‘Gent in a Tent’ raises breast cancer awareness and money to gift local warriors

[October 24, 2020]  This past week a group of Lincoln College students did something special for those in our community who are battling breast cancer. The fundraiser ‘Gent in a Tent’ took place Monday through Wednesday in the parking lot of Hot Frog Designs on Woodlawn Road/Route 10.

The goal of the fundraiser was to raise $150 per day. Each day at least one ‘gent’ was trapped in the tent. Throughout the afternoon fellow gents were working the highway holding up signs and using a megaphone to encourage motorists to donate money to assure the captive gent’s release.

The first ‘Gent in the tent.’

The other Gents worked the road hawking for drivers to stop in and donate to the fund love baskets for breast cancer warriors.

With that money they plan to surprise three local women currently battling breast cancer with ‘love baskets.’ The baskets will be filled with gifts purchased from local businesses.

Lincoln College Director of Residence Life, Quentin Brackenridge, is one of the driving forces behind the Gents of LC, a male mentoring organization. The group's intention is to help college students grow from boys to men who create a positive influence in the world when they leave college.

Brackenridge and student Isaiah Clay explained the group's purpose, “We help people in the area of Lincoln College, teaching peace and guiding our men on how to grow from boys to men. We are teaching them to respect others, to respect women, and to respect themselves. Then in the ‘real world,’ when we go out we will take that with us and teach it to others.”

The group began as guys only, but last year a couple of gals wanted to be a part also. The group decided it could not discriminate, so they included their lady gents into the group.

What the group hopes to achieve is to give students the tools they need when they leave the school and go home to their families and careers to live by example showing their children and others in their communities how to be gentle men and gentlemen. “If we can teach them how to be men, and how to be gentlemen, chivalry is not dead. We want them to go out there and show respect,” said Brackenridge.

Part of the program is community involvement. The Gents have done service work in the community helping out at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois and the Salvation Army. They are continually looking for other opportunities to be involved.

Brackenridge explained the progression within the group. On hand that day at ‘Gents in a tent’ there were men from class one through class six. The men begin the class as students, and then move into mentoring positions so as to work with new members.

Isaiah Clay spoke about his decision to become a part of the Gents. Clay joined his freshman year. As a new student he wasn’t sure what all there was to do around the college and what to become involved with. He was told about the Gents and the goal of the group. He said it interested him because he wanted to do something that would make his mother and dad proud of him, and also set a good example for the other young men in his hometown neighborhood. He noted, “I wanted to be a better man, and I am a better man than I was before.”

Brackenridge noted that the group chose to do a fundraiser and love baskets for warriors based on their own experiences, “All of us have had a woman in our family who has dealt with it, is dealing with it now, or have died from it.” He said the group wanted to show love and support for women here locally and encourage them to stay strong and keep fighting.

He also noted that the group does something every year to raise awareness for breast cancer and support those who are warriors.

Participants in Monday’s ‘Gent in a Tent’ fundraiser are joined by Bob, Sonja and Robbie Perschall of Hot Frog Designs.

Bob, Sonja and Robbie Perschall of Hot Frog Designs, where the tent was set up, were on hand to encourage the guys. Brackenridge said that the group greatly appreciates the Perschalls and that they were a great help in getting their fundraiser off the ground. The group was also wearing pink shirts made by Hot Frog.

In addition to what the Gents were doing, Sonja said that Hot Frog Designs has taken on the Pink Challenge and will be donating a percentage of all the pink shirts they have sold this year to the American Cancer Society.

Monday’s ‘Gents in the tent.’

The first donor of the day.

On Monday there were four members of the Gents along with Brackenridge working to raise money for the love baskets - President DeAvion Gillarm, Secretary Akil Coleman, Treasurer Isaiah Clay and Desirgeeon Keys.

Yet another Gent in the tent.

And now, too many Gents for the tent.

In total, there are currently 18 members of the Gents. The other 14 members are Vice President Neanco Collins, Isaiah Peters, Devone Hill, James Wade, Jazz Ramsey, Maurice Moore, DeJuan Jefferson, Payton Harris, Morwin Coney, Demarcus Barksdale, Greg Westbrook, Keilen Houston, Jordan Stringer and Chris Webb.

How about some pie guys?

To help insure reaching their goal to raise $450, some of the Gents even put their faces on the line for the cause. Several guests took the opportunity to put a pie in the face of a Gent for a $1.00 donation.

On Friday, Brackenridge reported that the group had raised over $1,000. He said the Gents were thrilled by the response to the fundraiser and noted that it was the love, the concern, and the generosity of the citizens of our community who had done it.

Quentin and Robbie Perschall.

Brackenridge also noted that the experience on the whole held special meaning for the Gents. “The guys had an amazing time entertaining and serving the people who stopped by to donate. We enjoyed hearing the emotional stories of survivors ranging from one-year to 24-years (survival.) It warmed our hearts to see that these individuals were blessed by people during their battle and wanted to give back to someone who’s currently battling.”

With such a great response, the guys are planning on doing more love baskets than they originally intended. They are inviting anyone who has a loved one or knows someone who could use a little lift during their battle to contact Brackenridge via his Facebook page. 

The guys will then choose who they can reach out to and are hopeful that they will be delivering baskets the first part of next week.

Much thanks to the Gents for their efforts this week. Your love and support for our local breast cancer warriors and our community is touching and sets an example for all the rest of us.

[Nila Smith]