Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards is a man of his word. And because he is, 100 students are going to college on his dime. In 2007, Edwards promised 100 Cleveland high school students that he would pay for their college tuition—a total value of $1 million—if they maintained grade point averages at 2.5 or higher and performed 15 hours of community service. The students lived up to their end of the bargain, and now Edwards is living up to his end, according to CBSSports.com and the Detroit Free Press.

“As the 2nd most hated man in Clev & a man of my word, today I will honor a promise made to 100 students in Cleveland years ago,” Edwards tweeted. “The last of my Advance 100 students will graduate from my program and head off to college on scholarships that I will provide them with. Guys, enjoy and embrace your new beginnings and remember your promise to me, to reach back & help someone else along the way.

Edwards, who caught 53 passes for 904 yards and seven touchdowns last season, is currently unsigned but says he would like to return to the Jets.

The Braylon Edwards Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing and meeting the needs of under-served youth in the concentrated area of education. The Foundation’s goal is to emphasize the importance of education by providing scholarships and incentives to youth who demonstrate strong commitment and effort to excel in academics, conduct and community volunteerism. The Foundation also supports and contributes to organization’s whose programming includes health and hunger prevention. “It is in our service to others that we achieve true greatness.” – Unknown

http://www.braylonedwardsfoundation.org/home

Ariel Bushel, Adrienne Boone and Ebonie Coley were three of many Wake County high school juniors named Kappa Scholars this spring by the Kappa Charitable Trust of the Raleigh Alumni Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

The Kappa Scholars program recognizes 11th-grade African-American students who have maintained a 3.0 or better GPA.

The awards ceremony took place at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in conjunction with the Raleigh Alumni Chapter’s 26th Annual Beautillion Militaire.

]]> http://progressivegreek.com/organizations/kappa-alpha-psi-fraternity/raleigh-alumni-chapter-names-kappa-scholars/feed/ 0 http://progressivegreek.com/organizations/zeta-phi-beta-sorority/brooklyn-zeta-phi-beta-foundation-to-provide-10000-scholarship-to-worthy-student/ http://progressivegreek.com/organizations/zeta-phi-beta-sorority/brooklyn-zeta-phi-beta-foundation-to-provide-10000-scholarship-to-worthy-student/#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:30:26 +0000 kevin1914 http://progressivegreek.com/?p=6392 BROOKLYN FOUNDATION WILL PROVIDE A $10,000 SCHOLARSHIP TO A WORTHY NYC STUDENT

Brooklyn, New York - Today, The Extolling Excellence Foundation for Service and Scholarship, Inc., (EEFSS), a philanthropic arm of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Kappa Zeta Chapter (Brooklyn, NY), is excited to announce the launch of our Extolling Excellence Scholarship.  The Extolling Excellence Scholarship winner will receive an annual $2500 award renewable over a four year period for a cumulative award of $10,000. The scholarship is open to the following minority female who are New York City residents:  high school seniors or students who are entering or enrolled in their freshman year of full-time undergraduate studies at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States.  The scholarship is created largely through grassroots fundraising efforts.  The scholarship will be awarded based on the merits of the student’s GPA, community service and extra-curricular activities, as well as a competitive written essay.  The essay will require applicants to examine and reflect on how our theme “Extolling Excellence and Discouraging Satisfaction with the Second Rate” applies to their lives and could prepare them to take on the challenges of post-secondary education.

The scholarship was established to provide essential support and encouragement to impressive minority females, by easing the tremendous financial burden of higher education and aiding in their quest for greatness.  Our future is inextricably linked to the education of our children and their collegiate years are often the most transformative period of their lives.  It is this premise that drives our commitment to ensure that each of our Scholarship recipients has access to the best post-secondary education, which is imperative to their ability to meet the needs of an increasingly global economy, said Beverly Tatham, Esq., Chair, The Extolling Excellence Foundation for Service and Scholarship, Inc.  Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Kappa Zeta Chapter (Brooklyn, NY), is a community conscious, action oriented organization.  Paramount to our existence is giving back to our community.  We are both honored and empowered to know that our philanthropic arm will be providing a deserving female student of color an opportunity to not only extol excellence in her academic career but we also recognize the powerful impact that obtaining a college degree will affect her community, said Karen Gooden, President, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Kappa Zeta Chapter (Brooklyn, NY).

