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Posts published in “Philanthropy”

THE GOODS: Holiday Gifts That Do Some Good – (RED) – GBN

By goodblacknews on December 8, 2015

Lesa Lakin
Lesa Lakin

This holiday season, why not do some good and purchase (RED) products. (RED) was founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2006 with a simple mission to fight AIDS and an ultimate goal of an AIDS-free generation. Through the years, companies have partnered with (RED) to offer great products. When we buy these products, 100% of the money goes directly to work in the fight against AIDS.
Throughout the past decade, (RED) has raised $320 million… but more can be raised and hopefully an AIDS-free generation is coming…  This year why not give the gift that helps save a life.

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SUGA (RED) LIP TREATMENT SPF 22.50

Gimme some suga! A limited-edition Sugar Lip Treatment wrapped in red to support the fight against AIDS. Can’t think of a better stocking stuffer.
Gap X (RED) T

GAP X (RED) WORD CREW TEE $29. 95

Mens:
http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=1997410020002&cid=1046545
Women’s:
http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?vid=1&pid=199742002
For all (RED) products click here: https://red.org/products/
#GBN #goodblacknews.org #giftideas #(RED) #TheGap #Suga(RED)LipTreatment

Muslim Americans Raise Almost $100K for Victims of San Bernardino Shooting

By goodblacknews on December 8, 2015
People gather at a makeshift memorial near the Inland Regional Center during the aftermath of a mass shooting that killed 14 people on Sunday, December 6, 2015 in San Bernardino, California, USA. AFP PHOTO/PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP / Patrick T. Fallon (Photo credit should read PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images)
People gather at a makeshift memorial near the Inland Regional Center during the aftermath of a mass shooting that killed 14 people on Sunday, December 6, 2015 in San Bernardino, California, USA. AFP PHOTO/PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP / Patrick T. Fallon (Photo credit should read PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images)

Six days have passed since 14 people were killed and 17 injured at a social services center in San Bernardino, California. And five days have passed since Muslim groups and leaders from across the nation united to help raise nearly $100,000 for the victims’ families.
Faisal Qazi, a neurologist and the co-founder of the family centered development organization MiNDS, and Tarek El-Messidi, co-founder of the Islamic nonprofit CelebrateMercy, joined forces to start the donation fund on LaunchGood Thursday, with a goal of combating hate with love. Their mission: to raise money for the families of the 14 victims killed during a shooting at the Inland Regional Center by Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik. FBI investigators said Monday that the couple had been radicalized by the Islamic State.

We wish to respond to evil with good, as our faith instructs us, and send a powerful message of compassion through action. Our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: “Have mercy to those on earth, and the One in the Heavens (God) will have mercy upon you.” And the Quran teaches to “Repel evil by that which is better” (41:34).

Groups like MECASoCal and the Islamic Networks Group, as well as prominent national Muslim leaders, put their names on the fund, which raised more than $88,000 by Tuesday evening. El-Messidi told The Huffington Post the money will go to the San Bernardino families in batches.
“We’re planning within a week to give the first batch of donations to the families so it can help with more short-term immediate expenses,” he said. “The idea is to help alleviate the burden on the families, potentially funeral expenses and whatnot. We know no amount of money will bring back their loved ones, but hopefully this will make things a little easier for them.”

El-Messidi said he hopes the fund will send a message about the Muslim community.
“I think it sends a clear message that American Muslims are here to build and not destroy,” he told HuffPost. “We do not want to be associated at all with extremists who are putting people in harm’s way, and we want to show this as just one example of how American Muslims are contributors to society, trying to make our society a better place. … We are hoping in this time of crises, those who are Muslim and those who are not will get to know each other. Dialogue is the only way to clear up this state of confusion and tension.”
article by Cavan Sieczkowski via huffingtonpost.com

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Hosts Celebration to Make Sure Prisoners' Kids Have a Christmas

By goodblacknews on December 7, 2015

(L to R) Dawn Wilson-Clark of Detroit who plays Kuddles the Clown works at painting the face of Ramiyah Johnson, 5 of Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015. (Photo: Eric Seals Detroit Free Press)
(L to R) Dawn Wilson-Clark of Detroit who plays Kuddles the Clown works at painting the face of Ramiyah Johnson, 5 of Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015. (Photo: Eric Seals Detroit Free Press)

