5000_role_models_web.jpgMIAMI — Former Miami Heat player Alonzo Mourning and his wife Tracy recently visited students in the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project at Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High School. Mourning, now Miami Heat vice president of Player Programs and Development, spoke to Role Model students about being responsible and planning for their future.

The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, a dropout prevention/intervention program for boys ages 9-19, was founded in 1993 by Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson while she served on the School Board of Miami-Dade County.

The program’s goal is to provide young boys with a carefully chartered path to manhood by pairing them with adult mentors whose legitimate success can inspire them to successes of their own.

This year the Role Models program is celebrating “20 Years of Mentoring, Guidance, and Educational Assistance” with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Scholarship Breakfast on Friday, Jan. 18.

The annual breakfast is the signature fundraising event of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Foundation Inc., through which Role Models has awarded millions in scholarships to graduating seniors of the program since its founding by Wilson.

The event takes place at 8:30 a.m. in the Jungle Island Treetop Ballroom, 1111 Parrot Jungle Tr., Miami. The keynote speaker is award-winning actor Malik Yoba, who is starring as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the television movie Betty and Coretta, scheduled to be released in February.

Other noted guests will include Wilson, Role Model Robert Parker, former director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, School Board members and school officials, 5000 Role Models students and mentors, and elected officials.

For more information call Tammy T. Reed or Renee Jones at 305-995-2451, ext. 2

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: 5000 Role Models of Excellence Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Scholarship Breakfast
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 18
WHERE:
Jungle Island Treetop Ballroom, 1111 Parrot Jungle Tr., Miami
CONTACT: Call 305-995-2451, ext. 2