that had to be the most important aspect of the evening. Men looking out for men – Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.
I couldn’t help myself but to see the infamous Teresa Lundy of TML Communications, handling the event management for the show and asked why she’s invested in the organization, “For me, it’s about being a part of the overall impact non-profits need to function effectively. As a CEO, I tell others you can always find ways to be of use to service others, you just have to be willing to make the connection.”
Once we reached the fashion portion of the event I couldn’t contain myself. I was excited to see Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. because he and I were wearing the exact same colors. I just knew he was going to win, especially as he styled, profiled and excited the crowd to Drake’s “Nice For What”. However, when my gaze came upon Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown I knew she was going to win too. Councilwoman Brown’s stage performance combined with the strong red dress and fur coat she was wearing sealed the deal. Shortly after the fashion show the winners were announced. As I predicted, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. and Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown both won, with Councilman Jones keeping his crown for a second year.
For additional coverage checkout the Philadelphia Sun here.
Thank you to the sponsors for helping to ensure the success of MenzFit’s “Who Wore It Best”.
Photography by Brian Hunt, owner of Ethimo Foto
Sponsors and Supporters: Damari Saville, PECO Energy, MyPhillyLawyer, IVY Creative, Johnathan M. Cohen LLC, TML Communications, Coca Cola, The Philadelphia Sun, and AmeriHealth Caritas
Lonyo Holmes is the 59 year old business owner of Q&A Wholesale Smoke Shop, the only African American owned smoke shop in the city, located at 2749 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19134, the heart of the Kensington epidemic. Along side his wife Tiesha Chandler, they celebrated 8 years in October 2022, while defending his turf from would-be thieves, and illegal solicitors. Combined with the setback of having his store robbed during the pandemic and failing to secure all but a PPA loan for his business, he’s felt everything. To this day he’s struggles to pay rent due to the economic side effects of an unchecked drug epidemic that deters those interested in learning more about this unique community space.
“During the pandemic one of my folks hit my phone and told me “yo, someone broke into your store. They broke in through the window”. So, me and my wife Tiesha go check it out… Man, they hit my displays, shelves, they cleaned me out. They left me with over 20,000 dollars in losses.”
Long before 2022, Lonyo opened his store to build and promote events by community members. So far he’s held shows around spoken word, and hip-hop, while hosting givebacks to the community, meet and greets and more. “Everyday I’m fighting for my livelihood. If I don’t open this shop, I don’t eat.”
Despite the challenges, the fight to survive lives on. These days Mr. Holmes spends his time selling food outside to keep the rent paid. “I started selling more food and water ice because that’s the only reason people were coming to my store. I gotta do something if no one is coming here to even buy a lighter”.
One of Philadelphia’s local celebrities, DJ Dior, found inspiration at Q&A, using it as space to provide food for the homeless and a give back with donations provided by Unapologetically Imperfect and The YMCA (North Philly Branch).
Mr Holmes continues to innovate his space, despite his environmental challenges. This past yr he’s added a stage, speakers and more for those blooming artist, both visual and musical. “This area is still a great space. The sound is good, the people are good and spirits here are good as well.“
Bryan Carter: What kind of work do you do in the community?
Lonyo Holmes: We feed the community as much as possible, primarily Friday and Saturday with our nonprofit Samaritans of Service. If we see someone in dire need, we’re here to help.
BC: What are you doing, or considering to rebuild your business?
LH: We are considering a way back – come to our establishment, get ya hair cut (Mr. Holmes is a certified barber), get your ID, or gently used clothes to get employed so folks can get on their feet. We also work with Take Back Philly and Momma Love Soulfood with a Twist where we give out large platters of food. DJ Dior was instrumental in meeting Alicia Joyner, CEO of Take Back Philly. Start between 4:30 and 5:30pm for an hr or until the food is gone. The donations we receive from The Rock Ministries and Richards and Friends United in the Community allows us to bless the rest of the ppl in line. We also deliver to different clothing outlets around the Aramingo area, and to orgs who share our donations with their audience.
BC: How can others get involved?
LH: I’ll tell you how to help our people and our city… Show up. We’re out here every Friday, 11am to 2pm unloading trucks, packing cars, delivers etc. and any help from you would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to support Mr. Holmes and his community work, check out his event space, and more? Please visit 2749 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19134 or call (267) 584-8354.
Go to school. Get a good education. Get a good job and open a bank account. Does this sound familiar? Most of us heard this from our parents. Most of us have been indoctrinated to believe that this formula would lead us to our dream life. How has that worked out? I refer to this as a covert poverty mindset. Our parents taught us this because that’s all they knew. If we don’t learn something different then we will most likely teach this to our children, and that covert poverty mindset will linger in our communities for at least another generation. Now, more than ever, we need effective and relevant financial literacy education.
- Establish an emergency fund: You should have 3-6 months of your financial obligations saved up for the purpose of protecting against unforeseen events. Studies show that more than half of American families have less than $1000 in savings and therefore struggle to survive the occurrence of even a minor financial emergency. (CNBC.com, “Here’s How Much Money Americans Have in Their Savings Accounts,” September 13, 2017)
- Get proper income protection: The industry refers to it as life insurance. I prefer the term income protection because many people believe that insurance will repair or replace the item that is insured. However, life insurance can not and will not replace a life. It will replace income. Many families lost loved ones due to COVID-19 and since many of those lost were not properly covered, their families had to endure an additional hardship trying to finance the cost of final services for their loved one.
- The last concept that I work to teach families is, “Pay yourself first.” By that I mean prioritize and put money away for retirement. Learning concepts like the “high cost of waiting” and the “time value of money” help create the necessary urgency around investing. True financial freedom occurs when your investment income matches or exceeds that of your earned income. 75% of Americans admit to wishing that they had started planning for retirement earlier than they did. (2016 Wells Fargo Retirement Study)
When I work with families, I use these concepts, along with some others: like the rule of 72 and dollar cost averaging, to help them. I’ve found that many people because of the lack of information are unable to take advantage of, and benefit from the knowledge of the rules of the money game. It doesn’t matter what game you play, if you do not know the rules you are a lot less likely to win. Therefore educating families about the strategies to win, positions them in a much better place to do so. I believe the solution to better finances starts with education. The next step is to develop a plan and lastly to get a coach to help you implement and stick to the plan.
There are financial coaches, like myself, who are actively looking for individuals and families that want to succeed at the money game. Actively looking for people who are willing to open their minds to trying something that may be different. In this regard, financial health is very similar to physical health. When you need to assess or verify that your physical health is in order, you go see a doctor or health care professional for a checkup. They may ask you to change your diet or prescribe some medication to help remedy or enhance your condition. When your finances are in need of a check up, you need to go see a financial professional. They may ask you to change some of your spending habits or put you on a plan that will help or remedy your financial situation. As a parent I feel very strongly that you have to model for your children the importance of appropriate financial planning and to start creating positive financial habits at an early age. Sean Covey says in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “First you make your habits, then your habits make you.” When children and young adults begin to incorporate the strategies mentioned above, they maximize the time value of their money and more importantly create habits that become lifestyle.
Asante Sana,
Marc L. Wilson
Fresh Prince of Finance
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