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Bernard Bell, his UNC Chapel Hill students and the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship are making the world a better place.  It’s as simple as that. Home | Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship.

Bernard Bell, the executive director of the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship, poses for a portrait on Polk Place on October 28, 2019, on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

As his students will attest, Bernard is an inspirational leader on campus in Chapel Hill.  His personality shines bright in a crowd, and his enthusiasm is infectious.  Though we all have struggles and stress in our lives, Bernard is the man who never fails to greet you with a smile and positive attitude.  It’s this kind of attitude that the Shuford Program instills in its students.

Social entrepreneurship is the practice of using entrepreneurial principles and methods to address social problems and create positive social impact, often through innovative, market-based solutions. It involves individuals, businesses and organizations leveraging their resources and expertise to tackle issues like poverty, illiteracy, depression and mental health struggles.  To that end the nonprofit, Lessons For Life Through Sports, is reminding folks to “put down your phone, and pick up a book.” The nonprofit partnered with The Shuford Program to gift each Shuford graduate a copy of Lessons For Tar Heels. It’s a reminder of what they learned during their time at Carolina, and it’s a gift they’re encouraged to read with others and further build the UNC community.

The hope is that by explaining the nonprofit’s mission to Shuford entrepreneurs, they may find creative solutions to tackle the global problem of depression and isolation caused, in part, by excessive screen time and lack of in person connection. Afterall, Shuford students are known to recognize problems and find solutions.

UNC Football players donating books to children at the UNC Children’s Hospital.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve learned that excessive screen time and social media are not only driving people apart, but they are leading to increased isolation, depression and a global mental health crisis.  It turns out, these iPhones and screens we are supposed to be using as tools, are actually using us; monopolizing our time and attention like never before. 

“It’s been 33 years since Steve Jobs talked about the personal computer becoming a bicycle for the mind. In those years, the advent of the smartphone and the mass adoption of social media have turned those bicycles into runaway trains. Americans spend more than four hours a day on their smartphones–and more than half say they are addicted to their device. In May 2023, the surgeon general issued a warning about the concerning effects of social media on youth mental health.” (article by Royce Braning).

Learn more about Lessons For Life Through sports here. BACK 2 BOOKS!