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Together As One Foundation honors its first class of Together As One Scholars Saturday evening. |
Now that hope is daring to raise its head once again in Plainfield, it is time to join with an organization which has been quietly going about its mission of providing scholarships for Plainfield youth who are going on to college after graduation.
Plainfield's own 'Together As One Foundation' will honor its first group of six scholarship awardees at a dinner tomorrow evening, which is being hosted in an unusual Plainfield venue. The 2013 Together As One scholarship recipients are Chinedum Ehiobouche, Lionel Leach, Hampton Pringley, Michael Simmons Jr., Nigel Townsend, and Kcory Woltz.
Together As One will also be presenting 'Village Hero' awards to some who have made outstanding contributions to the community. This year's Village Heroes include Councilor Rebecca Williams, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of Together As One since its inception; David T. Holmes, owner of 'It's A Wrap' (who is celebrated for his hospitality after SuperStorm Sandy in making his café a community center); Okang McBride, director of alumni relations at Fairleigh Dickinson University; and the Greater Union County chapter of Jack & Jill of America. Lawrence T. Hibbert, founder of BCT Partners will be the keynote speaker.
Come out and celebrate this enterprise of hope and the young people and adults they are honoring. Plenty of good food, music and a great crowd to mingle with.
The Awards Dinner is at 'It's A Wrap' Banquet Hall, 631 Park Avenue (the Masonic Building, entrance on 7th Street). Cocktails at 5:30 PM, Dinner and Program at 6:30 PM. Cost is $50/person, a portion of which is tax-deductible. Tickets may be purchased online by visiting the website here.
- Website: "Together As One Foundation"
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3 comments:
Dan: to honor Rebecca, I planned to go. Then I read the Foundation's web site. Not Plainfield "youth." Guys only. And African-American guys only.
There is a strong tradition of ethnic groups in the US caring for their own - Unico, Hibernians, various Jewish groups. That's fine, even laudable. Not discrimination against women.
Pat,
As I mentioned, the focus on young men this year is designed to raise awareness about the alarming rates of low college admissions and graduation rates for young black males. The intent is not to marginalize young black women but instead to highlight the gap and create additional and much-needed mentorship for young black males. This is not discrimination against women. Also, regarding "tradition," there are dozens of scholarships directed toward just males, just females, etc. I have directed my students toward some of these opportunities. Fraternities, sororities, and other service organizations, as well as non-profits, individuals and universities, also designate some scholarships for only males or females as well. Again, the TAOF will be opening up scholarship opportunities for young women as well in the future, but the genesis of the organization was to try to provide money and mentoring to young black men because of the achievement gap.
Rebecca
I'm so glad to hear about the award to David Holmes. He did wonders during the blackout by feeding people who had lost their cooking facilities--and always offers free food to the homeless. He is an outstanding contributor to the Plainfield community.
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