A Greenwood mentoring organization for male youths is relaunching after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anyone who wants to participate as a mentor or mentee in He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother is invited to attend an informational meeting that will begin at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at 106 E. Scott St.
The group serves those 7 and older.
“Our goal is to offer young men in the Leflore County area and across the Delta an avenue to not only express themselves but to meet and talk to men from the community who are positive role models to help them with not only academic help but life skills — and creating goals, setting goals for themselves for their future,” said Troy Brown Jr., who co-founded the mentoring group with Kenderick Cox in 2017.
“We want to give them people who’ll share similar interests, people they can look up to, who are actually from the area,” Brown said.
In addition to mentoring, Cox said the group seeks to expose youth to cities and communities different from where they live. In the past, this has involved field trips, such as to the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson.
This type of activity “broadens their horizons of life outside of Greenwood,” Cox said.
Before the pandemic, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother had formed a community garden and was planning to build public bookshelves and hold informational and recreational outings for the mentees.
The group also provided a safe space for the mentees, since in some cases they may be mislabeled or misunderstood, Cox said.
Within the mentoring organization, the youths were allowed to express themselves and confide in their mentors.
“When the pandemic hit, a lot of those kids didn’t have that safe space or support system that they were accustomed to,” Cox said.
“No matter what they’re going through, our goal is to be that big brother to the youth in the area,” Brown said.
Following the informational meeting, a calendar of events will be put together. This will include team-building activities, assistance with schoolwork and trips to recreational venues.
The group currently has 11 mentors, but “we are always open to additional leaders who are interested in being a part of it,” Cox said.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
