2018 Dorothy Wilson Mabry Award Recipient: Rodney Graham

The 2018 Dorothy Wilson Mabry Award in Recognition of Outstanding Accomplishments by a Healthy Start Participant or Grass-Roots Community Leader was presented at the January 2018 Coalition Meeting to Rodney Graham, a Fatherhood PRIDE participant.

Rodney Graham is a single father of two boys and a member of the Fatherhood program. His initial goals when entering the program were to gain employment, obtain childcare and to learn how to advocate for change in his community. Rodney completed the 16-week Make a Difference! Leadership Academy offered by the Coalition. He was instrumental in ensuring the safety of children for his Leadership Community Action Project. He and other members on his leadership team identified an unsafe bus stop for the children in their neighborhood, and through the advocacy and actions of him and his team members, the school bus stop was moved and the children were located to a safer area. Mr. Graham recently started a Big Brother Program in the apartment complex where he resides (Blodgett Community).  He continues to promote the Fatherhood program to his coworkers and the people he meets that ask the question “What is Fatherhood P.R.I.D.E?”

This award is intended to recognize the outstanding efforts and accomplishments of a participant in the Healthy Start program or a grass-roots community leader. The award honors the legacy of Dorothy Wilson Mabry, a community volunteer and advocate, who devoted her life to supporting the empowerment and achievement of young women and vulnerable families. The Wilson Family provided a generous donation in honor of their mother which supports a stipend for the award recipient.