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PRESS ROOM: 81 Grassroots Organizations Awarded a Total of $750,000 in Grants through Industry’s ‘Make Golf Your Thing’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative
NNPA NEWSWIRE — The grant program is part of the industry’s broader commitment to making the sport more inclusive for all. Last month, a new Make Golf Your Thing search directory was launched for consumers, consisting of more than 8,400 registered golf programs and organizations across the U.S.
The post PRESS ROOM: 81 Grassroots Organizations Awarded a Total of $750,000 in Grants through Industry’s ‘Make Golf Your Thing’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – 81 grassroots golf organizations will receive a total of $750,000 in funding to further their efforts to engage underrepresented populations of the sport. These groups (*full list below) are being awarded with a grant through Make Golf Your Thing, the industry’s commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in making the sport more welcome for all.
Initially introduced in 2021 (by the Make Golf Your Thing youth & adult player development work group), the grant program to date has provided 155 grants to 111 unique grassroots organizations, totaling more than $1 million overall (May 2021: 43 grants totaling $150,000; Jan. 2022: 31 grants totaling $150,000).
The program was established to support organizations dedicated to increasing participation among golf’s underrepresented populations (i.e., Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous communities, as well as women, LGBTQI+ individuals, veterans, and individuals with disabilities).
“When the game comes together and pools every resource to grow and broaden the reach of the game, only great things can happen,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA and executive sponsor of the youth & adult player development work group for Make Golf Your Thing.
“This unifying movement is helping to make a difference in communities across America and advance the game in ways none of us can do alone.”
“Access to golf in a business context is a pathway to opportunity,” said Anna Alvarez Boyd, co-founder of FairWays to Leadership (one of the 81 grant recipients).
“Our group’s mission is to increase diversity in business and in golf by teaching college students from diverse backgrounds the skills they need to become effective leaders. The financial commitment of the grant program to organizations like ours will only further golf’s collective efforts to bring new and diverse audiences into our sport.”
The grant program is part of the industry’s broader commitment to making the sport more inclusive for all. Last month, a new Make Golf Your Thing search directory was launched for consumers, consisting of more than 8,400 registered golf programs and organizations across the U.S.
The directory allows individuals to search for programs and events using filters such as location, age, ability, gender, etc., giving new and diverse audiences an opportunity to become more engaged in the sport through programs in their own community.
Formally launched in May 2021, Make Golf Your Thing is the industry’s movement to make golf accessible to individuals from all backgrounds.
Led by six cross-industry work groups, the initiative is specifically focused on: education & skill development, talent acquisition, procurement, human resources, youth & adult player development, and marketing/communications.
Funding for the grant program is being administered by the American Golf Industry Coalition, a partnership among golf’s leading organizations to promote and advocate for the collective interests of the sport.
Financial support for the program is led by a contingent of industry supporters committed to making the sport more welcoming and inclusive for all.
About Make Golf Your Thing
A multi-faceted, multi-year movement, Make Golf Your Thing is a collaborative effort across the industry to invite more people to golf from all backgrounds.
Six cross-industry work groups are committed to making the sport more diverse, equitable and inclusive, with a specific focus on: education & skill development, talent acquisition, procurement, human resources, youth & adult player development, and marketing/communications. For more, www.makegolfyourthing.org.
About the American Golf Industry Coalition
The American Golf Industry Coalition advocates on behalf of golf’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; environmental and sustainability initiatives; contributions to the economy (local and national); health and wellness benefits, as well as charitable giving.
The organization unites the golf industry in pursuit of goals designed to enhance the vitality and diversity of both the business and recreational levels of the sport. The American Golf Industry Coalition is a division of the World Golf Foundation.
To learn more, visit www.golfcoalition.org.
