KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Change Center transformed into a vessel for encouragement, team building and friendship on Saturday.
"It is our responsibility to do what we need so that we have successful males," Chapter President Carmanelette Rawls said.
Rawls said the EMBODI Conference took about a year to plan. It's a day-long event aimed at investing in young men in communities nationwide.
"We saw that need, that open space for us to help the males of Knox County," she said. EMBODI stands for Empowering Males to Build Opportunities for Developing Independence.
Malique Daniel is 12-years-old and already thinking about what comes next in his own life.
"The earlier you start, the better it can be," he said. "If you have dreams then it makes you want to work harder."
Having dreams is something Rawls said is at the core of everything her organization does across the country.
"It's okay to like education, you can be the president of a school, it's great to be an engineer, it's great to be a doctor," she said. "We want them to know they can be things outside of what society tells them they can be."
After a day of team building, mentor conversations and sessions, Rawls said she just wants young men to believe they have a place in any and every space.
"I want them to walking away knowing I belong here, I have a space in this world and I deserve to be here," she said.