REAL MEN CHARITIES INC
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Mission Statement
REAL MEN CHARITIES, INC. was founded in 1990 to advocate for fathers, families, and community development. Our initial focus was food security, proper nutrition, and healthcare. During our first few years of service, it became apparent that men urgently needed to address mental and emotional health to contribute meaningfully to families and communities. For the past few decades, RMC has expanded its mission to suicide prevention, increasing literacy, mentoring, and holistic wellness opportunities for men and other underserved individuals and families, using food, art, culture, and community.
About This Cause
Real Men Charities, Inc. is an extension of the Real Men Cook for charity Father's Day events we've produced annually in Chicago. Shortly after our 10th anniversary and answering the demand for appearances by our cooks and co-founder for events and community service, we launched the Real Men Cook Health Pavilion, serving healthy foods and health screenings at the Real Men Cook events which featured men giving up Father's Day pampering to serve the community. The founder incorporated as a 501(c)(3). Early volunteers included respected psychiatrist, Dr. Carl Bell, then-Alderman Danny Davis, former Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer, and Emil Jones, their sons working alongside them and lesser-known men, and some that we now count as the nation's 45th US President. Former First Lady Michelle Obama's Career Accomplishments at U of C Medicine mention her sponsorship of the Real Men Cook healthy initiatives. U of C Medicine has continued Real Men Cook sponsorship via Real Men Charities, Inc. for over a decade. We worked with Dr. Terry Mason, now, Cook County Health Chief Operating Officer, to create the Real Men Health & Wellness Pavilion that became a zone in the event after 10 years and continues to be a feature in our events and in the community where our men volunteer. We continue relationships with all Illinois Department of Public Health Directors, Whitaker, and Dr. Damon Arnold, which whom we launched the Gimme Five campaign to have men focus on 5 things to increase Black male life expectancy. Partners with increasing health and fitness for children have been Healthy Schools, the Kenmore TV cooking studio, and the Beloved Community, as a result of our prostate cancer awareness campaigns and success with those and HIV Screenings under contract with the Illinois Department of Public Health. Funding is realized from Real Men Cook sponsorships, as we regarded foundational funding as uncharted territory. Recent years have engaged us in violence prevention, mentoring and restorative justice, and a continuation of our healthy cooking and disease prevention work. The founders, Yvette & Kofi Moyo have received countless awards for their work, from the Tribune Good Eating Award to induction into The HistoryMakers for Yvette Moyo, former Executive Director, now Associate Director. New leadership in 2017 includes Executive Director Ayinde Cartman, a Morehouse College psychology grad/educator, and Dr. Obari Cartman, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and Association of Black Psychologists president, a volunteer position. Past funding from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois of our robust and successful Real Men, Building Healthy Kids program meant changes in attitudes and habits of 3rd to 8th-grade students after administering the program in nearly 10 CPS schools in Englewood for 2 years until mass school closings. Economic conditions and hardships of collaborative organizations, board members, and volunteer cooks, meant losses, including Community Mental Health Council and a suicide by a highly accomplished Chef Joshua Marks, being groomed to be RMC Executive Director. Our board urged innovation, and Real Men Charities have delivered on producing innovative programs, activities, and opportunities. From its shared kitchen to food distribution and mental wellness, RMC has evolved into a full-fledged holistic provider of human and social services to those in need. From bridging workforce development initiatives to financial literacy programs, RMC continues to support causes and issues that are critical for underserved minority populations to achieve a quality of life and thrive successfully. Collaboration with organizations like Black United Fund of Illinois, Black Oaks Center for Sustainability, and others allowed us to continue our healthy communities focus. Safe and Peaceful grants for the past two years meant workforce development with mostly young men, restorative justice work, and curriculum development. Today, Real Men Charities owns and operates Real Community Investment Group, a social enterprise community development corporation that owns The Quarry Chicago, which is an events and community cultural arts center; South Side Drive Magazine, and MOBE Symposium, which pivoted during the pandemic to host MOBE Mondays, a weekly think and discussion forum that has included guest hosts to the likes of renowned journalist Ed Gordon, and many senior executives from Fortune 500 companies to large nonprofits like The Urban League. Viewership has reached over 90K viewers since April 2020.