Scholarship application forms are available online at www.facebook.com/zphibskz by clicking on the Scribd tab located on the left side of our Facebook page or by copying and pasting   http://scr.bi/iHb0Bb in your internet browser. Entries must be received before September 30, 2011, and the winner is required to attend Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Kappa Zeta Chapter’s (Brooklyn, NY) Extolling Excellence Black-Tie Scholarship Gala which will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2011, 6pm, at The Riviera, 2780 Stillwell Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11224. http://on.fb.me/iTNsX0

About The Extolling Excellence Foundation for Scholarship and Service, Inc.

The EEFSS was established in 2008 to award scholarship grants to worthy young NYC women completing their senior year of high school or entering a four year accredited college or university; assist students in pursuit of higher education; conduct community  programs which will aid in the  improving in individual and community living standards; engage in activities which will aid in the educational development of all women; and  in any appropriate research related to the purposes of the Foundation. For more information, please email eefssinc@gmail.com

About Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Kappa Zeta Chapter (Brooklyn, New York)

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Kappa Zeta Chapter (Brooklyn, New York), chartered on September 7, 2011 by 11 professional women graduates from various colleges and universities throughout the United States.  Currently, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Kappa Zeta Chapter has established itself as a culturally competent chapter recognized throughout Brooklyn, New York State, and the Atlantic Region, as Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s preeminent chapter in service to women; as a result of its demonstrated commitment to effecting positive changes in the station of women in the Brooklyn community, its ability to obtain sufficient resources to support its efforts, enabling the provision of quality services, its commitment to the empowerment of women and children, and its vision to improve the educational and economic stations of its beneficiaries. For more information, please visit http://www.zphibskz.org, www.facebook.com/zphibskz or email at sigmakappazeta@onebox.com

The neighborhood surrounding the Peninsula Park Rose Garden is about to look a lot greener. Neighbors of the June Key Delta Community Center, located on the corner of N Albina and N Ainsworth, have watched the Living Building Challenge remodel of the gas station since last August, but on May 29 neighbors noticed hard hat-clad volunteers preparing the land for a garden on the lot adjacent to the ongoing project.

The garden won’t be plotted out and sold to the community. Instead, Delta Sigma Theta, the organization that owns the gas station and the land, will use it as a tool to teach healthy eating habits, urban agriculture and sustainable living practices. The June Key Delta Community Center says the garden will “serve as a demonstration of how African-American communities heavily burdened by health disparities such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity can work together.”

According to The State of Black Oregon, a report by the Urban League of Portland, death rates from diabetes among African Americans are considerably higher, at 73 percent, than among whites, at 29 percent. The occurrence of high blood pressure among African Americans is 42 percent compared to 25 percent for whites. The organization employs these statistics for service activities that aim to improve the health, both mental and physical, of community members suffering from such disparities.

Irene Schwoeffermann, gardening coordinator, says the garden is “a way for us to teach [neighbors] how to garden and also help them have a better understanding of where their food comes from.”

Kaiser Permanente, Multnomah County, and other organizations that specialize in health disparities donated materials for Delta Sigma Theta to use in educational programs about healthy eating.

Supporters and volunteers included members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority and Greek organization, members of the community and neighbors, and Hands on Portland. Friends of Trees, Portland Nursery, Naomi’s Organic Farm supply and many other donors supplied the plants for this community garden.

Schwoeffermann says that the garden can serve as a demonstration for those whose don’t currently garden but observed gardening in the generations before them.

“A lot of members of the African-American community here, they have roots that aren’t that many generations back from somewhere else in the county where their family was sharecropping or lived on a farm or gardened regularly, so what we’re really trying to do is encourage people to readopt those practices,” Schwoeffermann says.

Working on the Living Building project corresponds with Schwoeffermann’s studies in sustainability at Portland State University and allows her to participate in community building as a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

“It’s been amazing to be around and have people come through and talk about being raised in Alabama and everything they were able to get from their family’s garden, and they’re excited about seeing that connection being built back,” Schwoeffermann says.

Call former Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards what you will, but make sure you call him extremely charitable and a man of his word, too.

CBSSports.com reports that Edwards, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2005, followed through with a promise he made four years ago through his foundation.

In 2007, he promised 100 Cleveland students he’d pay for their college tuition — a value of $1 million — if they performed 15 hours of community service a year and kept a grade-point average of at least 2.5.

Well, they did. So he did.

Here’s what Edwards tweeted: As the 2nd most hated man in Clev & a man of my word, today I will honor a promise made to 100 students in Cleveland years ago … The last of my Advance 100 students will graduate from my program and head off to college on scholarships that I will provide them with. Guys enjoy and embrace your new beginnings and remember your promise to me, to reach back & help someone else along the way.”

To say that Nicole Carmona is a hard worker is an understatement.

