Celebrate Central: Men for Others

By Dave Freneaux
    Every year about 100 Central High School Students suit up to play football for Coach Sid Edwards, but being on this team also makes you a member of Men For Others.  It is an organization built into the football program where CHS coaches teach these young student/athletes to give back to the community and serve others when they need it the most.
    It is a service organization aimed at helping anyone with anything they may need, from physical work, to counseling and mentoring.   Coach Sid explains “We feel that it is an important part of the mission statement and philosophy of our football program.  In a world of takers we teach that being givers is the more rewarding choice.”
    Over the last 10 years these Men For Others have mowed lawns, worked functions such as Cooking in Central, St Alphonsus fair and auction, and Blackwater Methodist pumpkin patch.   They have staffed camps for kids, made hospital visits, painted houses and stood as guards at funerals.
    Within Central’s schools, Men For Others provided labor to move the equipment at Tanglewood and Bellingrath when they moved grade levels.   They have also read to elementary school students and served as peer tutors.
    Men For Others has donated money and time to various churches as well as the recently completed Veteran’s Memorial. They have raised thousand of dollars to send people to medical care and therapy such as J.R. Owens and Devon Gales.  They donate to blood drives and helped clean up after hurricanes and storms.
    Coach Sid adds “They are on call 24/7 not only for the citizens of Central but for those beyond our borders.  Twice they have cleaned up cemeteries in Baton Rouge and have been in involved in football missions in the inner city as well as worked at churches outside of central.
    Coach Sid has always said “It’s more than just 10 Friday nights,” and Men For Others is living proof of that philosophy.  It is about helping good football players to become great citizens who recognize the value of giving to others.  Coach Sid sums it up: “The fingerprints of Men For Others are all over our community, and the beauty is they do it because it's the right thing to do, and they don't count the cost.”