Promoting Positive Choices Among Youths

By Marleneá Salmu, president and founder, Intelligent One

Do you know anyone who has been affected by violence?

Have you ever considered how you could help a young person make a positive life change?

Would you help stop the violence if you could?

Marleneá Salmu

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Marleneá Salmu

I am the founder and president of Intelligent One, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves teens and young adults from 17 to 25 years of age. It was founded in memory of my son Demetrius DeShields, who was senselessly murdered. He was a wonderful and kind person who had the utmost respect for himself and others.

Those who knew him adored him.

Intelligent One is about building self-worth and self-esteem in our teens and young adults so that they will be able to make better decisions in their lives. We take our educational and inspirational video program into high schools, private schools, colleges and churches. We also are happy to say that our curriculum has been implemented at YMCAs, libraries and military bases. In the program, we interact with the students to make sure that they are receiving the information in the correct and positive way to help them to make the right choices in their lives.

Our program addresses issues that include violence, bullying, cyber bullying, peer pressure, drugs, suicide, teen pregnancy, Internet addictions and more.

We would appreciate any support that you are able to help us with – whether it is in the form of donations, referrals to others who may be able to help us or volunteering your services, even if it’s just two hours a week.

We are always looking for teens and young adults ages 17 to 25 who would like to volunteer or tell their story on video. Please go to our website and email us a little bit of your story. I look forward to hearing from you.

Please email us at info@intelligentone.org. For more information, visit intelligentone.org.