Pay It Forward with Your Vote #CokePayItForward

Hello, all! Some of you may remember me posting about the amazing
Coca-Cola Pay It Forward program a couple months back. That was the nomination phase, and now the final voting is open to help select the winners. Below are the detailed steps on how to vote for the finalists.

Pay It Forward with Your Vote!

Voting is now open for the top Coca-Cola Pay It Forward finalists! These teens have worked very hard, so “pay it forward” by checking out their videos and voting for the nominee(s) you think should win a 3-day summer mentorship experience in Atlanta. Voting ends May 24, 2015.

About The Pay It Forward Program:

The Coca-Cola Pay It Forward program embodies the spirit of giving back, helping teens to reach greater heights through education while
empowering moms and communities to help high school students succeed.

The Coca-Cola Pay It Forward Academy, hosted by Steve Harvey, will offer 20 winning teens and their mom/parent/legal guardian 3 days of mentorship, leadership and networking opportunities, and each teen will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship.

Giving teens the opportunity to excel is just one more way that you can pay it forward by supporting the next generation and building tomorrow’s leaders today.

Steps to Vote:

1) Visit www.coke.com/payitforward

2) Click the “Vote” button and follow the instructions to register or login

3) Check out the nominees’ personal video statements

4) Cast your vote

5) Click on the social icons to share the excitement with friends and family and encourage them to vote!

6) Repeat! You can vote once a day until the voting period closes on 5/24/15

Click here for Pay It Forward official rules: http://CokeURL.com/ycz8m

I was really amazed by the videos the young men and women put up, as that made it super hard to decide. There are so many intelligent youth out there that are really deserving of this great opportunity. I really encourage you all to check out the videos and pay it forward by voting. #CokePayItForward

This post is sponsored by Coca-Cola. All opinions expressed are my own.

Getting Teens To Talk About Their College Goals #CokeMiniMoments

The Coca-Cola Company provided promotional consideration for my participation in this program

Parenting is a tough job, we all know that. No two kids are the same and each one requires a different approach to really reach them. I have two older daughters and I think the years between 13 and 16 were the most challenging. My younger daughter, Briahnna is a high school senior and over the years, she has been a little harder to really talk to in general. She’s a high achieving IB student and is very involved in extracurricular activities, but when it comes to serious topics, she seems to want to hide inside her shell. My older daughter was the complete opposite and would want to talk about anything and everything. Over the last few years, I figured out that the drive to school and back home were great times to catch up and chat. We sometimes listen to the radio and do a little car dancing which ends up leaving us in tears from laughing so hard. This is usually a great ice breaker and gives us a few minutes to discuss school-related things. There has even been times when I bring her favorite snack or drink as an after school treat to help lighten the mood after a long day of classes.

Briahnna applied to four colleges and we had to stay on her about making sure she didn’t wait until the last minute. She’s the type of student that cranks out outstanding work although her work area is almost always a complete mess. Organized chaos seems to work for her. I have to come to the point that I really don’t waste my breath sweating the fact that she is messy. I more focus on working with her to make sure she is achieving and even exceeding her goals. I have recognized that she likes to have her personal space, but also respects my time when we need to be serious. Chatting in the car seems to take some of the pressure off of her instead of doing it in her messy room or with all of the rest of the family around. I am sure there are times that she wants me to shut up, but as an old family friend and mother figure told me many years ago, “Always talk to your children. Even when they act like they don’t want to hear it, talk to them anyway.” I have taken this advice to heart and you know what? It works!

Now that Briahnna has gotten accepted into her college of choice, she is in full scholarship application mode. Since our older daughter already has nearly two years of college under her belt, we use her experiences to help Brie have a better understanding of how it all works. Brie even mentioned the other day how one of her friends was trash talking a smaller dollar amount scholarship that she deemed a “waste of time”. Brie said she will keep on applying no matter how small the amount might be. She sees how much a little amount can really add up. I guess those little chats in the car are really working.

Do you need some help talking with your teens about their goals for college? Check out the Coca-Cola Pay it Forward Mini-Moments to get some great tips to help engage in positive conversation. You can download a PDF to your computer as a guide. This specific one,  Let's Talk:  Encouraging your teen to open up about their goals and how you can help achieve them is tailored to help open dialogue with your teen. They are very simple to follow and are a great resource.  While you are on the Pay It Forward site, be sure to take a moment to nominate your teen for an amazing opportunity to attend the Coca-Cola Pay it Forward Academy and also win a $5000 scholarship. You can see the complete contest rules here.

Now crack open a mini can of Coke and get the conversation started! #CokeMiniMoments

Nominate a deserving teen for the Coca-Cola Pay It Forward Academy #CokePayItForward

The Coca-Cola Company provided promotional consideration for my participation in this program


If you have been a Mom Files reader for the past few years, you might recall me talking about the Coca-Cola Pay It Forward program. Well, this year is bigger and better, with Mr. Steve Harvey back for a second year as the celebrity ambassador and co-host. I participated in a Twitter chat with him last week, discussing a few ways we can connect with and encourage our teens with the college application process. It was really refreshing to see how many caring parents offered up some great advice. This year, the program has expanded to include the all-new Coca-Cola Pay It Forward Academy. The Coca-Cola Pay It Forward program is a movement, primarily targeted to moms, to uplift and help pay it forward to the next generation.



You’re probably wondering what exactly the Coca-Cola Pay It Forward program is and how it works. Here are some facts:

• The Coca-Cola Pay It Forward program is a movement to uplift and inspire the next generation of African American teens to realize their dreams through education, unique mentorship experiences and scholarship.
• The program works through a nomination process, where moms, dads, relatives, neighbors or teachers nominate high school teens in grades 9-12. Nominators or nominees must be 13 years of age and older and eligible teens can even nominate themselves. 
• Nominations are done on Coca-Cola’s Pay It Forward website. 
• Up to twenty winners will be selected, and each winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship and a trip from their hometown for them and their mom/legal guardian to attend the Coca-Cola Pay It Forward Academy July 24-26, 2015 in Atlanta, GA. See full contest rules here. 

Nominations are open until March 31, 2015.

The Coca-Cola Pay It Forward Academy is a three-day educational development experience, structured to offer valuable resources for moms and her teen(s). Moms will receive helpful tips like how to help her teen(s) be successful in school now, and how to financially prepare them for college. For teens, the programming will focus on topics like personal branding, higher education and alternative career paths.



Besides Steve Harvey joining for the second year as the Coca-Cola Pay It Forward program celebrity ambassador, Coca-Cola has partnered with Get Schooled and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to assist with the development of the Coca-Cola Pay It Forward Academy programming. You can listen to this audio clip with Steve Harvey interviewing the President and CEO of The United Negro College Fund, Dr. Michael Lomax, to help get a better understanding of the program.

I nominated my high school senior tonight and it was a very quick process, it only took about 2-3 minutes. I know the experience will be so valuable to the deserving teens that will ultimately win. It would certainly be a memorable summer! So, what are you waiting for? Go nominate a deserving teen now. Be sure to spread the word and encourage your family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors to nominate a teen as well. Who will YOU nominate?

Visit coke.com/payitforward to nominate, and for complete rules and eligibility requirements. Join the conversation online using #CokePayItForward.