Grassroots Organization | City/Town | State |
A Perfect Swing Foundation Inc. | Charlotte | NC |
Adaptive Golfers | North Myrtle Beach | SC |
Annika Foundation | Orlando | FL |
Be Counted On Foundation | Gahanna | OH |
Black College Golf Coaches Association | Vestavia | AL |
Button Hole | Providence | RI |
Cameron Champ Foundation | Citrus Heights | CA |
CitySwing Foundation | Washington | D.C. |
County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation | Alhambra | CA |
DC on the Green | McKinney | AL |
Edu-Sports Academy | Willingboro | NJ |
El Dorado High School Golf Team | El Paso | TX |
Excel Youth Academy | Lawrenceville | GA |
FabNewport, Inc | Newport | RI |
FairWays to Leadership, Inc. | Orlando | FL |
First Tee – Central Florida | Orlando | FL |
First Tee – Central Mississippi | Flowood | MS |
First Tee – Greater Charleston | Mt. Pleasant | SC |
First Tee – Greater Richmond | Richmond | VA |
First Tee – Greater Sacramento (Sacramento Area Youth Golf Association) | Sacramento | CA |
First Tee – Greater Trenton | Trenton | NJ |
First Tee – Greater Tyler | Bullard | TX |
First Tee – Greater Washington, DC | Washington | D.C. |
First Tee – Greater Wichita | Wichita | KS |
First Tee – Indiana | Indianapolis | IN |
First Tee – Jersey Shore | Point Pleasant | NJ |
First Tee – North Florida (Rising Leaders of North Florida, Inc.) | St. Augustine | FL |
First Tee – Omaha (Hogan’s Junior Golf Heroes) | Omaha | NE |
First Tee – Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | PA |
First Tee – Southeastern New Mexico | Roswell | NM |
First Tee – Tennessee | Knoxville | TN |
First Tee – Triangle | Raleigh | NC |
First Tee – Tulsa (Youth Development of Tulsa) | Tulsa | OK |
First Tee – West Michigan (Lake Michigan Junior Golf Association) | Kentwood | MI |
Fore Life Inc. | Lauderhill | FL |
Fore the Ladies | Sylvania | OH |
Future Successors | Atlanta | GA |
Gator Junior Golf Association | Gainesville | FL |
Girls Golf of America, Inc. | Greensboro | NC |
Golf. My Future. My Game. | Washington | D.C. |
Greater Cleveland Junior Golf Scholarship Fund | Bedford | OH |
Harris Park Midtown Sports & Activity Center | Kansas City | MO |
Hi-Tee Junior Little League Golf Program | Renton | WA |
Hit It Straight Golf Academy | Homewood | IL |
I AM a Golfer Foundation | Dallas | TX |
iGolf4VETS, Inc. | Riverview | FL |
Inland Golf Academy | Riverside | CA |
Inner City Youth Golfers’ Inc. | Palm Beach Gardens | FL |
Inspiring Greatness In You | Covington | GA |
Jackson Park Golf Association | Chicago | IL |
Ladies of Futurity, Inc | West Palm Beach | FL |
Latina Golfers Association Foundation | Los Angeles | CA |
Little Linksters | Sorrento | FL |
Matrix Human Services | Detroit | MI |
Michigan Women’s Golf Association | Detroit | MI |
Midnight Golf Program | Bingham Farms | MI |
Milwaukee Area Youth Golf Academy, Inc. | Glendale | WI |
Moore-Myers Children’s Fund | Jacksonville | FL |
My Vision Golf | Fayetteville | GA |
New Jersey Golf Foundation Inc. | Bedminster | NJ |
Next 18 | Fox Point | WI |
Northern Texas PGA Foundation – Fairway to Success | Dallas | TX |
One Hundred Black Men, Inc. | New York | NY |
Par Excellence Youth Development | Huntsville | AL |
Range Fore Hope Foundation | Blythewood | SC |
Rose Hill Schools | Rose Hill | KS |
Southern California Golf Association – Junior Golf Foundation | Studio City | CA |
Southern Area Youth Program, Inc. | Los Angeles | CA |
Special Olympics Connecticut | Hamden | CT |
SwingPals, Inc. | Durham | NC |
Ted Rhodes Foundation, Inc. | Chicago | IL |
The Caddie & Leadership Academy | Kenosha | WI |
The Darby Foundation | Lafayette | LA |
The Glove Foundation | Mobile | AL |
The Honors Junior Golf Program | Corona | CA |
The Pinkney Foundation | Pittsburg | CA |
Upstate-Carolina Adaptive Golf | Greenville | SC |
Western States Junior Golf Association | Las Vegas | NV |
Women Golfers Give Back | Plymouth Meeting | PA |
Women in Golf Foundation, Inc. | Ellenwood | GA |
The post PRESS ROOM: 81 Grassroots Organizations Awarded a Total of $750,000 in Grants through Industry’s ‘Make Golf Your Thing’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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PRESS ROOM: The Allen Lewis Agency Named Ally Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year for 2024
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “This recognition from Ally is deeply appreciated,” said Chandra Lewis, co-founder and COO of TALA. “Receiving Ally’s Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year award is a testament to the strength of our team, our strategic approach and our ability to use relationships to deliver meaningful business results for our clients.”