The Sleepy Hollow senior and second-year Culinary Arts student at the Southern Westchester BOCES Center for Career Services has literally been working overtime to balance academics (she’s an AP Honor student) and her training at BOCES with the after-school tutoring she gives middle school students, community service projects, and her dinner shift job at a Tarrytown restaurant – all while maintaining a 3.9 grade point average.

In the little spare time she has, Carmona has managed since September to apply for up to three scholarships a week to help fund the $36,000 a year tuition she’ll need to attend the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New Hyde Park, N.Y., where she will begin a 38-month baking and pastry arts course in September. At the completion of the program, Carmona will earn a Bachelor of Professional Studies degree.

At the CIA, she’ll learn how to create hearth and specialty breads, desserts, pastry, pâtisserie and confections, as well as practice basic cooking methods, explore nutrition, menu development, food safety and cost control, and learn how to operate and manage a profitable baking and pastry business. The program also weaves in lessons on baking and pastry traditions from around the world, foreign languages, communication, psychology, ethics and business management. In her third year, Nicole will have an opportunity to do a paid six-month “externship” at a baking establishment in the United States or abroad.

With her high grades, intelligence and capability, Carmona could succeed in any career field she chooses, so it was natural when family members began to question her decision to become a baker.

“Since I was little,” she said, “I always enjoyed baking. And when I came to BOCES, I just fell in love with it.”

She credits her beloved godfather, Richard Nadal, who passed away in February, with encouraging her to stay true to herself and follow her dream. Nadal stepped in as a father figure to Carmona and her older sister Jennifer at an early age, and it was with him that Carmona developed her love of baking. The two would watch cooking shows together and then experiment in the kitchen.

“He wasn’t that good at it,” she said with a laugh, “but we had a lot of fun with my Easy Bake Oven and Betty Crocker.”

Once Carmona made up her mind to go to the CIA, she went to town to find ways to help pay for her education and lighten the financial load for her mother, who suffers from multiple-sclerosis.

Carmona began searching Sleepy Hollow High School’s bulletin board for scholarship application notices and applying for others she found on Fastweb, an online scholarship matching service.

With the help of a guidance counselor at Sleepy Hollow High who still is affiliated with her college sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, Carmona applied for and won a $2,000 ZPB scholarship after writing an essay about her godfather’s encouragement of her career aspirations.

She also received a $2,000 Abigail Kirsch scholarship through Westchester County’s Women’s Hall of Fame, for which BOCES English teacher Chris Kincart wrote a recommendation. Carmona, Kincart said, “is a highly motivated individual who will succeed in attaining her goals.”

Kirsch, founder of Abigail Kirsch Catering Relationships, presented the Culinary Caring Award to Carmona at a luncheon in April.

On the heels of these came two larger scholarships: a $5,000 award from Verizon, where Carmona’s mother works. The award is renewable for three years if Carmona maintains a grade point average of 2.0 or higher. She also received two awards from the CIA — a High Impact Leadership Scholarship valued at $10,000 to spread out over the duration of the course and a work-study award of $2,000 per semester so she can work on campus.

Carmona is still waiting to hear about some other scholarships and is keeping her fingers crossed. Among the most interesting scholarships she applied for is the $10,000 Dr. Seuss “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” award. Applying the themes of the book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”, applicants had to write a letter to a person they know who needs inspiration in his or her life.

Carmona chose to address the letter to her sister, a recent journalism school graduate who was having a tough time finding her first job. Jennifer eventually found a position and is now a journalism graduate student at Columbia University.

For Carmona, the future holds more hard work that she knows will ultimately lead to a fulfilling career packed with adventure. She wants to travel, and fittingly is considering working as a pastry chef on a cruise line when she graduates and specializing in designer cakes.

“Nicole has a lot of potential and ability,” said her Culinary Arts teacher Peter Tomaskovic. “She could really excel in this industry as she matures in the profession.”

Eleven young ladies graduating from schools in Cobb County this spring have been honored with scholarships from the Rho Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

The students exemplified incomparable intellect, leadership and community awareness, according to the Marietta-based chapter of the sorority. The scholarships totaled $15,000 and were presented in conjunction with the sorority’s philanthropic arm, the People Educating and Reshaping Lives Foundation.

Brianna Little, a South Cobb High School senior, was selected as the chapter’s 2011 Founders’ Scholarship Award recipient, a $5,000 honor.

Little, 18, said she has a 3.786 grade point average, participates in student government, Future Business Leaders of America and is a school ambassador. She co-founded a mentoring club for girls called Ladies of Unity Club and has also received $4,000 in scholarships from the Boys & Girls Club.

