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One local chapter of a national organization is making a difference in the lives of Selma High School students.

The 100 Black Men of Selma, Inc., have been taking time throughout the school year to mentor a group of high school students.

Robert Stewart, chairman of the mentoring program and charter member, said that the focus of their December meeting on Friday, Dec. 13, was on health and wellness, which is one of the four pillars of the organization.

“One of the most underserved areas in the African American community is health and wellness,” Stewart said. “Our goal today is to help these young men to do things to improve their health and to keep them healthy.”

Dr. Ijeoma Okeke, doctor of osteopathic medicine at Cahaba Medical Center, encouraged the students to make healthy decisions with nutrition, exercise and preventive care. Okeke said that it is important to get at least 30 minutes of exercise five times a week and doing some resistance training at least twice a week with either weights and stretching.

With nutrition, she also asked students to choose more vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, in their diets.

And with preventive care, Okeke said she wanted them to have at least an annual checkup each year. She said their primary care doctor will give them a thorough checkup from checking their blood samples to examining their mobility.

“If you don’t do anything else, you need to have your annual checkup every year,” Okeke said. “It’s one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy.”

Okeke and Stewart also touched on other areas of health and wellness, including focusing on mental health, social wellness to make sure they have healthy relationships with others, building strong networks for friendships and work and also having positive role models who will mentor them.

Others who attended the mentorship program included chapter president Warren “Billy” Young and members Charles Johnson Sr., Pastor Labarron Mack, Jerome Thames and Karl Taylor.

“What we want to do is to have a positive impact on these young men and help mentor them to become the next generation of leaders in our community,” Young said.