Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

It seems like most of my posts have been focused on a lot of the negative things that have been going on, so I wanted to take a moment to give some credit where its due: Big hugs to Nick Cannon.



Over the weekend I watched a show on Nickelodeon called the HALO Awards, which was created and produced by Nick Cannon. The show was focused on rewarding outstanding teenagers who had overcome various obstacles to be active and give back to their communities. They were given cash prizes and afforded an opportunity to hang out with their favorite celebrities (like Alicia Keys, LeBron James, and Justin Timberlake) and do all kinds of fun stuff.

As I was watching I couldn't help but get a little choked up with some of the stories because these young people were truly amazing. One young man was a crack baby, who was abandoned by his mother, got caught up in the system and was on the path toward becoming a delinquent. But through the caring intervention of his middle school principal this young man finished school, went to college, and is now mentoring other inner city youth through a step program.

This was touching to me, because by me being active in the middle and high schools in my area I see how a lot of these young people are so disenchanted with education, community or anything else outside of Facebook, Twitter, music videos and video games.

We hear so much about the negative things going on in our communities with our teens that to watch something like the HALO Awards really showed that, despite it all, there are people with means out there who really do care. Nick Cannon is a 29 year old celebrity who could still be producing sure-fire money makers like Wildin' Out but he choose to do something that really has purpose, and for that I say well done.

These kids need encouragement now more than they ever did. So if you happen to come across the Nickelodeon HALO Awards on the cable guide next time you're channel surfing with your kids, take minute to check it out. I can honestly say that this is a reality show with substance and one awesome opportunity to encourage your child to explore ways to help others, and not just because they may get something out of it but because it's the right thing to do.