GrassROOTS Community Foundation is a collaborative effort of Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, co-founder and lead MC of the Grammy Award Winning group, the Roots, and sociologist, Dr. Janice Johnson Dias. We are committed to contributing to the health and well-being of vulnerable populations and disadvantaged communities. Merging the talents of socially conscious artists with those of a rigorous scientific research and creative team, we are investing our energies to developing the capacity of community based organizations that offer educational and recreational services to disadvantaged women and girls. We see women and girls as the foundation of our society. An investment in them, their families, and the organizations that work with them is an investment in our futures.
MISSION
Their mission is to create a world where all girls grow up to be healthy women. We believe in the adage, “if you don’t have your health you don’t have anything”. We recognize that obesity and physical inactivity are major health crises that lower individuals’ quality of life and reduce their human development. This is particularly true for impoverished women and girls of all races who are at the highest risk for poor physical, mental and sexual health. Their work addresses behavioral, social and environmental determinants of health. We are committed to eliminating these challenges within communities by providing the resources and opportunities for women and girls to make health a priority.
WORK
Grassroots believes that good intentions must be coupled with the information and financial resources to make real and sustainable change in people’s lives. We partner with community based organizations (CBOs) that serve women and girls because they have significant potential for creating sustainable change. CBOs are: (1) closely tied to neighborhoods, (2) located in the same neighborhoods as the people they serve, and (3) have firsthand knowledge of community issues, and a personal stake in community level improvement.
APPROACH
Funding from our concert series, grants and the public allows us to provide health programs, workshops, financial and research support to community-based organizations (CBOs) offering educational and recreational health services to disadvantaged women and girls.
TARGET CITIES
GrassROOTS will target our work at ten cities in the US where women and girls experience the highest incidences of obesity, breast cancer, suicide and HIV/AIDS. These are Augusta, GA, Louisville, KY, Memphis, TN, New Orleans, LA, Oklahoma City, OK, Birmingham, AL, Philadelphia, PA, Greensboro, NC, Jackson, MS, and Newark, NJ.
To learn more about the GrassRoots Community Foundation visit www.grass-rootsfoundation.org/.
