It is not uncommon that the expectations of young boys in today’s society are low because they have fewer role models with whom they can identify.
The Mary S. Nelums Foundation is dedicated to changing those expectations and providing these boys with a positive outlook on their futures through a shadowing program aimed at showing them their true potential for success.
Mary S. Nelums, whose foundation awards scholarships to master level social work students, also celebrates high achieving African-American men who quietly make a difference in their communities by volunteering their time and talents.
The Nelums Foundation held its first annual shadowing event at the Jackson Medical Mall in an effort to show boys the possibilities for making changes in their own communities. The foundation partnered with the PRYIDE Institute and Mississippi Families for Kids to select young men who would benefit from this experience.
Ranging between 11 and 13 years of age, boys from area middle schools received a rare opportunity to come face-to-face with African-American professionals. These professional men who have careers in such diverse fields as law, social work and business are viewed as “invisible giants.” Individuals such as Judge Winston Kidd became role models to the boys who shadowed them during the week of Spring Break 2011, exposing them to environments other than those to which they have been accustomed.
The event was designed to better equip them to take these positive experiences back to their neighborhoods and change the perceptions of their peers. The mission of Nelums Foundation is to intervene in the lives of children creating positive changes that will allow them to develop into productive, successful men.
The matching of the young men and giants were covered by Channel 3 news anchor Howard Ballou and featured on WLBT’s Monday night “Taking Back Our Neighborhoods” segment.
