Michael Pride, Jr Memorial Humanitarian Scholarship Fund

Mike was a bright light in not only the lives of those who knew him personally, but also in the communities that he strived to reach and serve through his organization, ProjectEX. In 2017 Mike was given the vision to found ProjectEX, an organization formed to better communities via a more inclusive and unified local support system. Focused on mental health, youth counseling, addiction services and supporting communities in need, Mike reached out from the ground level to help those most in need in the best way he knew how. He organized food drives and backpack giveaways for students in need. He hit the streets handing out care packages, food items, and more, all in the hopes to make people feel seen. Mike also found himself at inner city high schools speaking to young men and sharing his life experiences. Being that he had fallen into certain troubles in his youth, Mike wanted to reach these young men from a point of caring and true understanding, showing them that there is hope and more than one path to choose from. His purpose was to enable these young men to focus on the beautiful parts of this life journey and not fall victim to the street mentality that so many do indeed fall victim to.