The Giving is Good in the Northeast, check out nominations of our finalists!
PDC Foundation
I feel this organization deserves a BCG Award because each of the founders are from a small community known as Mount Vernon, New York. The community is only 4.2 square miles you can either stay or get out as fast as you can! Three African American males who grew up in the community decided to get their college degrees after high school and come back to teach and coach. In a small community like Mount Vernon, not many young males even have the chance to leave due to violence, having to support the family or just not having the courage to! These three men chose to create a foundation to mentor young men in these current situations. The foundation is a non-profit organization developed by Brian Pritchett, Dana Doggett, and David Clarke in 1998. The purpose of the foundation is to provide financial assistance/mentoring to students from their hometown community; in grades 6-12. The foundation also focuses on four core elements of students development: Education, Global Awareness, Physical Fitness, and Community Service.
The foundation shows young males their is much more available to them outside their community. Annually, the PDC Foundation honors students at an awards dinner. At the dinner, the foundation has given away $20,000.00 in financial assistance and gifts for students within the Mount Vernon City School District. The foundation has also organized numerous mentoring awareness events and field trips; nationally and internationally. As they get ready to take thirteen boys (6-12) to experience the Chinese culture. The founders of the foundation constantly fundraise, ask for donations, and never lose focus of their main goals. On April 5-14, 2012 they will travel to Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai China. Before the travel to China, the boys will study Chinese culture as well as participate in community service projects in Mount Vernon. While in China, the boys will see all of the historical sites in China and visit several international schools in Beijing and Shanghai. As the foundation continues to grow, they would like to extend the foundation to other communities. The foundation is trying to create a sister foundation sometime next year! This foundation deserves the BCG Change-Maker Award. They show the traits of this award as they are not just individual(s) but a trio who are determined to bring positive change to the community they live in!
Geri’s Closet
Karin Smith is passionate about helping women with HIV/AIDS. She’s a member of “The Nia Alliance” in Bridgeport CT. She started with passing out flyers about being tested in high-risk a for areas at night. That was not enough for her, so she attended classes at night to become a counselor and tester for the virus. Through personal experiences within her family she realized that a lot of women who pass on have no clothes for burial, so she started “Geri’s Closet”. It’s an non-profit organization that collects clothes and toiletries for women’s who have no families or just don’t care about their drugged addicted family member.
In the mean time Karin is a single parent of two and holds a full-time job. She puts her heart and soul into Geri’s Closet the organization is one that comes from her passion and her heart, if ever someone needs an award, it’s Karin Smith and Geri’s Closet.
Women Conquering Cancer
Women Conquering Cancer was organized in 2005 by one of the members who was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer Stage III-A clear cell adenocarcinoma. She took this challenge in her life to reach out to other women cancer survivors. Today, Women Conquering Cancer has grown to over 35 members who diligently work to educate women and the community of Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn about cancer and other health issues of concern. We organize and host’ Free’ bi-monthly health events and annual National Cancer Survivors Day Celebrations to unite local health professionals, local elected officials, cancer survivors, caregivers and others to discuss and share experiences on survivorship and life after a diagnosis of cancer. The members donate out of pocket to provide ‘Cancer Survivor Care Packages’ to assist cancer survivors with basic needs. Our mission is to help women cancer survivors from all faiths, ethnic and cultural backgrounds overcome the challenges associate with a diagnosis of cancer. Our health events provide information on resources to help navigate the health care system, understand the disease, live healthy through proper diet and exercise, as well as get the emotional and spiritual support that is vital to all cancer survivors and their families. Women Conquering Cancer deserves a BCG Award, because of their dedicated and unselfish role in reaching out to help other women cancer survivors and their families. Through their work they remind cancer survivors that attitude about life and living each day to the fullest is what is important. A BCG Award would greatly assist us with our mission.
Harlem School of the Arts
HSA’s mission empowers young people mainly from under-served communities in Harlem to find and develop the artist and citizen within themselves. The environment fosters discipline, stimulates creativity, builds self-confidence and adds a dimension of beauty to the students lives that I have witnessed firsthand. This organization has literally saved children’s lives! Turning kids passion into positivity, it’s something that’s priceless.
Opportunities PA
Justina Shaw is one of the most innovative and outgoing young women I have ever met. She had a a thought and in less than one week executed a business plan, received funding and started her organization Opportunities PA all while she was just in her early 20’s. She is helping hundreds of homeless youth in the Philadelphia, rallying sponsors and celebrities to support homeless youth through self-sufficiency. I know that because of her work with supporting homeless youth , she is literally saving lives. We all are aware of the things one of these youth may face on the streets alone. I believe what Opportunities PA is doing in the Philly area can and should be spread across every major city in this country. Your recognition can help make this happen.
Congratulations to BCG and all the Non Profit Organizations from the
Northeast and other areas. You are all winners by the tremendous effort and good works you are doing in your communities. Many continued blessings from
the Creator!