___ __ __ ___ __ ___ __ _____ ? ? ? ?
Scott Shows that he Cares
Local nonprofit prepares youngsters for arts c areers
BY LAY LA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
With his shoulder length
dreadlocks and colorful sneak
ers, Scott Abdul-Salaam hardly
looks old enough to be mentor
ing college students. Yet the
41 -year-old executive says he
has a wealth of wisdom to
impart to the next generation.
"God blessed me with all pf
this information throughout ihy
career - there must be the obli
gation part on giving this back
somewhere," he commented. "I
thought that that was the right
thing to do."
He founded the ScottCares
Foundation in 2005 as a means
of added support for youths
hailing from low-income back
grounds who wish to pursue
careers in technology or the
arts.
"The mission of the founda
tion is to teach and promote
computer literacy to the youth,
enabling them to reach their
God-given potential," Abdul
Salaam explained.
Now in its third year, the
501(c)(3) nonprofit
Submitted Photo
Teens involved with ScottCares Foundation projects.
Girbaud jeans.
"When I hit in my 30's ... I
had accomplished more than
most people in 20 years of
work," he said.
And 1 Basketball relocated
the New Jersey native to North
Carolina in 2002. He served as
vice president of the company's
accessories division.
"I helped grow that compa
would interview, and unfortu
nately, some of them were not
really prepared," he explained.
Abdul-Salaam resolved to
change that fact by becoming
an adjunct professor at WSSU.
"The opportunities are end
less - endless, endless endless
- and there's little things that
you can prepare these students
to know before they even get
there," he said. "That's when I
said if I could come over (to
WSSU) and a( least start out in
the art department, then 1 can
help give these kids what they
really, really need and what
they need to know before they
graduate."
Turnout for Abdul-Salaam's
class was nonexistent, so he
began recruiting students to
intern at Next Level.
The entrepreneur says his
interest in the young people
grew, as he watched how much
knowledge they absorbed
under his guidance.
The experience inspired hir^T" )
and soon he was reaching Our
to a far younger population,
through the foundation.
"We just want to make sure
that we focus on the creative
field, because ... 1 understand
manufacturing is offshore; cre
ativity is domestic," he said. "I
can teach technical, but I can't
teach creativity; creativity's
something that you're blessed
with. We want to recognize
those blessings that God has
given these kids and help them
reach those potentials that may
lie dormant inside each of those
children, because it's just
important to us."
has hosted a vari
ety of events, from
step shows to bas
ketball competi
tions. It reaches
out to children
hailing from a vari
ety of organiza
tions such as the
Boys and Girls
Club and awards
scholarships to
vouth who are
Abdul-Salaam
ny - 1 think when I got
there, we might have
been (worth) $4 mil
lion; like in two years,
we grew that company
(to) about $13-14 mil
lion," he declared.
From there, Abdul
Salaam says he decid
ed to take a leap of
faith and fry his hand
as an entrepreneur.
"Since I've
worked in the corpo
interested in pursuing careers
in the arts.
Professionals in related
fields become members of the
organization, providing finan
cial support and the wisdom of
real world experience to partic
ipating students.
The founder and president
of his own company, Next ,
Level Accessories, Abdul
Salaam has enjoyed consider- j
able success over the course of
his career, which included ,
stints at clothing companies v
such as Starter, Healthtex and /
rate world and I knew how to
do this thing, I was done ? I
was done making money for
somebody else," he remarked.
Working in the corporate
world, Abdul-Salaam says he
was able to observe many
prospective employees through
the eyes of an executive.
Oftentimes, young, African
American graduates fell short,
le says.
"When 1 sat as an executive
/ice president for Andl, I
vould come in contact with
\frican Americans ... that I
Big names will speak in
Greensboro as part of series
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Guilford College 's*5008-0y Bryan Series will explore human
relationships on a global ?$le in lectures by best-selling authors and
social commentators ivnaied
Hosseini, Tim Russert. Sir
Salman Rushdie and Anna
Quindlen.
Hosseini, the author of
"The Kite Runner" and "A
Thousand Splendid Suns,"
will speak Tuesday, Oct. 14.
Russert, the managing edi
tor and host of NBC's "Meet
the Press" and author of
"Big Russ and Me," will
speak Tuesday, Nov. 18.
Rushdie, author of
"Midnight's Childfen" and
the controversial "The
Satanic Verses," among
other best-sellers, and recip
ient of the Man Booker
Prize, will speak Tuesday,
Feb. 10, 2009. Quindlen,
Pulitzer Prize winning jour
nalist and author of "One
NBCPhoco
"Meet the Press " host Tim Russert
will speak Nov. 18.
0. m ? A ?? 1 A
I rue Thing' and other books, will speaK tuesaay, /\pni it, zuuf.
All programs will take place at 7:30 p.m. in War Memorial
Auditorium in Greensboro.
Season passes are now on sale at the Greensboro Coliseum
Advance Box Office, online at www.guilford.edu/bryanseries or by
calling 336-218-5550.
Passes for new subscribers are $80. Tickets will be available for
individual events beginning in September.
Fixing problems
with fresh ideas.
Moore?
KC Governor
Dontf wait, register to vote
a/ld vote early starting
April 17th.
It's One-Stop Early Voting, and
it's easy. Even it you're not
registered to vote or have never
I voted before.
For more information or
to find your One-Stop
Early Vote location, visit
NC.BarackObama.com,
call 1-888 NC-EARLY,
or text NC toj52262L
ONE STOP EARLY VOTING - APRIL 17 TO MAY 3.
Vote for Barack Obama in the Democratic primary.
For more information call 1-888-NC-EARLY or go to NC.BarackObama.com
| Paid tor by Obama (or Am>r1c?] @ Obama 08