It’s Valentine’s week, and we’re all thinking about the people and the things that we hold dear. If you have visited and explored this website at length, you have probably seen a picture of a little boy and girl holding bags of coins.  That little boy happens to be my son Brailey and the little girl is his good friend Morgan. 

That picture was taken five years ago when Brailey and Morgan were in second grade. I had been with the Foundation for a little under a year at the time and decided to work with my son’s school on a project for National Philanthropy Day. The kids collected coins for one week and then made decisions on where to allocate their funds.  They had a great time doing it, and I was able to capture this photo of Brailey and Morgan with some of the change.  The picture and the story became an office favorite and has been on our website ever since as an iconic image of our goal to get youth involved in philanthropy.

Fast forward five years…  This past week, Brailey and Morgan were both inducted into the National Junior Beta Club at G.R. Edwards Middle School in Rocky Mount, and I couldn’t be more proud of them. In addition to maintaining a high scholastic record, members of the National Junior Beta Club have to commit to civic service activities.

They have hosted food drives, volunteered at church, a local vet, a school, helped with a sock drive for our homeless shelter and assisted with a holiday party for disabled children.

Brailey and Morgan are both interested in attending the Early College High School.  My hope is that I can share another update when they are ready to head off to their chosen colleges. Morgan is interested in Marine Biology and Brailey wants to pursue Green Engineering. 

I can’t wait to see what comes next.