Our mission is to inspire and empower students from low to middle-income communities by providing guided tours of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). We believe that exposure to higher education opportunities can spark aspirations, with the ultimate goal of helping students achieve post-secondary education. By doing so, we aim to break the cycle of generational poverty, knowing that college-educated individuals are 80% more likely to create lasting economic stability for themselves and their families.
Our mission statement identifies our core values and our commitment to fulfilling them.
We commit ourselves and our efforts to avail the opportunities of touring colleges, making applications, and obtaining college acceptance to all young men and women accordingly.
Our organizational goal is to equip, encourage, inspire, push, guide, and love, our children to complete their college educations in order that their dreams and goals may be achieved; as well as to promote growth and prosperity in our communities.
To this end, the J. C. Hines College Bus Tour stands as one.
James C. Hines fondly known as “JC” by most was born and raised in the segregated south of Goldsboro, North Carolina. He received a public school education and graduated from Dillard High School in 1958. It was in Goldsboro that JC met Doris Eatmon who would become his life partner. JC and Doris reside in Morristown, New Jersey, and are the proud parents of James Jr., Anthony, and Tracy. Their six grandchildren, Danielle, Patrick, Anthony Jr., Teyvian, Terrance, and Tamara are their continuing hopes for effective change in our community. JC is a former bible school teacher and currently serves as a trustee at Calvary Baptist Church of Morristown, NJ.
In June of 1958, JC moved north and settled in Brooklyn, New York. During this time he began a career of distinguished military service in the US Army which began at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and ended at Fort Devens, Massachusetts in 1963. He also served under the command of General Westmoreland in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell Kentucky. JC worked in civilian service as an Equal Employment manager in the office of Armament Research and Development at the Picatinny Arsenal, in Dover, NJ. At his retirement in 1993, JC had devoted 32 years of combined military and civilian service to the United States of America
In December 1966, JC became a member of Tyrian Lodge No. 34 where he served as Worshipful Master. His service included Grand Marshall and District Deputy Grand Master of the 6th Masonic District. In 1969 JC became a membership of Golconda Temple No. 24 where he served as Illustrious Potentate in 1970. He was appointed Imperial Deputy of the Oasis (14 years), Deputy of the Desert (6½ years), and Chief Deputy of the Compliance and Evaluation Department.
The inception of the College Bus Tour began as a challenge accepted by the Abdul Mateen Class of 2007. An initiative to give community support was formed that brought attention to the importance of attending and earning a college degree. The first college tour in 2010 visited New Jersey universities. Today, the campus visitations have expanded to include historically Black Colleges in North Carolina. It continues as a passionate call to our youth to set goals for a successful future by starting with a college education. The College tour was named in honor of James C. Hines who continues to inspire our children to strive for greatness through education and other related services.
PRINCE HALL SHRINEDOM embraces all of the basic fundamental concepts of the Masonic Order, but is more colorful, with a broader spectrum of visibility by the manner in which it dispenses charity in the community and the care for its own.
John George Jones, the founder, is said to have been introduced to the ritualistic mysteries of the Order by one Ali Rofelt Pasha, Deputy and representative from the Grand Council of Arabia, during the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
Shrinedom, because of its pageantry, has on occasions been referred to as the “Display” House in Masonry, causing men to sometimes join the prerequisite Houses solely with the intent of becoming a Shriner.
There are over 250 Constituent Temples throughout the Imperial Domain (the World), with a membership of over 13,000 and growing.
Shrinedom is thought of as a Fraternal, Social, and Charitable Organization: FRATERNAL in the sense of using passwords and symbols to remind the members to ever strive for inner self-improvement; SOCIAL from the standpoint of the enjoyment of good times within its own ranks; and CHARITABLE for its unselfish giving of goods and services on both the local and national level.
Heading the list of recipients are the NAACP, the Legal Defense Fund, the Urban League, and the United Negro College Fund, along with Annual Grants to several institutions of higher learning and hospitals throughout the land, for medical and other research projects.
Substantial grants are awarded to colleges annually to supplement the education of economically deprived youth, along with a program of financial aid to fight drugs, crime, and delinquency. There is also a national scholarship grant program for young ladies between the ages of 17 and 24 to attend colleges and universities of their choice. They also strongly endorse the Assault on Illiteracy (AOIP), amid an engagement in development programs with Third World Countries.
The Shrine Organization is 128 years old and takes great pride in its Auxiliary, which is composed of wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters of the membership – officially styled, the Imperial Court. They are 111 years old and mirror, in some respect, the activities of the parent body. Both share offices in the organization’s Headquarters Building located in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Shrine is headed by the Imperial Potentate and the Imperial Court by the Imperial Commandress. The red Fez is worn by the men and the white Fez by the women, both of whom are community-oriented – and definitely on the move!