The spirit of authentic celebrity giving was alive and well in Dallas, TX last week as 100 young men from around the country participated in the annual Steve Harvey Mentoring Program (SHMP). Black Celebrity Giving was invited to share in the experience last Wednesday, which was a day of amazing experiences for the men, their mothers and SHMP staff. The day was filled with team building, work ethic and character building exercises through sports clinics facilitated by a host of male volunteers and the daily physical training with volunteers from the United States Army.
The mother, or otherwise designated guardian for the event, is required to attend and spend each day in the “Mother’s Tent” where they receive coaching and motivational sessions geared towards supporting them in raising young men in today’s society. Last Wednesday, their day ended with a 2 hour session called “Living in the Spirit” led by Grammy Award winning Gospel Artist Yolanda Adams, Best Selling Author and First Lady of The Potter’s House Serita Jakes, and Tammy Franklin, wife of Grammy Award Gospel Artist Kirk Franklin. The session was encouraging, candid and transparent. Each of the speakers was a perfect complement to the events of the day as they shared advice, words of support and personal experiences that each woman was able to relate to.
The greatest example of how the SHMP has the ability to shape and change lives through mentoring was best exhibited through our interaction with our amazing guides, Junior Counselors Joshua Tillman and Joseph Foster II. Both Joseph and Joshua are 2012 SHMP participants who were invited back to serve as Junior Counselors this year. Joseph, a graduating high school senior from New York City, will be attending Delaware State University this fall. He is also an actor and model who has recently founded an organization to serve underprivileged youth. Joshua is a rising high school senior who has plans to attend Morehouse University or North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 2014. His future plans are to work as an educator and open a charter school. Currently, he serves as an intern for Operation Hope in Atlanta and was recently hired as a Social Media Specialist for The Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation. Both young men credit the SHMP as a great opportunity for them to shift their focus during their participation last year and were excited to be able to be invited back to this year to serve the program as counselors. They are awesome ambassadors for the program.
Kudos to Steve Harvey for his vision of serving these young men. It is one of the BEST mentoring programs around. It’s truly not about Steve Harvey or his celebrity. It is about saving and preparing young men for life who are without strong male roles models. To see a community of primarily men, who may have children of their own, give up their Father’s Day weekend to provide this experience to boys in need shows the authentic spirit of giving. Check out the photos below and head on over to our Youtube, and check out interviews and behind the scenes video on Monday!
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