<em>Photo above: Caleb Brown, Founder of Committed to Excellence.</em>

[caption id="attachment_26855" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/COVER-50-MEN.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-26855" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/COVER-50-MEN-300x200.jpg" alt="Program participants Malachi Brown (left), Armani Gibbs (middle) and Khalil Chisolm (right)" width="300" height="200" /></a> Program participants Malachi Brown (left), Armani Gibbs (middle) and Khalil Chisolm (right)[/caption]

Fifty Beaufort County high school males are expected to be met by fifty men of the northern Beaufort community at Walmart for a day of holiday shopping – for gifts worth $50 – and mentorship. Included in the group of men will be local pastors, business owners and political figures.

The “50, 50, 50” event is led by Caleb Brown, founder of Committed to Excellence, a program that provides mentorship and guidance for at-risk young men, empowering them to recognize and strive for their
full potential.

“Many people have asked why my focus is on high school males for this event. We see our youth getting involved in the streets and committing crimes. We’re losing more and more of our youth to death or prison each year,” Brown said. “Too many people say that it is too late for high school boys. I feel that it is never too late.”

Brown began recruiting men and students just one week before the event.

“The idea came to me last weekend as I was searching the internet for inspiration and saw similar events held for our young black men in other communities, Brown said. I had just one week to plan, but I knew that with community support, it would be possible.”

The event is open to all responsible men in the community who wish to serve as a mentor or role model to young men. The high school boys have been selected by school administrators.

“20 percent of teenagers experience depression before adulthood. That number rises during the holiday,” Brown said. “My hope is to show our high school boys that there is hope and that they have not been forgotten.”