article by Matt Ackland and staff via fox5dc.com
The gift was unexpected, but so welcomed. It happened on Thursday at N Street Village’s Empowerment Luncheon. The organization helps women in need through housing and employment as well as helping those battling drug addiction or are encountering health issues.
They only wanted to hear Oprah Winfrey’s inspirational words, but they got so much more.
“I thank you N Street for seeing, hearing and knowing that every life matters, every woman matters,” Winfrey said.
Linda Rush introduced Winfrey at the luncheon. For years, Rush was addicted to crack and involved in prostitution. “My mom dropped me off. She walked me in here,” said Rush.
At one time before finding N Street Village, Rush wanted to reach out to Winfrey. “Twenty years ago, I wanted to write her a letter and ask her to help me into a program,” Rush told FOX 5. “The people I was getting high with, they were like, ‘Oh, she don’t have time for you.’”
Two decades later, Rush told Winfrey that story and how N Street Village helped turn her life around.
“Before I introduced her, I said that now she can see for herself how things turned out,” Rush said. “She said, ‘I see.’ And that felt – I can’t even describe that feeling.”
“N Street Village has been a vital part of Washington D.C. for over 40 years now,” said Schroeder Stribling, executive director for N Street Village.
It has four locations across the city helping homeless women get their lives back on track. Stribling said Winfrey’s gift brought her to tears. “I went up and I kind of couldn’t help myself, but hang on her for a while and cry,” Stribling said.
To read more, go to: http://www.fox5dc.com/news/156895468-story
Posts tagged as “African-American Philanthropy”
article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com
When you have as much star power and influence as Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington, and it’s put to good use, amazing things happen. While Barack Obama was giving his final White House Correspondents’ dinner speech Saturday night, the Washingtons were throwing a lavish party with some of Hollywood’s biggest names, all in support of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opens later this year.
The fundraiser was an effort to secure the final monies needed for the museum, and needless to say, when the Washingtons put out a call, their friends have no problem donating. The museum’s total cost amounts to $540 million, and so far, the government has contributed $270 million with the remainder coming in from events like the Washingtons’.
According to Variety, Saturday night’s soiree raised $17 million and included a pledge of $10 million from Shonda Rhimes.
“There is such a historical significance to this project,’’ said Denzel Washington. “It means so much for our community, our country and to future generations.’’
Magic Johnson closed the event with words that I’m sure resonated with everyone in attendance. “We have to get everyone involved in this, making this a success,’’ said Johnson.
When you have as much star power and influence as Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington, and it’s put to good use, amazing things happen. While Barack Obama was giving his final White House Correspondents’ dinner speech Saturday night, the Washingtons were throwing a lavish party with some of Hollywood’s biggest names, all in support of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opens later this year.
The fundraiser was an effort to secure the final monies needed for the museum, and needless to say, when the Washingtons put out a call, their friends have no problem donating. The museum’s total cost amounts to $540 million, and so far, the government has contributed $270 million with the remainder coming in from events like the Washingtons’.
According to Variety, Saturday night’s soiree raised $17 million and included a pledge of $10 million from Shonda Rhimes.
“There is such a historical significance to this project,’’ said Denzel Washington. “It means so much for our community, our country and to future generations.’’
Magic Johnson closed the event with words that I’m sure resonated with everyone in attendance. “We have to get everyone involved in this, making this a success,’’ said Johnson.
article via jbhe.com
Tavis Smiley, author and television and radio broadcaster, has established a new scholarship at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University in Bloomington. The scholarships will be earmarked for African American students, with preference given to those who are the first in their family to attend college.
For students to be eligible, they must be accepted into the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, demonstrate financial need, and to have shown leadership in their schools and communities.
Smiley said that “my education at Indiana University and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs continues to contribute so much to what I’ve accomplished in life. I want to make sure students from backgrounds like mine can enjoy the same opportunities I did.”
article via breitbart.com
An Alabama A&M student started a free lawn service for the elderly and to teach younger kids about community service.
Rodney Smith, Jr., now runs “Raising Men Lawn Care Service” with “about 20 young men ages 7-17.” They cut lawns for the elderly, disabled, and single mothers.
It all started when he witnessed an elderly man mowing his lawn. “It looked like he was struggling,” he said. “I was watching him and it just hit me. I could do something about it.”
