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Today’s youth need all the support they can receive to navigate the complex and often confusing world in which we live. Good role models help, but they are increasingly hard to find. Case in point: Many of our youth admire and emulate professional athletes and entertainers. The problem is, some of these popular individuals live as though they are above the law. They often seem indifferent to the consequences of their actions. The media often make things worse by glorifying offensive, even criminal behavior. In this environment, is it any wonder that so many youth are at risk of going down the wrong path? One of Dominion’s long-standing diversity initiatives, the Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership educational series, seeks to address this imbalance by encouraging young people to look elsewhere for positive role models. |
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Since 1991, we have distributed these curriculum sets annually during Black History Month to schools and libraries in the regions we serve.
Each series profiles the lives and accomplishments of outstanding African-Americans. In the past three years alone, more than 80,000 sets have been sent free of charge to institutions in Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Our goal is to help raise awareness and inspire our youth with concrete examples of people who have excelled in all walks of life through courage, determination and effort.
In 1996, we expanded the program to include a writing contest for high school juniors and seniors as a way to involve them more deeply in the program. Participating students research and write an essay on one of the more than 200 African-Americans featured in the "Strong Men & Women" series. Winners receive a laptop computer, and their schools get a $1,000 cash award. Over the past 11 years, we have awarded more than $80,000 in savings bonds, cash and computers to students and schools in Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio.
When all is said and done, the "Strong Men & Women" program is about hope and encouraging youth to dare to dream about who they could be and what they might accomplish in life. Dominion is pleased to help nurture those hopes and dreams.
Tom Farrell
Chairman, President & CEO