Editor's Note: To discover and reward our own colleagues doing their part to change and improve the world by sacrificing time and energy outside the office, we established 'My Heroes.' For several weeks we reached out to our staff for 'My Hero' nominations... After two rounds of judging, three winners and seven finalists were selected. Here are their stories:

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Selah speaking with young me n who are members of his non-profit mentoring group, A Guiding Hand

WINNER: Selah Abrams
Production Engineer, Turner Studios

Selah Abrams – helped establish “A Guiding Hand”, a mentor program for young kids in the juvenile court system. As one of three founding (and remaining) volunteers he gives his time, money and heart to help these young boys change their outlook on life and the world, with the goal of letting them re-enter society as leaders and real men instead of as criminals.

Selah Abrams deserves recognition as a Hero because of his commitment and dedication to mentoring young men who are in the Fulton County Juvenile system through the “Guiding Hand” mentor program, which he helped establish. Selah has been one of the three members who has consistently run this non-profit organization from the inception. Selah typically meets with the kids bi-weekly to provide activities that range from one-on-one meetings to playing basketball games (mentees vs. mentors!), as well as assisting with homework. Selah's relentless efforts to providing support by being a friend and mentor to young men in need is often a life-changing act in itself. Mentees usually have a “hard shell” when they enter the program, which is by court order of the presiding judge, but once Selah lends his support to help “crack the shell”, anyone can see that these “high risk” young men are as creative, intelligent, talented, and have as much potential as kids identified as “high potential.”

Selah has contributed to the success rate in making a difference with the kids to help prevent recidivism to increase the quality of life in the communities we live in. There are approximately 10,000 open cases and approximately 8,500 new cases each year which can be deemed as an epidemic. Selah his helping fund the program using his personal income to help make a difference in the lives of many young men to make a positive impact not only in the lives of these people but also leading to a positive impact in the lives of their families, friends, and communities. At peak times, there have been approximately 160 young men in the program at once. Selah not only gives his money but also his precious time to help educate the juveniles by providing “real talk” sessions with mentees on current issues, such as saggy pants law, the Michael Vick case, sports employment opportunities, the economy, how to interact with police officers, and other impactful topics.

Selah also provides his own car and gas to help transport these young men around town. Selah's help and guidance in overseeing “A Guiding Hand,” a non-profit organization, is not about rehabilitation to him but to help lift young men from a bad cycle through reaching out to both them and their families to make a positive difference in their lives. The young men are often surrounded by females who “coddle” them per say; however, Selah offers the young men support through "tough love" providing them a male figure to respect and learn from as he prepares them to enter the real world in preparation for them to hopefully leave the juvenile court system. Selah's greatest joy is to not only to see these young men make a 180 degree turn in their lives but also to see them give back to a society they once burdened.

Selah's commitment to make a difference each and every day through “A Guiding Hand” is an inspiration. Selah's ability to connect to young men by lending his patience, understanding, time, and money to the challenges and struggles in each of their lives embodies the qualities of a “true” hero. If there were only more people like Selah, there is no doubt that this world would be a better place to live in.