Roc E6, which stands for Empowerment, Education, Exposure, Exercise, Equity and Ethics, was formed in 2005, as a summer camp for inner-city youth to get a chance to play sports which they have not been exposed to and better their education. The program, which initially focused on wrestling, was founded by Arkee Allen who went to West Irondequoit as part of the Urban/Suburban program. He is now a teacher and a wresting coach.
In 1988 Art Alvut decided to volunteer with the Big Brother Big Sister Program of Greater Rochester. That is when Art meets a young Arkee Allen. From there the two would go on to have a lifelong friendship, which is as strong as ever now. Arkee had no idea what lacrosse was; he was a highly talented wrestler that had aspirations of competing in college. He would go on to be an All-American at Columbia University. Art then decided to expand the camp to include lacrosse.
The very first Roc E6 camper was our speaker, London Booker. London immediately fell in love with lacrosse. Since there were no schools with lacrosse in the city, London had no place to play, consequently he coached at Roc E6 when he was in 7th grade. From there he went on to play at Roberts Wesleyan College for 4 years and has coached Roc E6 and local travel teams for years.
London’s passion for the advancement of inner-city youth and lacrosse has taken RocE6 to new heights. From a small youth team of 22 in 2006, Roc E6 has grown to 5 teams with over 120 players and has helped advance lacrosse in the Rochester City School District.
The program is a combination of sports, education and life advancement. Roce6 requires access to report cards. If the grades aren’t where they should be, a student can practice, but they also need to receive tutoring. Thirteen hundred kids have gone through the program, and some have gone on to play Division 1 lacrosse.
The group is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are used to help with college admissions and workforce development. They help bridge the wealth gap by connecting student athletes with the essential financial literacy tools. The organization also support families with furniture, clothing and food assistance.
