By Carlton Koonce
January 22, 2021
A little over a year ago, Prof. Jock Lauterer gave me a call alerting me that the Durham VOICE would have an esteemed visitor at our “newsroom,” what was then Partners for Youth Opportunity’s (PYO) office located on the second floor of the WG Pearson Center. “Koonce,” he said. “We’ve got LeRoy Walker coming to […]
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January 27, 2019
A pair of Durham nonprofits have formed a strategic alliance to extend services to local youth and their families beyond each organization’s individual capacity. The new partners are the East Durham Children’s Initiative (EDCI) and Partners for Youth Opportunity (PYO). Under the plan PYO, which focuses on services to high schools students, will offer […]
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March 20, 2017
Opportunities. Not handouts. When you think about it, it’s really not too much to ask. A chance to work and to prove one’s self worth. A chance to get into a good college. A chance to land a job or start a business that provides for a family. A chance to live a safe, […]
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September 29, 2014
Carlton Koonce is the communications and teen mentoring coordinator of Partners for Youth Opportunity, a Durham VOICE community partner. Imagine the season opener for your favorite team. Remember the crowd noise and smells? Remember that excitement in the stadium or stands right before the game starts? It’s the thrill of a new season. The […]
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March 19, 2014
Susan Blackmon, the retiring program director for YO:Durham, a youth organization created by Durham Congregations in Action, accepts roses alongside Hank Eichin, the DCIA board president, during a recent fundraising breakfast. After more than seven years helping to design and implement YO, she is moving on. Blackmon came to YO:Durham, soon to be merging with […]
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Without cheers or a gun crack, runners ready themselves. “Set. Go!” About 50 kids take off to run a lap around Southern High School’s track. It’s day one of the Durham Striders Youth Association outdoor season practice and on this mid-March evening, parents shiver in the bleachers, watching and listening to heavy breathing and the […]
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February 10, 2014
Here is part of my typical, highly scientific February checklist. Watch the Super Bowl, or at least some ACC basketball, with sticky, saucy hands. Check. Pick up some fancy chocolates and a fluffy bear for my Valentine’s Day. Check. Brushing up on local African-American history? That’s a lot easier than one might think. Every town […]
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December 1, 2013
A lack of sleep and worry kept him up at nights. After 13 years as an active duty Army man, Hakeem Moore, a 35-year-old veteran and father of three, found he just couldn’t “turn off” things he’d seen during his 15 months in Baghdad. Bombs going off, rocket-propelled grenade (RPGs) explosions and people getting […]
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October 22, 2013
Imagine silence. Except for a ticking clock, all that is heard is Dr. Eldee Brown Sr. speaking: “My grandparents came from Africa and were sold as slaves in Fayetteville.” I heard those haunting words as I learned state’s oldest currently active-licensed chiropractor’s story. Brown will be 97 years old in April. From his humble beginnings, […]
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September 18, 2013
On one of the VOICE’s first student bus tours years ago, I remember Earl “Big Earl” Phillips, at the time, the city’s assistant director for community engagement, telling us that in a few years some places we visited would not be recognizable. Back then, many of the houses around the Golden Belt complex had […]
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April 25, 2013
Talk with Atrayus Goode and it’s easy to compare him to a soldier on a mission. His weapons and armor are encouragement and relationships. His objective – to prepare the leaders of tomorrow. Goode is founder and director of Movement of Youth, an educational and mentoring program granting opportunities to a diverse group of community […]
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April 19, 2013
As a parent, when I heard the words “sex offenders need friends too,” my first thought was “huh?” Where was this conversation headed? But that is the message shared during the most recent community luncheon roundtable hosted by the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham. Held every fourth Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. at […]
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April 1, 2013
I enjoy spending time with family. Just getting together with the entire clan and “kicking it.” My father, son and I recently visited my 87-year-old grandmother and my aunts in Carrboro and it brought back memories for us. With busy lives, we don’t get to do it as often as we’d like. There we were […]
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