Pro-Vision, Inc. has made a difference in the lives of young men, young women, and their families in the Sunnyside community for more than 32 years.
That work and Pro-Vision’s mission will be celebrated at its Fiesta De Gala at 6 p.m., Thursday, April 20 at the Forest Club of Houston, located at 9950 Memorial Dr, Houston, Texas, 77024.
The event will also honor Board Chairman, Alan Hassenflu, for his passionate support of Pro-Vision. Hassenflu is the general partner, managing principal and CEO of Fidelis Realty Partners, Ltd. (Fidelis), and he has supported Pro-Vision for more than 30 years.
Located in the southeast Houston Sunnyside neighborhood, Pro-Vision Inc. has impacted the lives of more than 6,000 young people since its founding. It began as an after-school program servicing young men in an 800-square-foot rented space,
and it has grown into a multifaceted organization on 60 acres servicing both young men and young women. Pro-Vision initiative includes the Character Development Program, the Pro-Vision Academy, Pro-Vision McNair Urban Farm, and a housing program.
Funds raised at the gala will support Pro-Vision’s effort to create generational change in families and the Sunnyside community.
Pro-Vision Inc was founded by Roynell Young, former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro cornerback, in 1990 with a vision for developing Houston’s often forgotten and overlooked young people.
Young, an Alcorn State University graduate, enjoyed a nine-year career in the National Football League. The Eagles selected him from Alcorn State University, in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft. After enjoying a successful football career, Young retired in 1988 to pursue his passion for youth and community development.
“When I think about it, and I don’t want to sound metaphysical, but Pro-Vision was birthed in me when I was 11. I was born into this world with Joyce and Wallace Young. The second birth occurred when I realized who I was and what I was put here to do,” Young said, reflecting on the end of his football playing days and the beginnings of Pro-Vision.
“We did not start with this hypothesis of becoming an educational institution. We just wanted to go out and help kids be better than what they were. And the reason Pro-Vision exists is to address the deficiencies in the community in which we are located,” Young added.
“I know where our students are coming from. I know the streets that they have to walk down every day to get to Pro-Vision. At the same time, I don’t focus on that. Our staff doesn’t focus on where they’re coming from, we focus on where they’re going,” shared Pro-Vision superintendent Andre Credit.
Recent Pro-Vision graduate Keon Clarke is a testament to Pro-Vision’s focus on where their students are going.
“(Living in) poverty, it was hard; going from house to house, not being in school for the whole summer, it was hard for me and kind of took a toll on me because you shouldn’t have to go through that as a kid,” reflected Clarke, whose grandmother enrolled him in Pro-Vision after he experienced difficulties at multiple schools.
“At Pro-Vision, I met a coach named Coach KP (Kenneth Patrick). And he introduced me to the Manhood Development Program. He told me he liked the way I carry myself as a person and as a young man. By Coach KP being a mentor to me, it taught me to be a mentor to others.”
Pro-Vision Inc. has created a new paradigm for fighting poverty, intended to overcome the limits of traditional approaches. Its model focuses intensively on the social, health, and educational development of the collective community; as well as emphasizes the importance of individualized self-actualization in the fight against poverty. Pro-Vision provides all-around services that improve the lives of individuals, provide opportunities for families, and revitalize neighborhood environments.
“I think a person should invest in a young person in the Manhood Development Program because I think our job as adults is always to give back. I think our job as adults too is to understand that we had people that cared for us. We had people that mentored us. We had people that took the chance on us… And I think that’s how the world goes around. You invest in a person. That person invests in another person. Then you have a holistic, healthy community,” Patrick said.
For more information, visit https://provision-inc.org/.