Three dozen Detroit kids with a parent in prison got a special day of their own Saturday, as members of a local chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority presented them with gifts and goodies arranged through a national group that focuses on redemption and healing for offenders and their families.
For the fifth year, the women of the Redford-based Tau Alpha Omega chapter of AKA hosted a Christmas celebration for children, complete with visits with Santa Claus and Paws, the Detroit Tigers mascot. Kuddles the Clown painted faces and made balloon animals for the kids.
Sorority members also purchased gifts for the children, working with their caregivers to determine what clothing and toys each child wanted most. The gifts, which the children and their families take home to open on Christmas, come with a message from the incarcerated parent. It’s a way for the children to know they’ve not been forgotten by that parent and are loved.
Doris Pickett brought two grandchildren to the party, Raekwon Mitchell, 9, and Ramiya Johnson, 5.

“They look forward to it every year,” Pickett said as the kids made crafts together before lunch and Santa’s arrival. “We’re just trying to make sure the kids have a good time.”
Asked what his favorite part of the day was, Raekwon couldn’t pick just one. “I like everything,” he said.
The sorority arranges the party and gifts through the Angel Tree program of the Prison Fellowship, a Virginia-based nonprofit that provides assistance for the families of prisoners nationwide. The group estimates there are 2.7 million children in the U.S. with an incarcerated parent.
The festive atmosphere Saturday in a banquet room at the Hotel St. Regis in the New Center area — including a meal of hot dogs, chips, cookies and other goodies — is meant to give the children an afternoon of joy. They’re given Christmas-themed pages to color with markers and colored pens, plus crafts to make gingerbread men and other decorations.
“We don’t want it to be a handout,” said Tau Alpha Omega chapter president Starlett Burrell of Southfield. “We want it to be a celebration.”

Chris Brown Pledges $1 From Every New Album Sold by December 25 to Children’s Charity

By goodblacknews on November 29, 2015

(Instagram)
Chris Brown and daughter Royalty (photo via Instagram)

In a stroke of marketing (and altruistic) genius, singer Chris Brown has pledged to donate $1 from the sale of every copy of his upcoming album “Royalty” to a children’s charity.
He made the announcement via video on Instagram where he said, “The holidays are all about giving back, so this Christmas, from now until Christmas, if you order the album, pre-order the album, one dollar of every album sold will go to Children’s Miracle Network Hospital”
“So please do your part. Give back, return it for the holidays,” he added.
Royalty, which is named after his daughter, is available to pre-order now.
https://www.instagram.com/p/-nGr9ePpSF/
article by Blue Telusma via thegrio.com

30 HBCU Students Receive Scholarships from Apple in $40 Million Diversity Effort

By goodblacknews on November 16, 2015

(Image: Denise Smith Young - fortune.com)
Apple VP Denise Young-Smith (photo via fortune.com)

