We all know the saying: “If you want something done, ask a busy person.”
Eric Freeman is a busy man. A partner in a real estate investment firm, he travels frequently. He and his wife are raising young sons, and — as a former viola player — he sits on the board of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra.
But when he was asked several years ago to head up A Better Chance of Westport’s mentor program, he jumped at the chance.
He had enjoyed several informal meetings with the scholars at Glendarcy House, the local home for the national program that provides educational opportunities to academically-gifted and highly motivated young men of color.
A Better Chance of Westport mentors and scholars met at a fire pit last fall.
As a person of color himself, he understood the need for the ABC scholars to see people who looked like them, understood them, and were at the same time part of the Westport community that the scholars are now part of too.
When he got the chance to head up ABC’s mentorship program, he agreed. He organized chats around his fire pit, lunch meetings, outings and email conversations.
“They’ve got great resources,” he says of Westport’s embrace of A Better Chance. “This was one more outlet. I wanted to make sure it was meaningful.”
Eric Freeman
Role models come “in many shapes and sizes,” Freeman emphasizes. The scholars “have many. But it’s important for them to see people with similar backgrounds, so they don’t feel alone.”
When the program’s interim president stepped down, no one else immediately stepped up. Despite his busy work and travel schedule, and commitments to his own family. Freeman volunteered.
“This is a worthy cause. I’m proud to be part of it,” he says simply.
His term began last month.
“The directors to a phenomenal job,” Freeman says, of Dale Mauldin and Daniele Dickerson, who live at Glendarcy House. “They create an environment conducive to learning, and growing as young men.”
Freeman’s job is to “provide resources for the success and longevity of the organization.” That includes a long-range financial plan, and a marketing effort so that more Westporters know about A Better Chance of Westport.
“This town has abundant resources,” he notes. “People have worked hard in their careers. There is a certain privilege of living here, too. I hope we can get to them with our message.”
Eric Freeman and his wife Raquel.
Another long-range plan: an ABC House for young women, to augment the one that currently can support 8 young men.
As Freeman prepares for the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year — the “Dream Event” on April 27 at the Westport Library — he has a simple message to Westporters.
“Please support us. These young men are phenomenal. Think about it: You’re a 14-year-old in New York or New Jersey or somewhere else, and suddenly you come to Westport to live with strangers. It takes a lot to do that.
The 2023-24 A Better Chance of Westport scholars.
“So please support us, financially or with your time, or both. We’re always looking for host families, drivers, and people who can inspire our young men. We need everyone.”
(To learn more about A Better Chance of Westport, click here. To learn more about the April 27 Dream Event, and purchase tickets, click here.)
