Power 5 Leadership is an eight-week course that provides students with support services and academic literacy skills to boost the learning process and/or to close learning gaps. Students learn about leadership and character attributes, stages of development, what motivates them, emotional intelligence (EI) self and social awareness, self and relationship management, group dynamics, and team building using hands on techniques and small group teaching practices. The Power 5 approach connects students with supports for mental and emotional well-being and embraces student families and provide resources for them.

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The Bridge Building Program consists of the concept of building a bridge so others can cross once you have arrived safely to the other side. It is a mentoring program where high school students reach back to bring the community youth and elderly alongside them to ensure they receive the correct teachings and practices of giving and sharing. The focus is for students to participate in activities at area elementary and middle schools thereby cultivating relationships with the school, its students, staff, and community. The program began in 2001 where the students worked effortlessly in assisting younger students by participating and volunteering in their after school events and in voluntarism with elderly members and those that were less fortunate in their community.

The poem, The Bridge Builder, written by Will Allen Drumgoole, sparked a particular interest in cultivating the culture and climate to inspire the students in making a connection with other segments of the population. Bridge Building is just what it says, going ahead of others who must come after you, and having no fears of failure, of mistakes, misfortune, or in being denied the chance to succeed at anything, once attempted. The students ventured into the community to assist the elderly with yard work and light household repairs which gave them a reason to have pride in the community in which they came from. They also appreciated the wisdom, stories, and teachings provided to them from these seasoned “Bridge Builders.” The Bridge Builder program was the central force of the youth organization as it provided the students with a sense of accomplishment and pride from both the youth and elderly spectra of the community.

The Building Men and Women of Action program started as a result of a vision deriving from the heart and spirit of Coach Arthur R. Hawkins. It was created for high school young men and women where they could be an inspiration to others as they grow and develop into "powerful beyond measure" young adults. The program was founded in Clarksville, Tennessee and formerly referred to as The Big Boys and Girls of Clarksville. According to Hawkins, "I am thankful that God with all His infinite wisdom ordained me to develop such a youth organization. Young men as well as young women need something other than athletics to complete their lives and prepare them for what God has called them to do. First, they must understand the love of God and their family. Next, they must come to the realization that their coaches and teachers, whom they strive to please, love them, no matter if they are winners at their sporting events or not. Coaches are designed to love them for who they are and teach them to love each other building championship-like relationships. These young men and women are the result of such relationships. We feel that this structure will give these young men and women the ability to find their true purpose in life.”

The Men and Women of Action program strives to teach young adults to pay it forward, sowing the seeds of bridge building into the lives of other students through mentoring. This program began in 2001 at Byrns L. Darden Elementary School, located in Clarksville, Tennessee under the tutelage of principal, Mrs. Nora Wyatt and staff who procured a grant that breathed life into the mentoring program by allowing the Men and Women of Action group (referred to then as the Big Boys and Girls of Clarksville) to mentor to 100 plus elementary students at the above mentioned location.

The Building Men and Women of Action program was conceived within the youth at Salem High School’s athletic program in Conyers, Georgia and became inclusive of other students throughout the Salem campus. It has thrived for the last seven years at Memorial Middle School, in Rockdale County, Georgia. This program has been used as a pilot for many mentoring opportunities in the county of Rockdale. Salem High School along with all other high schools adopted a district wide plan in which all teachers became involved in the mentoring process. The students led the way and still do to this day under the leadership of Mr. Mark Mosier and Mr. Eddie Giles. Dr. Widza Robinson spearheads the mentoring at Memorial Middle School where the students at the high school volunteer on Saturdays to mentor to the middle school students.

The Giving 101 program was founded in 2001 by a former youth and community service organization called the Big Boys of Kenwood, now the Big Boys and Girls of Clarksville, Tennessee, a 501c3 organization started by Mr. Hawkins, which featured 12 high school football players. The program was first called the Big Boys of Kenwood and consisted of high school male athletes; later, girls became very interested in it, and it became the Big Boys and Girls of Clarksville, consisting of approximately 300 students. The program won several awards and was voted the number one youth organization in the city of Clarksville by the United Way Organization. The students worked tirelessly through fund-raisers such as car washes to raise over 30,000 dollars for scholarships for students less fortunate than themselves to attend college. These were bright students with a great deal of caring and compassion for others. Although they could have used the extra funds, not one of them was willing to accept a scholarship to attend college. Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club heard of their efforts at voluntarism and agreed to donate revenue to assist in their scholarship efforts. They raised enough funds for 18 scholarships and donated over 5,000 hours of community service by attending area nursing homes to visit elderly citizens on Sunday afternoons. No one had ever seen high school students visit nursing homes and become mentored by senior citizens by listening to their stories and sharing their lives with them. The seniors eagerly waited at nursing home entrances looking for their "boy" or "girl" to converse with and discuss events. The Big Boys and Girls of Clarksville also partnered with the Salvation Army to serve as bell ringers during the Christmas season. This was the most powerful thing that happened to kids who had no prior vision, and it soared to levels beyond what they had ever dreamed of.

Giving 101 is a military slogan that I (Coach Hawkins) learned in Drill Sergeant School during the 80’s, being the first and most important step an individual must take on his or her course of changing the mindset, behavior, and future of young men and women in the United States Army. It has worked for more than 100 years on developing leaders, unifying concepts, team building, and esprit de corps. It inspired these youth and instilled in them the desire to inspire others to understand that giving is the first and foremost concept one needs to internalize in order to impact anyone, any place, at any time. Giving 101 was purposeful in uniting students from all four area high schools and changing the mindset of youths in the community. The organization’s slogan was “Paving the way for the future, one boy or girl at a time.” The students learned life lessons and impacted their entire school, Kenwood High School, and under Principal Jerry Taylor, they adopted an initiative to get the whole school involved in the community outreach, inspiring the entire school staff to become a part of this movement that became the number one initiative in the city in 2003 by being elected as the elite youth organization in Clarksville, Tennessee.