The post PRESS ROOM: The Allen Lewis Agency Named Ally Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year for 2024 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
DETROIT– Ally Financial has recognized The Allen Lewis Agency, a full-service marketing and communications agency, as its Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year for 2024. The award was given at the Ally 4th annual Supplier Diversity & Sustainability Symposium, on Feb. 29 in Charlotte, N.C.
In 2023, TALA led media outreach and marketing efforts for the fifth anniversary of Moguls in the Making, Ally’s HBCU entrepreneurial pitch competition. It also introduced the brand to new opportunities such as the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), where Ally led a panel on financial education for filmmakers, and leveraged professional connections and years of experience in multicultural marketing to amplify Ally’s partnership with UnitedMasters.
“We are honored to work with Ally and its incredible team members,” said Jocelyn (Allen) Coley, co-founder and CEO of TALA. “The work Ally is doing to bring financial education to a more diverse, multicultural audience through outreach to the creator community aligns with our own passions and priorities. We’re proud to be part of programs such as Moguls in the Making, the American Black Film Festival, and Art Basel, raising awareness within a diverse, often underrepresented audience.”
Ally, the nation’s largest all-digital bank, started its supplier diversity program in 2020 to highlight its commitment to supporting the advancement of an inclusive and sustainable marketplace. The brand strives yearly to increase its spending with diverse suppliers – creating economic value, mobility, and a sustainable future for all.
“When Ally launched its Supplier Diversity program four years ago, our goal was to build an ecosystem of partners and suppliers who truly represented our communities,” said TJ Lewis, Ally senior director of Supplier Diversity and Sustainability. “From the beginning, TALA’s success in forging connections between Ally and minority-focused media has greatly expanded the visibility of our brand to the audiences we most want to reach. Their work is worthy of recognition.”
“This recognition from Ally is deeply appreciated,” said Chandra Lewis, co-founder and COO of TALA. “Receiving Ally’s Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year award is a testament to the strength of our team, our strategic approach and our ability to use relationships to deliver meaningful business results for our clients.”
About The Allen Lewis Agency:
The Allen Lewis Agency (TALA) is a full-service marketing and communications agency committed to helping clients build their brands and expand their business through a range of services including strategic brand development, media relations, diversity, equity and inclusion, advertising, events and reputation management. Founders Jocelyn (Allen) Coley and Chandra S. Lewis bring more than 40 combined years of corporate experience with a breadth and depth of services that are unmatched. Now in its eighth year in business, TALA is a certified Minority Business Enterprise, Women Business Enterprise, Women-Owned Small Business and a certified Association of National Advertisers diverse supplier that has employed a national team of experts who have decades of experience servicing major brands with positive measurable results. Learn more about The Allen Lewis Agency at https://www.theallenlewisagency.com.
The post PRESS ROOM: The Allen Lewis Agency Named Ally Supplier Diversity: Supplier of the Year for 2024 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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OP-ED: A Silent Killer No More
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Data from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City shows that more than 13 percent of African American men between the ages 45 and 79 will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimes. And Black men have a 70 percent higher rate of developing prostate cancer than White men. The American Cancer Society also shockingly predicts that Black men are more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than their White counterparts.
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By Hamil R. Harris, NNPA Contributing Writer
Political provocateurs are determined to stir up controversy over Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s failure to tell President Biden about his treatment for prostate cancer. Yet, his desire to keep the matter private—and out of the public eye—is in line with what many men, particularly men of color, have done for decades. The reticence to share details of a medical condition is understandable, but prostate cancer is a silent killer in the Black community and the time has come to give it a voice.
In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose son Dexter recently passed from prostate cancer, I ask: How long? How long will Men of color suffer in silence and die alone? How long will too many brothers hide their plight?
When he finally commented publicly about his condition, Austin offered regrets about keeping silent and then made an important pledge. He said that by not initially disclosing his diagnosis, he “missed an opportunity to send a message on an important public health issue,” while noting the prevalence of prostate cancer, particularly among Black men. Encouraging all men to get screened, Austin promised, “You can count on me to set a better example on this issue today and for the rest of my life.”
Any cancer diagnosis is a private matter. But men like Dexter King and Austin can help so many others who are prone to prostate cancer. Keeping the surgery and treatment a secret would only have continued to add to the stigma surrounding prostate cancer. That would have been a disservice to the thousands of men of color diagnosed annually.
Indeed, data from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City shows that more than 13 percent of African American men between the ages 45 and 79 will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimes. And Black men have a 70 percent higher rate of developing prostate cancer than White men. The American Cancer Society also shockingly predicts that Black men are more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than their White counterparts.
