Words by Smiley Team
In a time where protecting Black men in the community has heightened, it's a sight for sore eyes to see grassroots initiatives targeted to uplift the youth.
A 19-year-old Arizona State University student named Atllas Hopkins saw that he and his fellow African American male peers didn't have a safe space to support one another, initiate creation, philanthropy, and overall unequivocal brotherhood.
Hopkins thought having an initiative where young Black men can be supported, both mentally and spiritually, was a need that could no longer be ignored. This inspired him to birth the idea of SEED (Students Engaged in Ethical Donations) – with a premise of empowering our Black youth and community for years to come.
“I started SEED because I wanted to expose my peers and my generation to the world of philanthropy," Atllas tells Smiley News.
[Read More: The psychology behind philanthropy]
"The idea of being charitable and giving back is usually only linked with things like community service and volunteer hours, while that is a part of it, that's not the only aspect of it," he says.
"SEED does volunteer work frequently, we understand the importance of engaging in making grants and supporting the community financially to fulfill whatever smaller student-led or studentbased organizations need to."
The purpose of the organisation is to allow young African American males to make a significant impact in their community in the way they want to. On top of building camaraderie and a strong sense of brotherhood amongst each other, they build through events and constantly work with being around each other.
When asked why it's important to have a community where college-age Black students can connect, give back, and thrive together, Atllas says: “It is important to have a community such as SEED, with our demographic especially, because we are marginalized and divided in everyday life.”
Only 14% of students on the campuses of most major universities are African American, around 40% of that are African American males. ”I say this to emphasize the fact that African American students are underrepresented in the world and this leads to us feeling left out or alone when we do become the "outliers" on campus,” he adds.
SEED can be found on Instagram where you can keep up with their service, fundraisers, how to join, and even some cool projects that they have to come in the near future.
