The
National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. Oakland Bay Area
Chapter
July 16,
2008
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact:
Cathy Adams
www.onehundredblackwomen.com
100 Black
Women, Inc., Oakland Bay Area Chapter to award
21 Scholarships to
deserving students
Oakland, CA
-The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc., Oakland/Bay
Area Chapter Public Service and Education committee will
host its annual Scholarship and Awards Reception. The
exciting event will be held on Thursday July 24th
at the Midtown Ballroom, located at 420 14th
Street, Oakland, California. The VIP will begin with a
reception at 6:00 p.m. Followed by the awards program at
7:00 p.m.
This
scholarship awards ceremony provides an opportunity for our
Chapter to honor and show our support for women and girls
who are working to improve their own lives, and who will
impact the lives of their children, families and
communities, through their pursuit of higher education. To
date the Oakland Bay Area Chapter has awarded over $150,000
on scholarships.
2008 Scholarship Awardees
Lawana Gurley,
Excell College Prep
Julian Purvis,
St.
Elizabeth High School
Kathryn
Daniels,
Milpitas High
School
LaShanale
Wallace,
Jesse Bethel
High School
Shana Johnson,
Bishop O’Dowd High School
Tiye Jones,
Leadership High School
Jaynell Bryant,
San
Leandro High School
Jazmine
Garland,
St. Joseph High
School
Liku Madashi,
Pittsburgh High School
Deminika
Spears,
Los Medanos
College
Lanette Scott,
University of San Francisco
Shannon
Anderson,
Stanford
University
Brenna Wright,
UC
Riverside
Kyesha
Thompson,
San Francisco
State University
Renikia Brown,
Holy
Names University
The
Oakland/Bay Area Chapter of NCBW was chartered in 1995 with
a commitment to develop solutions to challenges inhibiting
Black women and girls from realizing their full potential
and limiting life choices and chances for our community.
The Chapter has developed a number of programs and
initiatives designed to make a positive difference in the
areas of health, education and economic development. Our
scholarship programs were created to encourage and support
young scholars recently graduated from high school,
and working women who are not so recent graduates now
pursuing higher education. Our signature, premier event, the
annual Madame C. J. Walker Business and Community Awards
Recognition Luncheon, has successfully raised the funds that
support our programs, and the scholarships that we award
today. The scholarships are made possible by the generous
support of our sponsors Wells Fargo, Nordstrom,
Northern Trust, Wachovia, Genentech, ANG Newspapers,
Catholic Healthcare West, CSAA, Comerica, Citibank, ING, and
hosts of other companies who have contributed through our
special events such as the annual Madam C.J. Walker
Luncheon. We sincerely thank our corporate sponsors, and
supporters for their commitment and diligence in making this
day possible. We thank our members for sharing our vision
and working as our partners to support our Black scholars.
In addition
our chapter
provides
Working Women Scholarships.
This scholarship is designed to assist working women, over
30 years old, who are attending a post-secondary institution
of higher learning. Priority has been given to women seeking
their first degree. With this scholarship, the Chapter
seeks to support educational achievement that benefits
individual women, empowering them to enhance the lives of
their families and communities. Since 2004, five women have
been awarded this scholarship, which has ranged from $2,000
to $2,500.
The
following outstanding Scholarship Awardees that met the
established criteria will be awarded as follows:
2008 Working Women Scholarships
Elaine
Whitmore Wilson,
a third year religion and art major at Patten University
Sonya
Smith-Hodge,
a health and human services major at Contra Costa College;
Tahlema
Martin,
a business major (with a travel industry focus) at Berkeley
City College.
NCBW, a
non-profit organization, offers a variety of programs and
services that enrich the lives of women, young girls and
families. One of our signature programs is “Positive
Steps”, a program developed to support and nurture
leadership in young girls from ages 12 –1 7. Our members
are committed to investing in the education of future
leaders and providing programs, which will increase the
participation of women and girls in the economic, civic,
entrepreneurial and human service arenas.
For more
information contact: CDA Consulting Group at (510) 653-4085
or
cdagroup@aol.com or
www.onehundredblackwomen.com. This event is open
to the media only.
Organization Background
The Oakland/Bay Area Chapter is one of over sixty chapters
within the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.
(NCBW) network. Chartered in 1995 by Cathy Adams, the
Oakland/Bay Area Chapter's vision is to be the organization
of choice for today’s African American woman who understands
the needs of her community and has the requisite skills to
develop solutions..