Little plans to study accounting this fall at Kennesaw State University. Her parents are Floyd and Renee Little of Austell.

“Going to college would not be a possibility for me without financial assistance, so I really want to thank you all,” Brianna told sorority members.

Other scholarships recipients include: Mariah Nuckles (Osborne High School), T’Keyah Duke (Marietta High School), Jamiya Brinson (Pebblebrook High School), Brianna Moses (South Cobb High School), Amber Wimberly (South Cobb High School), Gabrielle Sims (Hillgrove High School), DeMicha Luster (Sprayberry High School), Nadia Ogene (Sprayberry High School), Elizabeth Cleavers (Marietta High School) and Christina Smith (Sprayberry High School).

The annual scholarship reception took place Saturday afternoon at the Home Depot Support Center on Paces Ferry Road in Vinings. The students were presented with certificates and Home Depot gift bags. They were each selected based on academic accomplishments, interviews, letters of recommendation and financial need.

Jennifer Turner, chapter president, said one of the goals of the sorority is to help young people pursue their dreams, particularly in furthering their education in order to contribute to their communities.

“We’ve been giving scholarships since our chapter was chartered in 1988,” she said. “Through our fundraising efforts in the community and fall fundraiser, the proceeds in part go to these scholarships funds.”

Wimberly, class president at South Cobb High School, also participated in the PEARL Foundation’s College Prep program. She plans to study biology in college.

“It really helped me to succeed to where I’m going and this year in the fall I will be going to Tuskegee University,” Wimberly said.

Other schools scholarship recipients will be attending include Georgia Tech, Valdosta State, University of Pennsylvania, Howard University, Boston University, Georgia State, Georgia Perimeter College and Georgia Southern.

Scholarship committee co-chairs Daphne Moore and Merle Point-Johnson said 31 students initially applied for the scholarships. This year’s group of candidates was very driven and community service oriented, they said.

“They came with such vast knowledge,” said Moore. “I think the one thing that stood out to me was that they were spiritually connected. A lot of them talked about their faith.”

In addition to sorority members and the recipients’ families, other reception guests included Alison Bartlett, chairwoman of the Cobb County School District Board.

“AKA is an incredible sorority that’s making a difference in our community,” Bartlett said.

Ariane Arlie of Chicago, an Aurora University senior business and commerce major, received AU’s Spartan Award — the school’s top student honor — at an annual Honors Convocation at Crimi Auditorium on April 15.

The convocation recognized students and faculty for academic achievements and campus contributions. AU President Rebecca L. Sherrick presided at the event.

Arlie earned the Spartan Award for her scholarship and service to AU and the Aurora community. Her award was presented by AU Provost Andrew Manion. Faculty vote for a senior who has made an outstanding contribution to university life.

To be nominated, a student must live the core values of Aurora University — integrity, citizenship, continuous learning and excellence — have a GPA of 3.5 or above, and exhibit exemplary character.

Nominees also must meet at least two of the following selection criteria: leadership in a recognized student organization that demonstrates the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in an educational setting; leadership in a recognized athletic field that serves others for continuous learning and improvement; or service to the community indicative of respect, fairness and ethical conduct.

Manion said, “She is a gifted and dedicated student and has a genuine intellectual curiosity. She demonstrates a passion for learning both inside and outside of the classroom.

“Ariane has maintained an excellent GPA throughout her AU career. This student is an active participant in her classes, asking insightful and thought provoking questions. Her commitment to academic excellence can also be seen in her participation in the Dunham Scholar Program during her tenure here at Aurora.”

Arlie is a founding member and president of the new student organization ARISE — Awareness, Responsibility, Integrity, Sisterhood, and Empowerment. As a Dunham Scholar, she emerged as one of the primary servant leaders directing student activities such as the Angel Tree project and Easter Baskets for after-school youngsters.

She also facilitates discussions and asks relevant and provocative questions. She was also inducted in the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society.

Arlie has served her community since her high school days. She has helped shape young lives by being a youth ministry assistant for her church. During her junior year, she served as a tutor in the after-school program led by Wayside Cross Ministries in Aurora.

“She is able to maintain a truly amazing balance between scholarship and community involvement both on and off campus,” Manion said.

Arlie also received the Jennifer Worzala Award for Academic Excellence in Business and Leadership. Fred McKenzie, Dean of the College of Professional Studies, made the presentation.

The Worzala Award is presented to an outstanding senior accounting or business major who has demonstrated academic excellence, campus leadership and character in pursuit of an undergraduate degree. The award is named in memory of Jennifer Worzala, who died during her senior year at AU. Jennifer’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Worzala of Yorkville, established a scholarship in her memory at AU.

