When he was a dean of students in the New Kensington-Arnold School District, Henry “Hank” Commodore handled discipline.

If he was still in education today, Commodore would make love and kindness part of the curriculum for all students.

“We’re all family. All of us are family. We need to be taught that, love and kindness,” said Commodore, 74, of Leechburg. “If somebody falls down, you lift them up. You don’t kick them.”

Commodore, founder of the nonprofit Help the Needy, Not the Greedy, is organizing an event Saturday in the auditorium at Valley High School that will focus on stopping violence, honoring first responders and praying for the victims of violence and their families. It’s scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. and run until 5:30.

“We’re all in this together,” Commodore said. “Get on board with love. All lives matter to do the right thing. Stop the violence with wisdom.”

The free event, open to all, will include games, raffles and giveaways.

Mayors, judges and ministers are among those Commodore has invited. Ford City District Judge J. Gary DeComo said he has known Commodore since he was a kid and hopes to be there.

“Hank Commodore is a true leader in the community. I can’t say enough about him. He’s used his own money for years and years trying to help the community,” DeComo said. “This man has a heart full of giving and forgiveness. He has a sincere interest in all the young kids in this world today. It doesn’t matter who they are, where they came from or where they’re going. He has a sincere interest in them.”

Commodore lost his brother, Kirk, to violence in 1994. Kirk was 29 when he was shot five times in the back at a fishing spot on the North Buffalo side of the Ford City Bridge, according to news reports.

DeComo said that loss never changed Commodore, who has shown only forgiveness and never bitterness.

Commodore says he has forgiven his brother’s killer.

“You have to pray for people, all the people. We’re all God’s children,” he said. “It’s all about forgiveness. You don’t fight violence with violence. You fight it with faith, wisdom and the Holy Spirit.”

Commodore is a 1967 graduate of Ford City High School, where he was a basketball star. He had a chance at playing professionally, but knee problems ended his career, so he pursued a degree in education with an emphasis on counseling.

At Valley High School, Commodore was a guidance counselor before becoming dean of students and retiring in 2002.

Beyond his work, Commodore has helped children as a foster parent and by donating hundreds of stuffed animals he won at amusement parks.

Commodore said he was moved to organize Saturday’s event by the hundreds of homicides in the region, including that of Azuree Charles, a 9-year-old New Kensington boy police say was killed by his father in May 2022; and the Jan. 3 line-of-duty death of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire.

Commodore said he will pray for McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski, who was shot and killed Feb. 6.

Commodore has invited Brackenridge Mayor Lindsay Fraser, who said she plans to attend. Fraser said she first met Commodore during visitation for McIntire.

“When I see all these police officers and people getting killed, I can feel the pain inside of myself,” he said. “This has got to stop.”

Commodore’s fiancee, Rosalind Massey, said Commodore is pushing through and past his health challenges and pain to bring people together.

“The objective is to unite as one group in mind and soul and heart and spirit,” she said. “Everyone is hurting today. There’s a lot of unnecessary pain. If people walk away with a different heart and a different mindset, then our goals will have been achieved.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)