Upcoming MidCity event aims to inspire young men in St. Joseph
By Kirsten Stokes
MidCity Excellence is working to encourage and engage young men in the community as the organization gears up for its Men of Valor and Excellence breakfast.
From 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on April 20 at Green Acres Ballroom located at 3500 North Village Dr., men and teen boys in the community are invited to engage in the “M.O.V.E.” roundtable breakfast and participate in discussions centered around entrepreneurship and self-discipline.
Tickets to the event include free breakfast for one person. Freewill donations are accepted. The deadline to RSVP is April 10.
“For a young boy to really become a strong man he needs a strong man to help lead him into all of that, you know, what is going through from adolescence into adulthood,” said Robert Warren, who is a music educator and pastor with MidCity.
Cory Grayson, a leader with MCE, said that St. Joseph doesn’t have many events like this one, and it’s important for the growth of young men in the city.
“It’s a good thing to actually get so many youth and so many adults in one area to be able to express themselves,” Grayson said.
In addition to breakfast, participants will be able to interact with spokespeople from different careers and entrepreneurial fields to get a better idea of what they want to do in their lives moving forward.
“There will be different career fields for the kids to come join. That way they know when they make the transition from childhood to adulthood,” said DL Gardner, another leader with MCE.
For young men like Ezra Bell, Ransom Filon and Carson Gardner, this event is more than receiving free breakfast and tips for careers; it’s about the mental improvements, relationships and longevity it provides.
“Not a lot of people care about men’s mental health, and hosting this event is going to help men a lot,” Bell said.
“You have to get along with people that you don’t even know, so just have that inside of you and be respectful,” Filon said.
Gardner emphasized why career advice makes a difference.
“We’re transferring from childhood to adulthood, and we don’t want to be put in something (career) that we’re not going to like doing for the rest of our life,” said Gardner.
The boys expressed wanting to have careers ranging from carpenters to NBA athletes, and with this event, they hope they can at least start to pursue those things.