Smith asked if they knew anyone who needed their lawn mowed. Friends gave him names and he wanted to mow 40 lawns by winter. He found a lawnmower on Craigslist and received it for free when he told the owner why he needed it.
Smith will receive his bachelor’s degree in computer science in May. He hopes to return to school to earn a master’s in social work. “I want to go back and get my master’s in social work,” he explained. “All of this has made me want to do social work. I love helping people.”
Source: College Student Starts Free Lawn Service for Elderly – Breitbart
article by Katie Dowd via sfgate.com
In the days since the death of music legend Prince, stories of his secret, wide-ranging philanthropy efforts are finally being told. Two of Prince’s major charitable endeavors were centered in the Bay Area: bringing solar panels to Oakland and helping young people of color learn how to code.
In an interview with CNN, political activist Van Jones revealed that, while he was the face of environmental group Green For All, Prince was the driving force and checkbook.
“There are people who have solar panels right now on their houses in Oakland, California that don’t know Prince paid for them,” Jones said.
But that wasn’t all. Prince also helped found #YesWeCode, an initiative to help young people from “low opportunity backgrounds” learn the necessary skills for jobs in the tech sector. “He insisted we create ‘Yes We Code,'” Jones told USA Today, “so that kids in hoodies could be mistaken for kids in Silicon Valley.”
In fact, Jones says that concerts in Oakland (and other cities) were a “cover” so he could visit and check in on charitable organizations and local community groups.
“He did not want it be known publicly, and he did not want us to say it. But I’m gonna say it because the world needs to know that it wasn’t just the music,” Jones said. “The music was just one way he tried to help the world, but he was helping every day of his life.”
article by Adam Zewe via seas.harvard.edu
Harvard student Rahsaan King, A.B. ’17, is acutely aware that his life could very easily have taken a tragic turn.
While growing up in a tough neighborhood in Houston, King fell in with a rough crowd of young men, many of whom dropped out of school, wound up in prison, or became victims of gang violence. All signs pointed to King following a similar path—he was expelled from the private boarding school he attended, Chinquapin Preparatory School, squandering his first chance for success.
“During my time away from prep school, I realized how beautiful that experience was—what a great opportunity it had been for me—and something in me changed,” he said. “I studied harder. I became more focused and ambitious. I was hungry for excellence and education.”
Readmitted to Chinquapin, King was given a second chance and this time he buckled down. He was elected to lead the student council, graduated at the top of his class, and was accepted into Harvard, earning a prestigious Gates Millennium Award to supplement his tuition.
“Education was my way out of darkness. It was my way out of poverty,” he said. “Once I succeeded, I felt compelled to help other people do what I have done.”
So after beginning his education at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences where he is an applied math concentrator, King took a small-time tutoring business he had started in high school and expanded it into a nationwide educational social enterprise, Students of Strength, that connects underachieving students with on-demand tutors.
Students of Strength is unique because it enables middle and high school students to receive academic help instantly from coaches at prestigious universities, including Harvard, Yale, and MIT. The system incorporates a user-friendly mobile app that makes it easy for students to reach tutors and ask questions.
Beyond tutoring, academic coaches also serve as mentors who offer advice on preparing for/applying to college, and encouragement when students feel lost, overwhelmed, or hopeless. The program provides test pep and character-building curricula that use videos, games, and practice problems to prepare students for the intellectual and emotional challenges inherent to pursuing higher education.
“Because the students are interacting with peers instead of professionals, it makes it much easier for them to relate to their academic coaches,” King said.
Having relatable mentors is especially important for the underserved students who are the focus of the program. For every two sessions the organization sells, it donates one to a low-income student. Corporate sponsors are able to “adopt” low-income schools to provide Students of Strength coaches for entire classes of underprivileged students.
A dedicated group of volunteer liaisons help King recruit new academic coaches at universities across the nation. He hopes to have 10,000 tutors on board by the end of 2016.
article by Cristie Leondis via blackenterprise.com
NEW YORK (AP) — He’s been a rapper, actor, singer, entrepreneur, record producer and clothing designer. Now Sean “Diddy” Combs has taken on a new job as the founder of a charter school in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood.
Combs announced Monday that the new school will be named Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School and it will open in the fall, according to the Associated Press. The venture has been in the works for five years. The school will be overseen by Capital Prep leader and founder Dr. Steve Perry, who started Capital Prep Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2005.
