Best of the West: 5 Students

By Amanda Barber

This article was originally published by Westside Together, a community-driven initiative to support Charleston’s West Side residents, families, businesses, and partners by working together to create a thriving community for all. You can make a donation here.

This fall, five young men were given Westside Together’s Best of West Award (BOWA) for their good deeds in the community. The students’ names are Kash White, Owen Aldridge, Ja’Mahri Davis, Brenden Shirriel, and Kamron Sims. 

Charleston resident Jamaal Davis nominated the children for the award in recognition of their positive contributions and for being “just all-around good kids.” Davis says the kids regularly lend a hand at the Roosevelt Neighborhood Center and other local community centers. He has often seen them holding doors open for people and assisting elderly individuals in wheelchairs as they enter or exit the building. 

“They do a lot of things that, you know, sometimes the naked eye might not see,” Jamaal says. “ … So, I kind of wanted to reward them for that and let them know that the good deeds they do, that somebody sees it and somebody recognizes it.” 

Jamaal describes the kids as “on-and-off-the-court athletes.” They play football and basketball. He says they are also exceptional students, keeping above a 3.0 GPA and having maintained that since the first or second grade. Kash and Owen are in the fifth grade, and Ja’Mahri, Brenden, and Kamron are in the eighth grade. 

Jamaal knows the nominated children and many other West Side kids through a program he runs called Creating the Advantage (CTA). CTA uses sports and mentorship to engage kids in positive activities and help shape them into great kids who will become successful, responsible adults. The goal of the program is to use athletics as a pathway to get children involved and then show them that there are many other ways to thrive in life. 

Jamaal says the young men who were given the BOWA are also dedicated to the program’s mission by showing up and being leaders.

“Even in their situations as younger kids, they still showed mentorship throughout our program,” Jamaal says. “If a new kid comes through, they kind of train those kids and show them the things that we’re doing and how we do things as well.” 

As Jamaal reflects on his work with CTA, he recognizes the West Side as one of the key places that gave him opportunities that led him to where he is today. When he first started this type of work, it was the various West Side little league programs that helped him in a major way. Jamaal says he always had a love for helping the youth, but that it all really comes from growing up on the West Side. He has been able to witness over time how things have started, evolved, and expanded in the neighborhood. 

“It just takes pride in your neighborhood – and the places that you have grown and come through every day – to see that people are trying to make change, and that we’re in that position now in our age group and our era,” Jamaal says. “We’re in the situation now to where we can be the change.”

Jamaal says he sees the same drive for meaningful community change in the kids nominated for the BOWA, as they build connections, help others, and strive towards success. He says that CTA is “planting fruitful seeds” for children, and if the program continues its work, those kids will, in turn, pass those seeds on to others. He witnesses the work done running onto the next generation, and that generation helping the people around them, and sees the potential for positive action to spill over onto the following generations. 

“We see that a lot throughout the kids because what they do is, once you help kids and you do certain things that empower them in their life, you know, they look back and see what’s coming behind them, as in the other kids that’s to come, and they give that back,” Jamaal says. 

Kash, Owen, Ja’Mahri, Brenden and Kamron were presented with the BOWA at the Westside Collaborative Meetup on Sept. 10. Mavery Davis, Westside Together Collaborative & Fund Coordinator, welcomed Jamaal and the kids up for the award. Jamaal explained to the crowd why he nominated the group. Mavery also gave the floor to the children to speak to the crowd and thank them for the opportunity of being chosen. Then, Mavery closed with an inspiring message to the five young nominees. 

“Just keep doing what you know is the right thing and showing up for yourself, showing up for your community, and good things will happen, you know,” Mavery said at the Collaborative Meetup. “So, we’re proud of y’all and keep going.”