These figures are appalling when considering that prostate cancer is one of the most treatable forms of the disease with the five-year survival rate for men diagnosed with it being greater than 99 percent if the cancer is detected during the early stage.
While there are numerous reasons for why this disparity between Black and white men exists – decades of structural racism, environmental issues, certain comorbidities, different molecular pathways in the body of Black men – a great deal of the reason comes down to the fact that Black men are disproportionately not being screened for prostate cancer as early or as regularly as White men.
A recent study published in JAMA Oncology by a team at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center found that Black men get fewer PSA (prostate specific antigen) screenings; they are more likely to be diagnosed with later stage cancer; they are less likely to have health insurance; and they have less access to high-quality care and other disparities that can be linked to a lower overall socioeconomic status.
Given his platform as Secretary of Defense, I am happy that Austin recognized his duty to be open and honest about his battle with this disease. And in doing so, he now joins groups and individuals who are already working on spreading awareness for prostate screenings who can act as guideposts.
For example, Mount Sinai Medical Center recently unveiled the Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit, which will visit New York City neighborhoods where men could be at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer. The mobile home sized bus is named after the African American philanthropist and venture capitalist who donated almost $4 million to launch the program. Smith, who has led many philanthropic endeavors aimed at supporting the African-American community, obviously realizes that it takes a preemptive approach to combat the scourge of prostate cancer by going directly into the communities most affected by the disease. In announcing the prostate screening initiative, Smith tied it to larger inequities in our society that leave African Americans behind. “It’s unconscionable that in our great country and at this moment of technological breakthrough, Black Americans are still subject to staggeringly worse health outcomes,” he said. “We can fix this.”
Thankfully there are individuals like Smith and now Austin to use their platforms to spread awareness for this deadly – yet very treatable – form of cancer and ensure that more people don’t die needlessly.
Hamil R. Harris is an award-winning journalist and contributing writer for the NNPA
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Chevrolet and National Newspaper Association Offer Summer Internship: Discover the Unexpected Fellowship
NNPA NEWSWIRE — The importance of diverse storytelling has never been more evident, and Chevrolet, in partnership with the NNPA, is committed to empowering the next generation of storytellers. By offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the DTU Fellowship seeks to make a lasting impact on both the individuals selected and the media landscape. The application window for the DTU Fellowship closes on April 1, 2024.
The post Chevrolet and National Newspaper Association Offer Summer Internship: Discover the Unexpected Fellowship first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
In a bid to amplify Black voices and highlight diverse stories, Chevrolet, in collaboration with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), invites budding journalists, content creators, and communications enthusiasts to embark on the summer internship of a lifetime through the Discover the Unexpected (DTU) Fellowship.
The DTU Fellowship is geared towards students of historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are passionate about storytelling and eager to contribute to the media landscape. This opportunity offers a platform for aspiring journalists and provides financial support in the form of a $10,000 scholarship and an $8,000 stipend.
One of the key aspects of the DTU Fellowship is the chance to collaborate with some of the largest and most influential Black-owned newspapers in the community. The collaboration aims to bridge the gap between emerging talents and established media outlets, fostering an environment of mentorship and shared knowledge.
The selected DTU fellows will embark on a transformative journey beyond conventional internships. This experience promises exploration, learning, and, most importantly, amplifying their voices. The fellowship recognizes the unique perspectives of HBCU students and aims to provide a platform for these voices to be heard.
What sets the DTU Fellowship apart is the hands-on guidance and mentorship provided by industry professionals who understand the power of diverse perspectives. Fellows can elevate content and gain career-building knowledge through interactions with seasoned journalists and media experts.
The importance of diverse storytelling has never been more evident, and Chevrolet, in partnership with the NNPA, is committed to empowering the next generation of storytellers. By offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the DTU Fellowship seeks to make a lasting impact on both the individuals selected and the media landscape.
As the application deadline approaches, interested individuals are encouraged to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity. The application window for the DTU Fellowship closes on April 1, 2024. The tight deadline emphasizes the urgency and exclusivity of the opportunity, urging potential applicants to act promptly.
The Discover the Unexpected Fellowship by Chevrolet and the National Newspaper Association represents a unique chance for HBCU students to receive financial support for their education and gain invaluable hands-on experience in collaboration with influential Black-owned newspapers. By taking part in this transformative journey, aspiring journalists have the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the media industry. Don’t miss out on the chance to elevate your content and amplify your voice – apply before the April 1, 2024 deadline!
The post Chevrolet and National Newspaper Association Offer Summer Internship: Discover the Unexpected Fellowship first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
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