MAYDAY Poplar Bluff: A community's call to action for youth empowerment through a 5K event

MAYDAY Poplar Bluff will host an Empower Her Stride 5K Walk/Run on Saturday March 22.

The event will be held at Bacon Park, 1471 W. Harper St.

Sign up starts at 8 a.m. and the race starts at 9 a.m. Cost is $25 per person.

All proceeds benefit scholarships and community events. MAYDAY Poplar Bluff seeks to make a positive impact on young girls in Butler County.

MAYDAY stands for Mentors Actively Yielding Direction Assisting Youth.

Erin Ceesay of Poplar Bluff is a quality programs specialist for the Missouri Department of Mental Health. MAYDAY was birthed after an incident occurred locally, she explained.

“When I read the incident report my heart ached tremendously when I read young girls were present at an event that led to two males being murdered and no one in the house at the time before or during the murders reached out for help,” Ceesay told the Daily American Republic soon after the group launched.

Ceesay recalls after reading the probable cause statement of the incident, she “went to bed that night and said, ‘God, what can I do to really help young girls in my community, because as a parent I must do more so my children and other children I am around will prayerfully know how to navigate through tough and trying times.’”

That same night, Ceesay said, she awoke “in the wee hours of the morning to the word MAYDAY, meaning ‘I need help.’ I immediately jumped up from my bed and said ‘God, I receive the call.’ I began to pray and ask God to help me plan this mentorship program so young girls in our community will see there are others besides their family that truly care about their futures.”

MAYDAY’s mission is to empower, inspire and motivate girls by mentoring and assisting them with life skills to overcome inequality and living successful lives, according to Ceesay.

“Our vision is to see girls in our community thrive to become upstanding members of our society, and in turn be an example of leadership to other young ladies in our community,” she said.

For more information, contact the group at maydaypoplarbluff@gmail.com.

Participants can sign up online at https://runsignup.com/Race/MO/PoplarBluff/EmpowerHerStrideKRunWalk.