(NewsNation) — Dr. Julius Few, Jr. understood early on the power in finding your voice.
He says the racial and social challenges he faced as a child in suburban Detroit in the early 70s framed his outlook on life and helped propel him forward.
“Ultimately, it lit a fire. Instead of it making me feel like I’m helpless. It lit a fire for me to say, I can do this,” he said.
Few found that what he said about himself was stronger than any comment made by anyone else, which is why he’s dedicated to giving those same tools to the next generation of leaders.
In 2016 he founded The Few Initiative for Children, which aims to empower young people with the authority to become leaders in their own community.
Each year, the organization selects 15 to 20 diverse high school students in the Chicagoland area to become ambassadors for the program, providing them with resources and a community to discover who they are and empower their community as well.
To date, the Initiative has graduated 25 young men and women. 20 more ambassadors are currently working on a range of community projects, Few says.
“My goal was just to have an organization that would give a voice that I didn’t have when I was growing up, he said.
He wanted to make a pathway of opportunity for young people.
“This is not a program that is about handouts, It’s really giving an opportunity. We do different things around leadership, we work around the arts, and we have programs on financial literacy,” Few said.
As a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon and entrepreneur, he understands firsthand how opportunity and preparation work hand-in-hand.
“Everybody has their gifts. And the key really to life is unlocking those gifts, and not letting your fears or reservations stop those gifts from coming to reality,” he said.
Ciara Johnson, a former ambassador, says the program brings out the best in its ambassadors. Johnson says the program has done leaps and bounds for her confidence.
“As a young Black woman living in the city of Chicago, there were a lot of times where I felt overlooked. I felt like, I didn’t have a voice. And I felt like the potential I had in myself didn’t matter,” Johnson said. “When I joined The Few Initiative for Children and met Dr. Few and my peers in the cohort they really gave me a sense of support, a sense of belonging, and a sense that I mattered, which I didn’t have before.”
She says the initiative allows students to see and achieve their full potential. So much so, that she’s taking on the role as mentor for new ambassadors.
“To see the potential that we have and see us grow into that potential, I think that’s the best part,” she says. “This program is so important to me because they are taking students who are choosing to spend their time in a positive way and allowing them to make a difference in their community.”
Few says the ambassadors truly make the program.
“I just sparked the plug. But really, they kind of made this what it is,” he said. “I’m getting more out of watching them grow and evolve.”
Few hopes to expand the initiatives within the program and eventually branch out to other cities. For more information the ambassador program visit, FewInitiative.org.