Warner Robins Kappa League: Transforming young men into community leaders

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. – The City of Warner Robins officially named the month of January Kappa League Month, and the program continues to help young men and the community.

The Warner Robins Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity includes the youth mentoring program Kappa League Guide Right, which teaches middle and high school students to become well-rounded young men. It encourages them to help their community and prepares its members for college readiness. 

Warner Robins Kappa League Vice President Rodney Johnson also shared it is the oldest mentorship program in the country. The Kappa League was founded in 1969 by the Los Angeles chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi; since then, they have incorporated the youth program throughout chapters in the country to help encourage young men to help in their communities.

He said members attend monthly meetings and achieve the seven pillars, each representing a different quality, including etiquette training, college career readiness, and self-identity. 

Johnson also adds that another pillar is to be a part of service and continue making positive efforts in their community.

Warner Robins Kappa League President Jason Pinkney said their goal is to develop leadership amongst their students. During their monthly meetings, they participate in activities, teach them different life lessons and expose them to different things so they can grow as leaders. 

According to Johnson, members will attend a conference from Feb. 16 to Feb. 18 with other members around the country to work together on different skill sets and prepare for their future. 

Johnson said the application opens once a year. Applicants go through a process, and they must fill out a community service form and include a letter of recommendation. They will then determine how they can further guide them to prepare for their future.

“The program’s goal is to raise young men to be ready, to be better educated in society, succeed and be college ready so that they can be productive citizens. The goal is to hopefully unite young men together to be guided towards a career readiness,” said Johnson.

He shared that the program is primarily geared toward high schoolers, but they wanted to start accepting middle schoolers to prepare them early.

“Our goal is to mentor these students and let them know that because there are so many times where there are single mothers that wish they had a father figure, or somebody who is a professional to speak to them more and guide their young men,” said Johnson.

He always advises the members to use the wisdom and knowledge given to them. 

“You may think it’s irrelevant, but it’s the most important. When you can absorb the information and utilize the information, you are challenging yourself to be better than the next generation,” said Johnson.

Pinkney also advises them to act with integrity, make good decisions when no one is watching, always put others before themselves, and be great citizens and individuals. 

According to Pinkney, this is the first year the program is back in the International City.

“Any time we get the opportunity to give back to the community by volunteering we try to do as much as we can to support,” said Pinkney.

According to Johnson and Pinkney, the Warner Robins chapter is the largest in middle Georgia.

Since then, they have helped in soup kitchens, donated Christmas trees to churches, collected canned food and donated it to the Lindsey Support Center and food pantries. Members also have visited elementary and middle schools throughout the area to read to students. 

During the Jan. 16 council meeting, the city recognized the organization, and a proclamation was issued stating that January is to be officially named Kappa League month.

“We were very grateful and very excited just to have the young men to be able to participate in the proclamation. It was a great experience for them to sit down and see how a meeting is ran but also to be recognized through another organization that was recognized so we definitely felt special and appreciative for the mayor taking the time out of her schedule to add us on the agenda and recognizing us,” said Pinkney.

He shares that they look forward to continuing bringing up Warner Robins chapter and helping young men become productive citizens. 

Pinkney said they have partnered with First United Methodist Church to volunteer and prepare food bags. After putting together the bags, they distribute them to people who are homeless. 

He hopes that during the members’ service, they will learn the importance of being selfless and being able to think about others before themselves. 

“Also to just understand that it’s better to give than receive and hopefully to understand the importance of being grateful for the things that you have because some people are not as fortunate and just always thinking about others and putting others first,” said Pinkney.

The program will continue to help the community, and Pinkney said they will take advantage of every opportunity.

“We’re here to make a difference in the community. We’re always looking for opportunities to volunteer and to be of service. If there are any opportunities that are presented our way, we definitely try to take advantage of every opportunity just to expose our young men to different experiences,” said Pinkney.

Johnson encourages people to donate to the organization to continue supporting youth members and their efforts. He said people can donate digitally by looking up $WRKappaLeague on Cashapp. 

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