Family * Travel * Food

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.
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Coca-Cola's "Pay it Forward" for 2013 { Giveaway} #spon


Do you know anyone between the ages of 16-21 that is doing amazing things? Maybe they are high achievers in school, doing community service work or trying to start their own business. I know plenty of youth (including my own teenage daughters) doing positive things that I would love to see receive a great reward. I think about the amazing job my oldest daughter did as the chair of a service project she participated in for her school called H.O.P.E. 365. The organization collects food items, coats, money, hygiene items and even donation of blood to give back to the local community.  She spent numerous hours planning, organizing, standing outside in the cold collecting food donations and all of the countless things that went into making it a success.
Here she is with a portion of the food items that were collected. It was over 20,000! 

Right now, Coca-Cola is kicking off 2013 with its second annual Coca-Cola “Pay It Forward” program through My Coke Rewards.  Coca-Cola’s “Pay It Forward” program celebrates and acknowledges the richness of African American heritage and helps parents, relatives, mentors, friends and the community support aspiring young people achieve their dreams by nominating them for unique and exciting apprenticeship experiences. 



Four lucky nominees will be rewarded with the unique and exciting opportunity for an apprenticeship experience with one of the country’s most respected celebrity history makers:  business mogul Magic Johnson; chairman and CEO of BET Networks, Debra Lee; or hip hop artist and philanthropist, Common. I think all three of them are the perfect mentors! 

Parents, relatives, friends and mentors can nominate aspiring youth between the ages of 16-21, now through March 2nd for a chance to win the apprentice experience. You can nominate up to five young people (the young person can also nominate himself/herself) and be entered for a chance to win a $5,000 sweepstakes with each nomination!

I actually nominated my oldest daughter and it took me about 3 minutes to complete. You must sign in with your My Coke Rewards account to start. If you don't have a My Coke Rewards account, you can sign up for one very easily. Once you are logged in, click the "nominate now" button. The first screen asks for the youth's name and email address. Next, you pick the first and second choice for which apprenticeship you think is best for that youth. Last, you answer 3 questions about why you chose the person you are nominating. Each question allows only 50 characters so it goes quickly. It's that easy! At the end of your submission you will receive a confirmation email. So who do you think you would nominate for this amazing opportunity? 

I am thrilled to be able to offer a fantastic prize pack valued at $120 (provided by Coca-Cola) for one lucky Momfiles reader to win! The prize pack will include: 
  •  $100 Amex card to help you and your family “Pay It Forward” in the New Year 
  • Coca-Cola “Pay It Forward” journal
  •  Coca-Cola “Pay It Forward” t-shirt

This giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on January 18, 2013. One winner will be chosen at random and will be contacted via email. Momfiles is not responsible for any lost or stolen prizes. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway The prize was provided by Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company is not a sponsor, administrator or connected in any other way with this giveaway. I was compensated for my time to share information about the Pay It Forward campaign.
Shelly, Mom Files
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Wordless Wednesday

When the boy is with his dad, all is well in the world... until they both get hungry at least!




Shelly, Mom Files
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Get to Know Olympic Hopeful David Oliver

Hey guys! I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to an athlete named David Oliver. Many of you might already know who he is or have at least heard of him. David Oliver is a USA Track & Field athlete (in hurdles) with many championships, awards and honors under his belt. Some of those athletic achievements include being a three-time USA Outdoor Champion, two-time NCAA All-American, 2008 Olympic Games bronze medalist and several other awards and honors. You can take a peek at his specific rankings and events here. It's quite impressive!
He will be leading a spectacular group of American hurdlers in the 2012 Olympic year. He is hoping to pull from the momentum he had in 2010 since he has been fighting through injuries in 2011. I am quite sure that through determination, hard work and a positive mindset, he will be amazing!

Besides being an incredible athlete, he also helps inner-city children through his organization called SUB 13. In October of 2011, David and his SUB 13 organization hosted their annual speed and agility camp in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. The kids went through a series of drills focused at helping them improve their performance. You can check out the full photo album of the event on the Facebook page. Imagine how cool that would be to get training from such a popular athlete? I know it had to be a big boost for those kids to learn from someone that took time out of his busy schedule to work with them. I have always respected athletes that give back to their community in such a big way.

You can check David Oliver out on Facebook and Twitter as well as his official site.

Psst.... stay tuned to find out how you can get a chance to meet David Oliver in person and help your child's school with Coca-Cola. I promise you that you won't want to miss out on that!
Shelly, Mom Files
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I am going all the way gray

I am one of those women who started going gray since I was in high school. Actually, some of my hair is a sparkling silver to be exact. I used to freak out and pull a strand here and there that I felt was visible. Being that my hair is jet black, the silver really shines through. I have never colored my hair before and quite frankly can't see myself with any color other than what's natural. I was at a political fundraiser recently when I had the pleasure of meeting this lovely lady Mrs. Francis Finney (One of her sons is running for Solicitor in 4 surrounding counties). She was there to support her son and had such poise and grace about herself. I had an instant connection with her the minute we started chatting and I fell in love with her silver locks! Then it hit me. I figured it out... I am not going to ever color my hair. I will let it go gray and embrace what I think is natural beauty.

Mrs. Finney's husband, Chief Justice Ernest Finney was just as lovely a person. I was chatting with him and apologizing for my husband AKA the paparazzi! He was as sweet as can be and told me he did not mind being photographed. They are the epitome of how I view myself to be when I am in my golden years!


Shelly, Mom Files
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What real men do...



They mentor our youth.

Shelly, Mom Files
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