Combs and the board have hired Orlando, Florida-based educator Danita Jones as the principal of Capital Prep Harlem. Combs says creating the school is “a dream come true.” In addition, Combs and Perry have been meeting in secret with community leaders and experts in education to build the program.
The school’s board also includes author and spiritual life coach Dr. Iyanla Vanzant, who has worked with Oprah Winfrey in the past.
According to Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School’s official website, the school is a free, public school for children grades 6-12. The extensive program will provide a “year-round, college preparatory education.” College courses will also be available to the students once they reach high school.
For the opening year, 160 students are to be enrolled in 6th and 7th grades. The deadline to apply for the upcoming school year is April 1st.
To read more, go to: http://www.blackenterprise.com/news/sean-diddy-combs-launches-charter-school-in-harlem/
article by Shenequa Golding via vibe.com
Stefun Darts ate microwave pizza for months on end just to be able to give his grandparents the surprise of their lives. The full time college student and founder of the non-profit Caring Heart Youth presented his grandmother and grandfather with a check on March 20th for $15,000 to pay off their mortgage.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Marilyn Roberts, Stefun’s grandmother said. “To have a grandson like that is truly a blessing.”
For more than 20 years, the Roberts have being paying their mortgage on time every month and were well on their way to paying off their house. However, it would’ve taken another four years to do so, which is when Darts stepped in.
article via thegrio.com
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are serious about seeing women succeed in Hollywood. The couple just donated $30,000 to New York University’s film school as part of a foundation project designed to help female filmmakers and to finance student television projects.
“Will and Jada Smith have a strong desire and commitment to the education of tomorrow’s storytellers, and we’re thrilled that they have decided to support some of out standout students and programs,” said Joe Pichirallo, chair of Tisch’s undergraduate film and TV department.
The money will go to finance two student-created television pilots and will also go toward the Fusion Film Festival, which supports up to five female filmmakers whose work is submitted to the festival.
article by Juliet Spies-Gans via huffingtonpost.com
“Hey, be good. Be good. You know what, be good. Be good!”
For Russell Wilson, one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, that phrase is so crucial that he repeated it three times while talking to The Huffington Post. Each time with a different emphasis, each time with increasing resound.
Be good.
The words are easy to say, but harder to heed. So the 27-year-old NFL star, guided by his strong faith and devotion to inner-city communities, decided it was time to prove that he, too, was living by the motto.
That’s where the Good Man Brand came in. With the coolly confident goal of inspiring an entire generation, Russell Wilson is teaming up his Good Man Brand with his Why Not You Foundation to launch something they hope will better lives. Using a business model similar to that of TOMS — a company known for its policy of “buy-one, give-one” — Good Man Brand opens its doors with the promise that for every item sold, it will share its profits with a charity of choice.
The “Good Man Brand” is promising that $3 from every purchase will go to charity — and he’s committing now to assisting inner-city education, a cause personally selected by Wilson and his team for the tangible, immediate impact it can have on inner-city children all over the nation.
As Wilson sees it, this is the blueprint for how he and the foundation can begin to “make a major difference in the world.” And as Wilson sees it, the beauty of the brand is that it enables its customers, along with the company, to make a difference.
That is, it gives the gift of giving right back to those getting the goods, as they suddenly have the power to make waves in the community, to “be good” to the kids around them, simply by ringing up a sweater at the register.
“We’re trying to change the way and the attitude of a culture,” Wilson told HuffPost on Sunday. “Ultimately, this brand is going to help change people’s lives.”
“We’re trying to inspire people, give back and make a culture change,” he added.
Through one brand giving back, every customer gives back — it’s the business model incarnation of a slogan that’s been in our collective subconscious for decades: all for one and one for all.
For the team behind the brand, how you become that titular “good man” comes back to that omnipresent, crucial No. 3 — the same number that’s plastered on the back of Wilson’s Seattle Seahawks jersey and the number of dollars donated from every item sold: “The good man leads, the good man inspires, and the good man lives a good life.”
Lead. Inspire. Live. Supporting good by “sporting good.” The mottos and mantras of the Good Man Brand are seemingly endless, but even with the surfeit of slogans, they all share one quality in common: Each encourages customers to go from passive to active, to not just sport the clothes, but support the cause — to ask themselves, “What good will you do today?”
To read more, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/russell-wilson-good-man-brand-launch_us_56d46b17e4b0871f60ec0c4d