From Purpose to Impact: I Am My Brother’s Keeper

“Many times, people may talk about the needs, but I think oftentimes we overlook their strengths and their abilities. So, to be able to showcase the kids for what they can do versus focusing on their deficits, to me, has been awesome.”

Words by Cynthia Williford | Photography by Sarah Van Hecke

She was a magnet. 

Her weekends and afternoons were spent differently than most of her college-age peers. She’d return to her hometown just a few miles from Auburn University to reunite with the young people who followed her everywhere. At a young age, she took on the role of youth pastor at her father’s church. And she loved those kids. 

“I think we all have a purpose, and I think me working with children is my purpose,” said Dr. Trellis Smith. “It was just given to me.”

So she let it guide her. She majored in family and consumer sciences at Auburn and went on to get her master’s degree in family and child development. She pushed further, eventually getting her doctorate in child and family development and entering a career with the State of Alabama where she advocates for children. 

Between her day job and raising three children as a single mother, Trellis wanted to do more. She was pulled back to these kids who would follow her around because they were bored at home. Often raised in single-parent families, their parents were out working to support them. So they clung to the mentorship and community that Trellis provided. Their dreams for their futures were small, so Trellis pushed them to aim for things they thought were out of reach. 

In 2006, she and a group of others with a shared heart started I Am My Brother’s Keeper (IAMBK), a local nonprofit organization that focuses on giving school-age children and teens a place to be nurtured and to flourish. Four years later, she saw a growing need in Tuskegee and expanded the program to span two communities. Sixty students are now impacted by the organization every week. 

Through after-school and summer programs, IAMBK started by helping kids with their school work. But it’s morphed into more. They noticed some of the kids weren’t excited about school, but they had talents. So they decided to build on their strengths. 

“It all started with one young lady,” Trellis remembered. 

Her home life was far less than ideal, but when she came to IAMBK, she lit up. 

“She would talk my ears off,” Trellis said with a laugh. She saw this as an opportunity to hone her natural gifts into something more. So she reached out to a professor in Auburn University’s theater department to see if they could give her some pointers on monologues. They accepted the challenge, and after some training, she ended up playing a major role in one of the university’s productions. 

Now, the program has connected dancers with dance studios, musicians with instructors and artists with teachers. Students give back by sharing their gifts with the community. They’ve performed for veterans and at senior centers, and their art work has been on display at Auburn Bank and at Tuskegee city council meetings. 

Along with the arts, the organization provides community feeding programs, clothing, counseling and preparation for the workforce. Parents are brought into the mix with group programs like cooking and gardening. 

And that’s why Trellis does it. To take these young people with limited exposure, help them realize their dreams and nurture them to be able to accomplish them.

“Many times, people may talk about the needs, but I think oftentimes we overlook their strengths and their abilities. So, to be able to showcase the kids for what they can do versus focusing on their deficits, to me, has been awesome,” Trellis said. “That motivates them, I think, better than anything I could say to them or do when they see their own success and the impact they can make on someone else.” 

“That motivates them, I think, better than anything I could say to them or do when they see their own success and the impact they can make on someone else.”

This coming year, a new component will be added to the program that lets IAMBK impact a group that has been out of reach. Through a partnership with local probation officers, IAMBK will mentor children in the court system and reach “those kids who would normally or otherwise be overlooked or pushed to the side.” 

“You’d be surprised at the barriers that these kids have to overcome just to do something that you would think is common and is expected of kids,” Trellis said. 

Over 13 years of connecting and investing, Trellis has seen kids who have been in the program for years become leaders. Some teach classes for the younger children. And she’s seen community businesses and organizations come together to invest in the kids. The impact is real.

“I’m blessed because I help somebody else. I can’t really think of a need that I have. And I’m grateful that I’m in a position to give to others because it’s rewarding to me to see somebody else happy, excited or rejuvenated,” Trellis said. “I get pleasure from seeing others who otherwise thought that they couldn’t learn that they can.”

Am My Brother’s Keeper relies on volunteers to keep these services going. You can find more about IAMBK’s mission and how you can get involved at iambkinc.org or by contacting Dr. Smith at iambk@ymail.com or (334) 728-0309.