Apple made a $40 million dollar multi-year commitment, the largest and most comprehensive corporate investment ever given exclusively for students and faculty of four-year HBCUs.  Apple awarded 30 HBCU students a one-year college scholarship and a summer internship program at Apple’s headquarters at the Leadership Institute in Washington D.C., last weekend.
Hosted by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) the students were chosen from across 47 HBCUs. The 30 Apple scholars were announced by Denise Young-Smith, vice president for worldwide human resources, Apple. Young-Smith is herself a graduate of an HBCU; Grambling State University.
“The people at Apple don’t just create products—they create the kind of wonder that’s revolutionized entire industries,” remarked Young-Smith at the ceremony. “And it’s the diversity of those people and their ideas that inspires the innovation that runs through everything we do, from amazing technology to industry-leading environmental efforts,” she said.
The Apple HBCU Scholars Program is part of the new Apple and TMCF Diversity Initiative between Cupertino and TMCF. As part of the partnership, Apple made a $40 million dollar multi-year commitment, the largest and most comprehensive corporate investment ever given exclusively for students and faculty of four-year HBCUs.
“There are ‘scholarships’ and then there are ‘scholarship programs,’” said TMCF President & CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr. “Apple has made an historic investment in a scholarship program that will transform the lives of HBCU star students by not only removing the financial barriers to college attendance, but by providing them additional non-financial program elements like Apple mentors and summer internships. These Apple HBCU Scholars will be the future tech industry leaders.”
The scholarship includes up to $25,000 for their senior year; a summer internship in Cupertino, California; participation in a year-round program to prepare for post-graduation careers; pairing with an Apple mentor during their senior year; the opportunity to serve as Ambassadors on their campuses to build awareness about the Apple and TMCF Diversity Initiative; an invitation to attend TMCF’s Annual Leadership Institute; and participation in the Apple HBCU Immersion Experience in Cupertino.
“This program is about exposing gifted students from HBCUs to a career in technology. We’re big believers that innovation will be strongest when talented people from diverse backgrounds are part of the creative process,” said Young-Smith. “That’s why we’re so proud to be partnering with TMCF to help us find the next generation of innovators.”
One of the Apple HBCU scholars, Lauren Patterson, previously interned at Apple. She introduced Young-Smith at the event.
“I learned a lot at Apple last summer. It was a great experience working with people from all backgrounds,” said Patterson. “I love to code,” she said. Patterson wants to do anything “code-related” for a career, including being a software engineer.
Here is the full list of the Apple HBCU Scholars and their schools:
Angelica Willis, North Carolina A&T
Bethlehem Zergaw, Alabama A&M
Bushra-Sultan Yagboyaju, Fisk
Chukwuemelie Onwubuya, Allen University
Dakari Franklin, Morehouse
Darnel Williams, Grambling State University
David Nesbeth, Howard University
Deshaun Crawford, Delaware State University
Ebenezer Nkrumah, Fisk University
Grant Pope, Morehouse
Khaliq Satchell, Elizabeth City State University
Lauren Patterson, Hampton University
Malik Jones, Hampton
Maurita Ament, Spelman
Mya Havard, Spelman
Nathaniel Spindler, Fayetteville State University
Naya Coard, Spelman
Nhan Mai, Alabama A&M
Nia Farmer, Howard University
Paris Griffin, Chicago State
Richard Igbiriki, Lincoln U (PA)
Ropafadzo Ropa Denga, Spelman
Sakshyam Dahal, Claflin
Taha Merghani, Jackson State University
Tatyana Matthews, Elizabeth City State University
Timothy Baba, Huston-Tillotson/Prairie View A& M (3-2)
Todd Boone II, Prairie View A & M
Xavier Crutcher, Alabama A&M
Zanetta Tyler, North Carolina A & T
Gaston Seneza, Philander Smith
Paul Hammond, North Carolina A&T
article by Samara Lynn via blackenterprise.com

How a Brownsville School Helps At-Risk Students Get to College

By goodblacknews on November 12, 2015
Monei Thompson at graduation in June from Brownsville's Brooklyn Democracy Academy with her advocate counselor Tashawnee Guarriello.
Monei Thompson at graduation in June from Brownsville’s Brooklyn Democracy Academy with her advocate counselor Tashawnee Guarriello. (photo by Christine Han)

BROOKLYN — The odds of going to college were stacked against Monei Thompson.

The Brownsville teenager had two babies before the age of 16 and dropped out of school after ninth grade. Few people, including her mom — who didn’t make it past 10th grade — believed Thompson would get a high school diploma.
She is proving her naysayers wrong. Three years ago she enrolled in Brownsville’s Brooklyn Democracy Academy, a transfer school for under-credited and overage students. She graduated this past June with a B-plus average, deciding to pursue a college degree in something involving children and medicine.
But first, she needed the college application fee.
For students like Thompson, whose families live paycheck to paycheck — or even without paychecks — the application fee can be a significant burden.

NC High School Students Start Food Pantry to Help Out Classmates in Need (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on November 7, 2015
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Some of the items in the Washington High School food pantry (screenshot via YouTube)

A Beaufort County, N.C., high school, committed to making sure students in need can get food without being embarrassed about it, has started a food pantry, WNCT reports.

According to the report, the idea for the food pantry started out as a student government project at Washington High School, but the benefit of having the resources available permanently soon became clear.
“We wanted to focus on those that need it, but they don’t want to tell us that they need it,” senior Erin Lewis, who helped start the pantry, told WNCT.
The pantry offers students nonperishable food items as many times as they need, with no questions asked. The pantry is anonymous, but the news of its existence spread by word of mouth, with no advertisements or fliers.  “We don’t want the students to be embarrassed or the family to feel like they’ve done something wrong,” guidance counselor Jennifer Beach said. “Those who were involved in it to start with will let other students know: ‘Hey, this is something we’ve got up and running; we helped create it and you can see your counselor for help.’”
Project supervisor Laura Thompson said that the pantry was really there to show students that school was more than a place to come to pass tests and get a grade.  “It’s the idea that we’re not just here to teach you the material that you need to know to pass a test,” Thompson told the station. “We’re here to educate you for life. Part of that is nourishing the whole student, mind and body, and when we do both of those things, we know students will have great outcomes.”
The school is hoping to grow the pantry, which currently also carries school supplies and clothes, and add perishable items for the dozens of students who already use it. See video of this inspiring story below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6PxOMoHpWg&w=560&h=315]
article by Breanna Edwards via theroot.com

