The Concerned Christian Men (CCM), founded in October 1996 by George D. Glenn, a Harvard-educated native Chicagoan (graduate of Senn High School). CCM’s initial and continuing focus has been to provide strong "Black Male" leadership and guidance to young Black boys living on the South Side of Chicago to assist them in becoming positive, contributing members of their communities.
CCM’s Flagship activity is the monthly Man-Boy Breakfast that over 29,000 men and boys have attended since 1996 (129 breakfasts). Since April 2002 the breakfasts are held at Simeon Career Academy, a state-of-the-art vocational and academic high school. We average over 370 men and boys for our Man-Boy breakfasts.
The speakers at our monthly breakfasts over the years have included several of Chicago’s notable political, business and civic leaders, including:
• 44th USA President Barack Obama
• Don Thompson, President McDonalds USA
• Steven Rogers, Kellogg School of Business Professor
• Frank M. Clark, President & CEO of ComEd
• Dr. Damon T. Arnold, Director of Illinois Public Health Dept.
Since 1996 CCM has awarded over $100,000 in college scholarships. Sixty-two young men have received college scholarships, twenty-three have graduated and all but five of the other students are still in school working on their degrees. Other activities include
• Over thirty field trips per year attending the ten major museums and colleges and professional basketball, hockey and soccer games.
• An annual oratory contest. One hundred young men have participated in our oratory contests, some competing and winning other contests throughout the country.
• An annual stock market competition.
• Martial Arts, led by Shihan Larry Tankson, a 13 time World Champion and 9th degree black belt martial arts expert.
• Vocational Saturday, held annually at Simeon Career Academy. We expose over 200 boys to potential careers in culinary, computers, graphic art, computer assisted design, electrical and auto body repair
• 3rd Annual John E. Everett Awards Dinner, held in June at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. We honor over forty boys for their Outstanding Accomplishments during the year, as well as volunteers, School of the Year and a service award for the outstanding business leader..
• The 3rd Annual Thompkins-Stimley Summer Camp, held in August 2009 in Allegan, MI. Forty of our boys earn scholarships to attend the Camp along with ten CCM men, a life-altering experience. Please view the Video to get a taste of the experience
2008-2009 was notable for the unveiling of the CCM headquarters. HQ is in a beautiful office building at 820 East 87th Street, suite 203, Chicago, IL. 60619. All corporate meetings and bible seminars are held at HQ with the promise of greater utility..
2009 was a fantastic step-up year for CCM and for our boys. And, we are planning for another Quantum Leap Forward for 2010! New programs to be implemented include:
• Career Exploration, exposing our boys to potential career paths in both culinary and computer assisted design.
• Academic Excellence, a tutoring program with a focus on improving our boys’ math skills.
The Chicago Public Schools, under the direction of CEO Ron Huberman and Board President Rufus Williams, are willing partners with CCM, contributing financial assistance as well as extensive in-kind services from the Board of Education in support of our programs.
