The Power of Service Learning-- Tony Sanneh's Story

 

Since 2003 Tony Sanneh has been running the Tony Sanneh Foundation whose mission is to assemble a supportive network within the community that provides positive environments for urban youth to become positive and productive adults.  When we caught up with Tony, he had just finished the foundation’s Gala 4 Goals event with Bob Bradley, coach of the US Men’s National Team as their special guest and honoree.  Tony and his staff and volunteers, without the support of any large corporate sponsors, pulled off an incredible event that included over 600 guests, and raised over $50,000 to support young people in the Twin Cities community.  Tony was excited about the success of the event, but is not resting on his laurels.  “I grew up with my communities constantly helping and supporting me. There was never any doubt in my mind that I would come back to Minnesota and offer that same support to others.”

When asked about his records and accomplishments in soccer, Tony is very modest. Tony mentions that he thinks he held some records for goals and assists in high school and/or college, but that he was sure that they had all been broken by now. They have not—those records are still standing.  Tony was a two time all-state high school soccer player. Tony was a collegiate All-American at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he was, and continues to be, the school’s all-time leading scorer with 53 goals and 32 assists, a record that has held firm since 1994.  Tony played 43 times for the US National Team and was one of three players to play every minute of all five games for the US in the 2002 World Cup.

But perhaps Tony’s modesty comes from the fact that he firmly believes that his success is not his alone.  “I grew up with my communities help and support.  My dad is from West Africa and I went there for a visit when I was six years old and learned and fell in love with the game of soccer.  Back in Minnesota, I received support in many different forms, in order to grow and learn as a soccer player, a student, a leader.”  Despite the support, Tony faced many challenges on his way to success.  “It was tough to get national visibility.  Soccer has not historically been an inner city sport and there certainly haven’t historically been a lot of soccer players from Minnesota. Yet the amazing support from the community made it possible for my teammates and I to learn and grow to such a level that we won the US Soccer U19 Championship in 1990, and almost a dozen of us from my high school went on to become professional soccer players. And I’m even more proud to say that we all learned from our experience and give back to our communities in order to help the next generation of young people growing up.”

After going to Wisconsin-Milwaukee on a soccer scholarship with his best friend, Tony joined the MLS DC United in 1996 where he helped his team win two consecutive championships.  Tony played professionally from 1994-2009 but is thrilled to be back in Minnesota providing young people with service learning youth development opportunities.  His foundation offers soccer camps for children ages 6-12 and over 30 free camps around the Twin Cities that help navigate the college scholarship process for promising student athletes.  The Tony Sanneh Foundation surrounds the young people with positive role models and coaches to help them grow.  We asked Tony what he thinks makes someone a ‘Smart Guy’ or a ‘Smart Girl’?  “Definitely leadership.  Knowing what your values are and doing things that align with those values.  Doing the right thing when it’s not the easiest thing to do,” said Tony.  “I think I have always worked hard to gain people’s respect.  I went one step at a time at each level.  I did what I needed to do to get on the team, and then focused on what I needed to do to stay on the team.  Smart Guys’ show people that they are competent and a team player and people will want you on their team.”


When asked who he looked up to while growing up, Tony cited a variety of individuals. “What all the individuals, athletes, groups that I looked up to had in common was excellence.  I was always impressed and engaged by people who had ‘something special’, people who exemplified excellence.”  Now, Tony says that the Twin Cities communities are who inspires him.  The diversity of the Twin Cities, the ongoing philanthropic spirit, gives him inspiration for his work at the Tony Sanneh Foundation.   

In addition to his work in Minnesota, Tony is often called upon to advocate for social equality and youth development internationally and he gladly lends a hand to his international family.  Tony believes in the power of service and will continue to be a powerful catalyst for change and growth for the youth in his communities, both locally and internationally—what a smart guy. 

For more information about the Tony Sanneh Foundation and how you can participate or help, go to http://www.thesannehfoundation.org/  

Becoming a Community Leader: Donovan's Story

"What people are NOT doing is sometimes exactly what you need to be doing..."

South Florida is widely considered a mecca of talented athletes, beautiful women and artists. So for young men growing up in this area, of course the belief in their heads is in order to be successful you have to become a rapper or an athlete. The vision was no different growing up for former basketball player turned community leader Donovan Thomas. Donovan currently serves as the Executive Director of Rize and Shine. This community based organization houses a variety of projects created to empower the community. One of its signature programs is the 'Respect, Check, Protect Yourself (RCP) Movement', an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign that is impacting Florida statewide. Keep reading to learn about Donovan's journey from baller to community activist...

Life has a funny way of putting people in places that caught them totally off guard. As Thomas will be the first to explain, where he is now, is not where he envisioned himself as a child growing up.  “I have always wanted to do something to help people,” Thomas said. “but I never thought that I would be running an organization or something of my own in this way. As I saw the need and how people could be helped by the RCP movement, I knew I wanted to take it on full time.”

Thomas grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and attended St. Thomas Aquinas high school where he excelled as a 6’6” 215lbs power forward in basketball. Thomas earned All-County, All-State honors which led to earning a scholarship to Loyola University Maryland. At a young age Donovan always looked at education as a way of advancing and getting to where he wanted to be, although this conflicted with some of his friends’ interests.

