THE BIGGEST MOB HIT IN YEARS

Allen Thomas
If you know Atlantic City native Allen Thomas as an
entertainment consultant, then you only know half of
his story. Though Thomas’s work in entertainment spans
across companies such as Platinum Productions out of
Philadelphia, the Advancing Families Foundation, Marty Small
Entertainment, Kelsey’s Restaurant, and The Professional
Football Players Mother’s Association (representing primarily
Mothers of the NFL), Thomas is equally involved in his work as
a youth advocate.
Thomas has been a youth advocate for Youth Advocate
Programs, Inc. for the past fifteen years. Four months ago,
Thomas became an executive in the organization as the
Atlantic County Program Coordinator, promoted from his most
recent position of Senior Case Manager. He also serves as
an appointed member of the Atlantic County Youth Service
Commission, where he is the Co-Chair for the Minority Issues
Sub-Committee. Working with youth isn’t just a job for
Thomas—it’s part of who he is.
Thomas tells people, “Your community is as safe as you make
it,” as he advocates for people to become volunteers. “At
some point, you just need volunteers to come play checkers
or get the kids there. Just get involved...you have to get your
feet in the water. Your level of confidence will determine how
deep you want to go. Just show up. Be a presence. Like to
crochet? Start a crochet club. Build a volunteer group based
on what you like. Don’t get discouraged by numbers. Changing
1 person can lead to changing 100.”
Thomas is well aware that some volunteers suffer from
burnout and their own expectations, saying, “They (the youth)
are not always going to champion you right away. They might
even take things from you without asking or say things to you
and around you that may sound very offensive. These are
young people who often times have issues. (But) if you stick
around long enough, you will wear off on them. You have to
be willing to wait them out...watch and see the type of impact
you will have on them in the near and distant future.”
It wasn’t Thomas’s intent to work with troubled youth—he
planned to become a business owner, which he did by the
young age of 19. However, even his work in the business world,
as the owner of Do the Right Thing Entertainment, involved
youth. “We did media programs...Teen Focus...a teen talk show
on Comcast,” Thomas shared. He was also behind Today’s
Music Digest on TV40. It seemed that whatever he did, youth
were involved.
So it wasn’t such a stretch for Thomas to begin working as an
advocate. It started with youth work like coaching football and
basketball, but grew to include the cleaning up of the Boys
and Girls Club near Stanley Home Village, which at the time
had lost its ability to be a safe haven to local youth. Thomas
helped clean it up. That was the beginning.
Allen Thomas
“It was familiar,” Thomas said of working with this youth
population, adding, “I grew up in difficult times...had an
interesting childhood in a housing development. I had lost
friends just from being in the wrong space at the wrong time.”
Thomas, a father of six, is deeply involved in the lives of the
youth he works with, saying, “The young people’s perception
is survival. And they’re surviving the best they know how.
Unfortunately, their know-how is distorted.” To combat this,
Thomas brings the troubled youth of AC to other cities, to see
how other kids live. He also advocates volunteerism.
Thomas credits three people with “inspiring and supporting
his drive to volunteer and work effectively with young
people in this community”: Michael Bailey, a former coach
of the Atlantic City Dolphins, Joanna Lasane, a former
drama teacher from Atlantic City High School, and Lamont
Fauntleroy, Thomas’s current supervisor. These three
individuals inspired Thomas, now he’s doing the same for
others.
The Boardwalk Journal | May 2013 | 25