James Pitchford is an East Orange resident and a 1977 graduate of East Orange High School.
Two-and-a-half years ago, he had a vision.
His idea was to have a boys and girls club in East Orange and the vision grew to an arts, athletics and education program called Alumni United USA, which was established in 2023.
Alumni United USA is about alumni coming back to support future programs.
“We saw in our community and surrounding communities, there really was a need for a support structure for programs already in existence,” said James Lemon, programming director and vice president of operations for Alumni United.
“What I recognized overall is there’s a bit of a gap in communities,” Lemon said. “A lot of investments are made in children to go off to college. What happens after the college experience? There’s a gap there we should be instrumental in filling.”
Covering that gap would mean maintaining programming that allows college graduates to come back, build their resumes and start their careers, therefore completing the circle.
Rodney Williams is also an East Orange resident and a 1975 graduate of East Orange High School. He’s onboard with Alumni United USA as vice president and programming director.
“This has been, for me, rewarding to team up with James,” he said.
Lemon said the vision of Alumni United USA is not limited to the East Orange area.
“It’s a national vision, starting with the city of East Orange and expanding to the tri-state area,” he said.
The showing of “American Son” on Saturday, Dec. 16, was a recent fundraising event.
It was free, but donations were accepted to support Legacy Project Funding recipients and future programs. It was shown at the 2nd Stage Theater, Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts, 35 Winans St., East Orange.
They’ve also partnered with a group from Las Vegas called Broadway in the Hood.
“They bring professional actors to do the live presentation,” Lemon said. “The piece itself speaks of the relationship between the police and the community. It’s our goal to continue dialogue on social justice issues and to bring young people and police together for open dialogue.”
Alumni United USA has also partnered with the East Orange Hall of Fame, Greater Newark Tennis & Education, Pink Dragon Artist Syndicate, Occupied Arts Culture & Entertainment (OACE), East Orange High School Basketball Hall of Fame, Boys & Girls Club of Newark, Historical Society of East Orange Inc. and Nike.
To learn more about Alumni United USA and their upcoming projects, visit: https://www.alumniunitedusa.com/.
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