Keith and Belinda Shannon, who now live in Wake Forest, started helping on such tours in Detroit in 1992. They moved to the Triangle in 1997, and with support from their church, the Baptist Grove Church, began the tours from Raleigh.
The couple are both graduates of historically black colleges (HBCUs), and they have established their own non-profit to organize and help finance the tours and college prep work. Belinda is a corporate attorney with the pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKlein and Keith, a retired U.S. Army recruiter, is a stay-at-home father and director of their non-profit and its mission.
"We wanted young people to know about HBCUs," explains Belinda. "We're in a position to help lift up our community and pass [our success] along."
The Shannons were part of a recent conference celebrating small philanthropies at Research Triangle Park and sponsored by NCGives, a Raleigh-based initiative. They talked to about 300 participants on their experience with their organization, PATT (Preparing America's Tomorrow Today).
"On the fourth day of our second tour, we were despondent and began thinking we wouldn't do another," recalls Keith. Then, at Virginia Union in Richmond, VA, their group met with a graduate from one of their Detroit tours. "He talked about what the tour had done for him and was so inspiring that we knew we would continue the spring break tours. Sometimes, you don't always know whether your efforts have an impact."
The tours typically include about 40+ students and some parents. The tour this year visited Alabama A&M, Oakwood College, Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, and Tennessee State University. They also take side trips to places such as the NASA-United State Space and Rocket Center in Alabama and cultural tour of Nashville, TN.
The tour this spring cost $300, which includes transportation, lodging, college tours and meals. The Shannons' non-profit helps pay for some participants who otherwise could not go.
They started their foundation after people offered to help defray expenses and talking with friends of NGAAP (Next Generation of African American Philanthropists), a Triangle giving circle. PATT coordinates two college tours a year and conducts college preparatory workshops. The Shannons also hold seminars on how to pay for a college education and where to look for financial aid. Eventually, the Shannons want PATT to provide scholarships.
Keith has started a shorter tour for middle school students during a teacher work-day weekend. "We visited Virginia Union and also got to meet the new Virginia governor," he says. On PATT's future agenda is a trip to Kenya.
Says Keith, "After serving my country, it gives me a real personal satisfaction helping my own community. We want people to know about the possibilities of success, to believe in themselves."