“There were many barriers I had to overcome,” Thomas explains.  “But one of the things that really motivated me was that, a lot of the friends that I had at the time were really good in sports but they didn’t take education seriously.  They were not making the grades to play ball. Although they were very talented, they weren’t able to develop, due to them not being eligible to play on the team. That kept me focused on keeping my grades up to par and working on my game at the same time. That was a barrier that I had to over come, when I seen everyone around me doing wrong, it would have been easy to get pressured into falling into that trap. Some traps I did fall into and i did things that I am not proud of, but I bounced back and turned those negativse into positives. At those times I reverting back to my upbringing, utilizing advice from my parents who stressed the importance of being well rounded. Nobody is perfect, but the 'smart guys' are the ones who can fall off track but get up and steer themselves back in the right direction.”

Getting back on the right track is exactly what Thomas did. He concentrated harder on basketball and school. Yet Thomas always looked to have a fall back plan, having learned the lesson that sports might not always be there for you. Some of his teammates did not have that same state of mind. For them, it was being professional athlete or nothing. Thomas challenged that all or nothing notion and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from Loyola.

“As I was growing up,” Thomas explained. “There were a lot of stereotypes being placed on me because of my skin color and my height. It was assumed that I had to play basketball and I had to go to the NBA to be successful. After a while that began to get to me. I knew that I had a good head on my shoulders and even if I didn’t make the NBA that I could still succeed in life, but I didn't get that reassurance from others.”  While in college, Thomas was hit with a string of injuries. Those injuries, as he explains it, were a blessing in disguise because it allowed him to take his focus off  basketball for short stints and re-dedicate himself to his school work.

“As urban youth, we tend to focus on how much money the athletes are making,” Thomas said. “We never think about how much the owners of the teams, which the athletes are on, are getting paid. If they are able to pay out millions of dollars, just imagine how much they are bringing in.”  Thomas believes that 'smart guys' should aspire to be in those ownership positions, being the payer and not the payee. He wants young people to know that it is okay if you are not a professional athlete, there are so many other respected professions out in the world, even in the world of sports. 

“People have to make decision everyday; those people that are equipped with the tools to make the best decisions are usually the ones who have knowledge. Knowledge equals not only education but also experience,” Thomas explained. “There is a saying that only insane people try things the exact same way, over and over again, and expect different results. So learn from the mistake the first time so the next time you won’t make that one again. Be competitive. Always try to be better tomorrow than you were today. Do not be afraid to go against the norm, to be a leader, to be willing and able to endure the ridicule of others who may not see your outlook on life and prosper through it. Stay focused on what you want to do. Hard work pays off.”

Thomas’ non profit organization is focused on getting the word out on something that is not really talked about but it is hitting our community in astronomical numbers-- HIV/AIDS. The program is called the RCP Movement and it brings ordinary everyday people from the community together to educate about HIV/AIDS and help prevent its spread. "We want to get people talking, to get the education/literature out there about how it is and isn’t contracted. HIV/AIDS used to be a conversation that was talked about a lot in the 80s but now it is not talked about as much. Unfortunately, the disease is spreading, its effecting younger and younger people and has devestated minority communities worldwide.  The major new cases of HIV/AIDS are happening between the ages of 13-24, our youth, our future.



Donovan teaches participants about HIV/AIDS prevention



RCP has a chapter present on several college campuses, and high schools throughout Florida and now Georgia. The RCP Movement stresses and encourages abstinence to the youth but understands that holistic prevention includes risk reduction conversations as well. The thought is to have the information out there so they will know and understand how to practice safe sex.  The RCP Movement would like people to know that you don’t have to be infected to be affected by HIV/AIDS. This disease is hitting everybody in some way, shape, form or fashion. Statistics show that 56,000 people per year become infected with HIV in the US and that is only the people who have been tested. Every hour of the day, two teenagers are becoming infected.

RCP tries to find different ways to engage the community. Some of RCP's projects are Street Scares and the  Show-U-Know benefit concert, a free event for those who took an HIV test in order to be aware of their own status.  "The first time we put on this concert we tested over 5,000 people in the South Florida area. That is 5,000 people who may not have become aware of their HIV status without this gentle push from the program. This is something we plan to do on an annual basis.  We are trying to promote HIV awareness and education in a fun, non-threatening environment." 

“The biggest thing or best advice that I would stress to young people is to follow your dreams.” Thomas said.  “Always remember that every expert, guru, mogul was once a beginner. Every great invention began as an idea and then that person went after it and made it happen. You have to be willing to sacrifice and know that it is going to take hard work to get what you want. What people are not doing is sometimes exactly what you need to be doing. Do the extra work to perfect your craft and don’t give up.”

An advocate 'Smart Guy',

Donovan

To learn more about the RCP Movement please visit  www.rcpmovement.org, or email us at jointheteam@rcpmovent.org .You can also friend RCP at www.facebook.com/rcpmovement, and follow us at www.twitter.com/rcpmovement 

  

'Smart Guy' Workshop Launch

Join the movement...
I am excited to present our first 'Smart Guy' workshop for young people this week, January 12th, in Lancaster, PA. (click here for more information) I am working with my friend JT Dorsey from the JT Dorsey Foundation and 'Smart Guy' workshop co-developer Nicole Sanders of Sanders Consulting LLC.

This year I will be launching my company which will focus on: youth development through sports, education and health. I knew that I needed to give back and help others, because to whom much is given, much is expected. Stay tuned for projects, appearances, workshops and exciting collaborations coming up this year.


A special thanks to Puma Football and 5001 Flavors for coming on board as sponsors of this first 'Smart Guy' workshop. I am starting a movement, who wants to join me and celebrate the smart guys and girls in our world?

Zach
A Smart Guy