16 and Sweet, Where it Counts
By Patti Jares
When Shannon Nelson heard her daughter begin to make plans for a Super Sweet 16 party, she decided to propose an idea of her own.
“Right now, MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 is all the buzz,” Nelson says. “It’s a competition on who can have the most outrageous sixteenth birthday party. I wondered how, as a parent raising a child in North Scottsdale, I could refocus her energy away from something so self-serving.”
It was the recent visit to an orphanage in Raymond, Haiti that brought about Shannon’s brainstorm: to challenge her daughter, Shaelyn Mercer, to build an orphanage in lieu of a Sweet 16 party, and aim for December 16, Shaelyn’s birthday, to be the completion date. When Nelson approached Shaelyn with the idea, the 15-year-old became excited after the initial shock wore off.
“I was kind of surprised my mom came up with an idea so big,” admits Shaelyn, “but when I realized we could do it, I was thrilled.”
The two have collaborated to establish S3 For a Purpose (S3 standing for the first letters of Super Sweet Sixteen), a nonprofit organization developed to raise money for the expansion of an existing orphanage in Haiti. The goal is to purchase seventeen acres surrounding the orphanage and build a house, a school large enough to contain 800 students, a community center, and a recreation area. On March 12, Nelson and the organization’s board of directors will accompany Shaelyn to Haiti to view the site for the new facility. While many of her friends are partying during spring break, Shaelyn will be meeting children who will benefit from her labor of love.
“Shaelyn has a gift of mercy,” Nelson says. “We have to give our kids tools that can make them a part of something larger than themselves. When I got her to think about this, there was no hesitation. It opened her eyes.”
Because of the generosity and activism of Shaelyn Mercer and Shannon Nelson, children who have had little sweetness in their lives will remember this more-than-super Sweet 16.
Anyone interested in donating to S3 for a purpose to help realize Shaelyn’s project can contact Shannon Nelson at (800) 430-6322, ext. 1616. For more information, view the organization’s Web site at futurewithpurpose.org.