STARKVILLE — Before Nick Bell died last fall, he told his mother he wanted to be a mentor to kids.
The former Mississippi State defensive end, who lost a brief battle with cancer Nov. 2, didn”t have a father figure growing up, leaving his mother, Linda, to rely on his coaches to help mold the respectful, personable young man she and many others remember.
She recalls an unsuccessful search to find Nick a “big brother” while she was raising him, which led to a promise he made to her: He”d become a mentor to children after college.
With the start of the Nick Bell Mentoring Memorial Foundation, Linda aims to keep that promise alive.
“He turned out to be such a fine fella. People would tell me that all the time,” Linda said. “With this foundation, we want to connect with those people in the process of mentoring. We want to get those people who are already established and identify those children who need the help.
“Our vision for The NBMMF is to help build character, integrity, and hope in the lives of our young people. These were a few of the qualities that made Nick Bell who he was.”
The non-profit organization got its state tax ID number this month and is accepting donations through its web site, www.nickbellfoundation.org.
Linda”s and Nick”s sisters, Monica Bell McAlpine and Ashley Bell Windham, are in the early stages of networking and raising funds to help establish other programs on their agenda.
A scholarship fund was established at the Bell family”s church, Faith Chapel Christian Center, where the Nick Bell Foundation also is supporting three children in church-related programs.
Bessemer City School also set up a scholarship fund.
Linda said she plans to reach out to the MSU athletic department once the foundation gains more traction.
MSU senior safety Charles Mitchell, who was one of two teammates to speak at Nick”s memorial service on campus, said his best friend would have made a great mentor.
“He had a good attitude,” Mitchell said. “You always felt positive energy around him and he”s just a good guy. Real funny. Always good with children. His nephew, Zion, he was real close with him. He always talked about him. I know and believe he would have been great with kids and giving back because he didn”t have his dad around.”
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