“Ariane received an overwhelming endorsement by the faculty in the School of Business who have had her in their classes as well as know of her community involvement, extracurricular activities and awards and recognition she has received here at Aurora University,” McKenzie said.

The Talladega/Sylacauga Kappa Alpha Psi Scholarship Foundation held its Sixth Annual Banquet Sunday April 17 at the J. Craig Smith Community Center in Sylacauga. The guest speaker was Donta’ L. Wilson, president of BB&T of Alabama.

Wilson addressed some 250 guests, family, friends, and supporters and focused his remarks on the students, sharing his knowledge regarding what he believes students need to know to be successful in their chosen careers as well as in life.

The Foundation awarded scholarships to 16 graduating seniors from Talladega and Coosa County.

This year, 43 applicants applied for scholarships. Students were evaluated on academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, community service, leadership, and individual financial need.

Those who made the “Sweet Sixteen” cut were then interviewed by the scholarship committee.

The Foundation, which is a 501 (C) (3) certified by the IRS, was supported this year by numerous corporate and personal sponsors.

The Foundation awarded $11,650 dollars in scholarships. Over the past six years, the Foundation has awarded over $63,000 dollars to some 95 students who attended high schools in Talladega and Coosa counties.

This year, the Foundation awarded its first Kappa League Scholarship to LaCorey Tucker, a member of the Talladega Kappa League Chapter.

The students receiving the awards and the sponsors this year (2011) are as follows:

Deonica Simmons, Coosa Central High School, $500,District 3 Commissioner Unzell Kelly.

Nicholas Jerit Owens, Fayetteville High School, $500, Martha and William Strickland Memorial.

Keneisha Garrett, Childersburg High School, $500, Frances Umstead Crum Scholarship

Shanekia Taylor, Talladega Central High School, $500, The Embry/McLarty Memorial Scholarship.

Morgan Pate, Lincoln High School, $500,Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative.

Jay Bradford II, Sylacauga High School, $500, Lahtan Associates Architects.

Mary Scarbrough, Talladega High School, $500, First National Bank of Talladega.

Kalie Holmes, Winterboro High School, $500, Jim Preuitt Scholarship.

Onisha Murray, Coosa Central High School, $650, Sen. Jerry Fielding and the Kappa Foundation.

Maurice Butler, Talladega High School, $750, the Blue Bell Creamery and Ollie Kates Book Stipend.

Briana Jackson, Childersburg High School, $750, Walmart of Sylacauga and Charlie Gaines Book Stipend.

Kaiyla Isbell, Childersburg High School, $750, Morgan Keegan/Clarence Dortch Book Stipend.

Kalya Wilkinson, Fayetteville High School, $1,000Coosa Valley Medical Ctr./Kappa Foundation and Allen Zeigler Book Stipend.

Kesha James, Sylacauga High School, $1,000, Abitibi-Bowater.

Angela Hernandez, Munford High School, $1,000, Abitibi-Bowater.

Allison Montgomery, Talladega High School, $1,250, Kappa Foundation and Jesse and Priscilla Cleveland Book Stipend.

LaCorey Tucker, Talladega High School, $500, Honda and the Kappa Foundation.

Read more:The Daily Home – Kappas hand out thousands to students

Marshall University will host 70 young Tri-State women on Friday, April 8, for the Ivy Academy leadership conference.

The event, sponsored by Marshall’s Office of Multicultural Affairs in partnership with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Beta Tau Omega chapter, is open to those in eighth to 12th grades.

The conference runs from 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Memorial Student Center and will feature a Marshall admissions fair and interactive workshops focused on leadership, self-esteem and motivation. It also will include the Girls Rock & Rule Luncheon where participants will network with women on campus and community leaders.

Tish Norman, M.Ed, will be the conference’s keynote speaker. She is the founder of Transforming Leaders Now, Inc., a consulting company that provides educational programs in leadership and personal development. She has been educating students and addressing large crowds for more than a decade and is an influential voice on topics such as African-American culture, women, leadership and education.

Norman previously was in show business, performing in motion pictures such as “Phone Booth,” “Two Can Play That Game” and “A View from the Top.” She also has appeared in a handful of television series.

She is a former beauty queen, having held the titles of Miss Black Cincinnati, Miss San Diego All-American, and first runner up to Miss Black California. But she is more passionate about using humor, energy and stylish motivation to deliver programs that teach audiences practical approaches to valuable success strategies.

Norman will speak at about 12:15 p.m. in Room BE 5 of the student center, which is where most of the conference will take place.