“Change starts with you” is a founding concept and principle of a newly established student business known as The K.A.O.S. Groupe. The K.A.O.S. Groupe, founded by Keith Jones, Tony Pearson, James Harris and Philip J. Hamilton, is focused on creating an opportunity for success.
Jones, the president of The K.A.O.S. Groupe summates the entity as a not-for-profit organization promoting higher education, community involvement and networking activities in the need based communities within the Tallahassee community.
The company is dedicated to influencing change, especially for African-American men. “Young brothers need to see we care, we’re there,” says Jones, a fourth year journalism major from Kansas City.
The name K.A.O.S. is a play on words, which alludes to the apparent fact that they are creating chaos, by shaking things up for the better.
The K.A.O.S. Groupe believes that a change in the community is long overdue, and these men are committed to “changing lives one mind at a time.”
The individuals are united by their concern about the lack of funding for adequate resources needed to help facilitate learning in the community. The company business endeavors encompasses a wide scope of activities, which consist of event planning, selling, fundraising and soliciting sponsorship. As a non-profit organization, the proceeds from all events and functions will go back into the community.
For a newly established organization, the repertoire of scheduled projects is in “full swing”; the first of a series of events is a scholarship tour. The tour aims to give students enrolled at the three major colleges in Tallahassee a $1000 scholarship for living expenses. The tour will start at FAMU in late October, move to FSU and finally end at TCC.
The next project, Hands for the Homeless, is scheduled to take place on November 3. The program will provide over $2,000 to help fund The Shelter, located on 480 W. Tennessee Street. In addition to this donation, the company plans to host a food and clothing drive for The Shelter. With sponsorship from Sprint, the company is going to pay the phone bill of The Shelter for an entire year.
The Leaders of Tomorrow, the last project, focuses on preparing today’s youth for a successful future. The program is modeled after the 20/20 Leadership program based in Kansas City.
Leaders of Tomorrow will offer ACT/SAT preparation, courses in problem solving, and training to increase test scores at all five high schools within Leon County. The course is designed to cultivate leaders at the high school level with lessons in etiquette and professional development.
According to James Harris, a fifth year MBA candidate from Union City, Ca., “the goal is to have these students graduate from the program and prompt them to share the information obtained with their peers.”
“[The] K.A.O.S. Groupe is extremely extraordinary in that in the midst of everything going on, we have been able to take ourselves out of the equation and think of others. In the wake of recent events, it should already be in our mindset to help our brothers and sisters.” Harris said.
The K.A.O.S. Groupe has planned to introduce themselves to the community at their Kick-Off Mixer, on September 20th, from 8pm to 12am at Clyde’s and Costello’s.
The Kick-Off mixer is a fundraiser to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina and will hosted by City Commissioner Andrew Gillum.
If anyone wishes to participate in any of these events, volunteer opportunities are readily available.
Contact Mia Scott at famuannews@hotmail.com