What is Tied to Greatness™

The TIED TO GREATNESS™ national outreach program is a self-image improvement effort targeting at-risk, inner city high school males. With an average of just 35% of inner city males graduating from high school, TIED TO GREATNESS™ uses the power of positive male role models, the influence of fashion, and the symbolism of the necktie as a point of manhood and maturity to remind young men about the importance of personal image, and to encourage each participant to make different choices about his future. TIED TO GREATNESS™ will travel to cities and host 3-hour local presentations to at risk high school males, with the vision of inspiring a generation through personal touch and principled based dialogue. TIED TO GREATNESS™ is an initiative to reconnect young men of color to their rich history of men who dressed well, carried themselves with dignity, and accomplished great things in society.

Objective

The outlook for young Men of Color is not promising.  We intend to foster self pride in these young Men of Color so they will recognize  the power of their self - image, and ultimately, make better life choices by implementing the following strategies: 

Strategies

1. Saturate and educate young men with images and stories of positive, influential Men of Color to combat the negative stereotypes in their environment
   
   
2. Teach them the power and importance of a strong self image, as provided through the principles taught in books like:  Redefining the Male Image: A Look from the Inside Out
   
   
3. Teach them to “tie a tie” as a ritualistic right of passage which will ignite personal pride in appearances and build inner self esteem
   
   
4. Encourage each young man to stay in school, receive his high school diploma and embrace a new image through our pledge
   
   
5. Provide each young man with a copy of the Tied to Greatness Pledge so that they will remember the verbal commitments they made to live a better life
   
   
6. Give the young men a tie that they can keep for future special events
   
   
7. Provide a copy of, Restoring the Male Image, as a reference book to reiterate all that they have learned that day