Google Donates $2.4 Million in Fight Against Racial Injustice

By goodblacknews on November 5, 2015

The Paley Center For Media & Google Present 'Cracking the Code: Diversity, Hollywood & STEM' At Google
Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the internet giant, has announced plans to dedicate $2.35 million in grants to community organizations combatting racial injustice in the U.S., according to USA Today.
The announcement came Tuesday during a screening of 3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre, the report says. The film examines the shooting death of Jordan Davis, 17, who was unarmed when he was shot and killed in 2012 by a White man, Michael Dunn, outside of a gas station in Jacksonville, Fla. for playing music too loud in a vehicle.
The grant program is part of a “larger giving effort over the course of the next year.” Via USA Today:

The technology giant’s philanthropic arm chose organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area taking on systemic racism in America’s criminal justice, prison and educational systems, says Justin Steele, who leads Google.org’s Bay Area giving efforts.
Steele says the grants are just the first for Google.org as it seeks to address the Bay Area’s growing economic gap that has only widened during the technology boom.
“We hope to build on this work and contribute to this movement for racial justice,” Steele said in an interview.

Google.org’s decision comes after the Mountain View, California tech giant announced plans this spring to recruit more women and people of color into one of the best paid growth industries in the nation.
Under the ambitious $150 million recruitment plan, half of the money is for outside organizations and communities to train and hire people of color, while the other half will be used on internal diversity efforts.
The changes did not come without pressure. For over a year, civil rights leaders called on Google and other tech companies to diversify their ranks at a time of high unemployment in communities of color.
article by Lynette Holloway via newsone.com

Tuskegee University Receives Four Paintings by Benny Andrews

By goodblacknews on November 1, 2015

Artist Benny Andrews
Artist Benny Andrews

Tuskegee University in Alabama received a donation of four paintings by the late artist Benny Andrews from the United Negro College Fund. The paintings have a value of more than $100,000.
Andrews is known as an abstract expressionist. Many of his works are images from his childhood in Georgia. Andrews died in 2001.
Grandmother's-Favorite3Brian L. Johnson, president of Tuskegee University, stated that the university “thanks both the UNCF and the Berry Andrews Foundation for this wonderful gift that will further enhance the university’s aesthetic, artistic, and cultural appeal to both students and visitors worldwide. I was Benny Andrews’ wish to share his artworks and legacy to inspire African American artists, art enthusiasts, and students around the country.”
Nene Humphrey, the artist’s widow and president of the Andrews Humphrey Family Foundation said “the placement of these artworks will enhance Benny Andrews’ legacy and provide an opportunity to educate new audiences about this work.”
article via jbhe.com

George Lucas Gives USC Film School a $10 Million Endowment for Black and Latino Students

By goodblacknews on October 28, 2015

George Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson (photo via vulture.com)
George Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson (photo via vulture.com)

The George Lucas Family Foundation has gifted $10 million to the USC School of Cinematic Arts to provide financial support to African-American and Hispanic students.  The money is a part of the foundation’s 2006 pledge to the film school and represents the largest single donation for student support in the school’s history.
Minority students on both the graduate and undergraduate levels will receive priority consideration for financial support, which will also be split evenly between male and female students, who will be known as George Lucas Scholars or Mellody Hobson Scholars.
“Hispanic and African-American storytellers are underrepresented in the entertainment industry,” Lucas said. “It is Mellody’s and my privilege to provide this assistance to qualified students who want to contribute their unique experience and talent to telling their stories.”
The first recipients will be awarded financial support for the fall of 2016.
The announcement came from dean of the USC film school, Elizabeth M. Daley, who said in a statement: “We are so grateful to George and Mellody for their continued support of the School of Cinematic Arts, and in particular for this amazing gift, and their recognition of the need to encourage the Hispanic and African-American storytellers of tomorrow.”
The Lucas Family Foundation’s gift is a part of a greater fundraising campaign at the University of Southern California, which is a multiyear plan to raise $6 billion dollars to continue the university’s various educational efforts.
article by Mia Galuppo via hollywoodreporter.com