The Chapter's mission is to provide programs that increase
the participation of African American women in the economic,
civic, entrepreneurial, and human service arenas of
their communities through education, scholarship, and
collaboration.
Our Objectives
-
To
provide effective networks for African American women
leaders.
-
To
enable African American women to be a visible force in
economic, social and political arenas.
-
To
help the next generation of African American women,
through role modeling, mentoring and scholarship
support, reach career opportunities yet unexplored.
-
To
develop and position African American women in
leadership roles within the community.
-
To
recognize the historic achievements of all African
American women and teens.
-
To
form productive and effective alliances with established
organizations in our community.
-
To
focus on self-help and enrichment for African American
women.
We are
involved in a rich mix of activities focused on young women,
needy families, and women’s health, political and economic
awareness. Programs are developed and implemented primarily
through committees.
Programs and Community Action
Positive
Steps Program
This program provides young women ages 12-17 the opportunity
to recognize their full potential through educational,
developmental, and cultural programs focusing in the areas
of health and wellness, careers and leadership, and cultural
and personal development. Our vision is to see young women
step into a positive future, one step at a time. On
average, 75% of the young women participants in the program
are from low-moderate income households. We are proud that
a number of Positive Steps graduates have attended colleges
and universities throughout the country.
Sistahs
Getting Real About HIV/AIDS
This initiative was created by the Oakland/Bay Area Chapter
in 2003, and then expanded to chapter’s nation-wide. The
imitative is designed to provide up-to-date information to
the community, to communicate critical impacts of HIV/AIDS
on women of color, to provide healthy lifestyle alternatives
that help prevent or reduce the chances of contracting
HIV/AIDS, and to increase the number of advocates for curing
and eradicating HIV/AIDS. In 2006, our Chapter
participated in the National Black Woman and HIV/AIDS
Conferences – Mobilization, Education, and Empowerment, on
World AIDS Day.. In the Bay Area, our Chapter has
sponsored a major media campaign, inaugurated with 15
billboards in primarily low to- moderate- income
neighborhoods in Oakland, Richmond and San Jose.
Public Service and Education
Working
Women Scholarships
This
scholarship is designed to assist working women, over 30
years old, who are attending a post-secondary institution of
higher learning. Priority has been given to women seeking
their first degree. With this scholarship, the Chapter
seeks to support educational achievement that benefits
individual women, empowering them to enhance the lives of
their families and communities. Since 2004, five women have
been awarded this scholarship, which has ranged from $2,000
to $2,500.
Scholarships
NCBW's
Oakland/Bay Area Chapter Scholarship Program provides
scholarships to students in Bay Area schools who are bound
for a four-year college, community college or trade school.
The program also accepts applications from undergraduate and
graduate students who attended high school in the Bay Area.
With this scholarship program, our Chapter has supported
young ladies through several years of academic success at
various universities around the country. Without our
support, many young women have indicated that they may not
be able to continue their educational pursuits. Over
$150,000 in scholarships has been awarded to date.
Community Grants
Our NCBW
Chapter has awarded over $80,000 in community grants to
organizations that share our goals and offer programs that
positively impact Black women and girls in particular.
Recent recipients include:
Black
Coalition on Aids – Health & Wellness Education
Girls Inc.
of West Contra Costa County – Young Girls After-School
Programs
Dimensions
Dance Theatre – Arts & Music Programs
Lend a Hand
Foundation – Cultural & Career Development
A Safe
Place - Domestic Violence Prevention
Friends of
Faith
Dimension
Dance Theatre
Family Life
Resource Center – Teen Parenting Program
Advocacy - Candidate Forums
Our Chapter
encourages women and girls to recognize and understand the
importance and impact of local, state and national
legislation on the quality of life they enjoy. We have
provided opportunities to learn about government issues and
candidates through informational forums, co-sponsored with
the League of Women Voters and other organizations.
The Madam C. J. Walker Business
and Community Recognition Awards Luncheon
is an annual premier event that celebrates the
accomplishments and contributions of women in four different
fields of endeavor. This year marked the 10th
annual luncheon, named for the most successful self-made
businesswoman in the US in the 1900s. The luncheon attracts
over 1,500 men and women from throughout the Bay Area, and
is the Chapter’s primary fundraiser for the year, enabling
us to support our programs
