Mid City Excellence M.O.V.E. breakfast teaches young men resilience

Apr. 20—Mid City Excellence empowers the men, teens and young boys in St. Joseph with M.O.V.E breakfast.

M.O.V.E stands for men of valor and excellence and the event was nothing short of excellent.

The breakfast featured multiple speakers that talked about their life story and how they overcame challenges. Attendees also participated in round table discussions centered around self discipline, entrepreneurship and character development.

Attendee and parent, Larue Bell says he will always stand by Mid City Excellence because they genuinely care.

"Coming to this organization, of course, everybody's a skeptic. Do they even care or are they just getting money off the city? No, they actually care," Bell said.

"This past week blew my mind, like, they really, really care. Genuinely, they're here to help. They're here to serve their community."

Bell has one son and two daughters in the program. He likes it because it gives his kids something to do after school. His youngest 6 year old daughter uses Mid City Excellence for tutoring with her reading and quizzes.

"They have a lot of programs that us as working parents don't have the opportunity to actually do with our kids. So, I mean, this place is great," Bell said.

When it comes to the lasting impact Mid City Excellence has on these kids, Bell has seen the difference the program has made.

"A lot of the youth that I've seen are actually growing up and I see them in the working field instead of hanging out in front of a street corner store," he said.

Mid City Excellence centers their mission on helping at-risk youth overcome challenges and excel in the real world. Bell says when he was younger, there weren't programs like Mid City Excellence.

"I was an at risk youth myself being a part of my environment. We didn't have a lot of the mentors and mentorships that we have today. So I had a lot of time I had to learn on my own," he said.

He believes these types of programs are especially helpful for young men, giving them the resources they otherwise wouldn't have.

"The young men, they're just thrown out into the world... It's my lifelong strive to make sure my kids grow up better than what I had," said Bell.

"Make sure they have guidance and never entitlement."

During the breakfast, the biggest takeaway for Bell is that he's not alone and that we all have a support system to lean on when we need them.

"For this event right here, I'm taking away that there's more men out there like me. There's a lot of men out there just like me," Bell said.

"The same lifestyle, same struggles, some of the same accomplishments. And I know there's a better way and I know that my kids are going to be okay."