Video Debut

Youth Ambassadors and a recent high school grad spent 3 days in Washington, DC as the culmination of the school year. Members went on tours throughout  DC, Maryland, and Virginia, visited the African American History museum, and ate at the famous "Ben's Next Door" restaurant. 

Justus Pool, 2021 BSI graduate, returned as the keynote speaker for this year's graduate luncheon. Pool is a student at North Carolina Central University and 

serves on the honor student council, is a member of the dean’s list, a member of the African American Male

Initiative, served as Mister sophomore this previous academic year, eagle ambassador, member of the

NAACP, Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice Honor Society, and is a Spring ’23 initiate of the Alpha Kappa

chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. 

June  concluded our “That’s Life” workshops with a visit to a new home  development in High Point. Patrick and Brittany  and the Radiant Realty- Keller Williams One Team facilitated a facilitating  a Homebuyers 101 #GrabTheKeys event at Boulding Branch Estates in High Point.

Several BSI youth members wrote and were awarded a state grant which allowed BSI the opportunity to purchase drawstring bags. Inside of these bags were personal hygiene kits, snacks, underwear, and books. Sixty of these bags were delivered to 3 organizations that deal with children and teens in crisis and to homeless families with children.  An additional 50 were shipped to Mississippi to help those hardest hit with recent tornadoes. 

Being a teenager can be stressful, so we enlisted the assistance of The Activation Lab, LLC to host a yoga session for our middle & high school members. At the end of these sessions, members partook in a refreshing glass of seamoss lemonade.

Middle school students enjoyed a Saturday of fishing and outdoor ropes courses to help unwind during the last few weeks of school. 

In an effort to bring reading content to life, we allowed members to participate in a fencing class to correlate with a novel they completed last school year called,, "Black Brother, Black Brother".  This novel's theme was based around two brothers and their love for fencing. 

The Greensboro Fencing Academy allowed our members to participate in a workshop which provided students with basic fencing techniques and equipment knowledge.

The NC A&T Theater Department and one of its directors, Miller Lucky, invited BSI members, moms, and mentors to see the flawlessly executed play, "Dreamgirls". Suprisingly, most of the members had already seen the movie adaptation with their moms and were very familiar with the content and songs. 

Middle and high school members spent a Saturday creating craft items to deliver to elderly residents at Maple Grove.  Members visited rooms delivering creative artwork, smiles and listening ears. Residents were eager to share their stories with these kind-hearted young men.  

Charles Aris, international  executive recruiting and staffing firm located in downtown Greensboro, hosted the middle and high school members of BSI to a morning filled with exploring unique career opportunities.  Rebecca Conway,  a Charles Aris Associate Practice Leader/DEI Manager, developed a 4 hour workshop allowing BSI members the opportunity to hear the personal stories and triumphs of men in working in the areas of engineering, law enforcement, law, technology, marketing, construction/cabling, and medicine. 

 Often when we travel, we’re asked, “What Is BSI?” Although every member has his own version of what BSI means to them, there’s not always enough time to go into a long discussion. They needed the perfect elevator pitch!

We enlisted the help of Jenn Hensel, founder of ElePitch. One of her specialties is helping individuals/companies develop effective elevator pitches. For 2 weeks she worked with BSI Youth Ambassadors in developing their pitch, which in turn they will take skills learned to share with other members. 

 Akeem White and Jamal Haizlip of The Activation Lab hosted a morning committed to healthy eating and healthy  thinking for our middle school members. Jamal brought his signature  sweet potato hash packed with delicious goodness and health benefits.  Akeem fired up the blenders and our members helped create their own blueberry blast and tropical smoothies.