River Parishes
The Corporation for National and Community Service has named River Parishes Community College in Sorrento, La., to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth.
“We’re extremely proud to be counted among only two community colleges in the state of Louisiana to receive this honor,” said RPCC Chancellor Dr. Joe Ben Welch.
Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors, including scope and innovativeness of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.
Black Union
Some of the most influential thinkers, entertainers and political leaders gather each year to discuss the State of the Black Union during Black History Month. Presented annually in February – Black History Month – by Tavis Smiley Presents, the symposium was created to educate, enlighten and empower America by bringing people together and engaging them in thoughtful dialogue, leading the way to constructive action. Smiley will host a panel discussion with noted politicians, social scientists, business leaders and clergy on “Reclaiming our Democracy, Deciding our Future” on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
This year’s event also includes SOBU Builds, an all-day event with volunteers working at six community-service projects simultaneously on Friday, Feb. 22, in the Upper Ninth Ward, the Lower Ninth Ward, Central City, Hollygrove, New Orleans East and Broadmoor. SOBU Builds lead partners include Habitat for Humanity; Trinity Christian Community, Xavier University and others. To date, nearly 2,000 volunteers have signed up to participate!
UnitedHealthcare’s Generations of Wellness, which serves the health needs of African Americans, is one of the sponsors of SOBU Builds, and will help to clean up the surrounding residential community of Xavier University. In addition, UnitedHealthcare will provide free health screenings during the symposium’s intermission for those in attendance.
-- Participation in the service project and attendance at the panel discussion is free and open to the public. Advanced free registration is required at http://tavistalks.erban.com/sobu2008/
A partial list of symposium panelists include:
Rev. Al Sharpton
Rev. Jesse Jackson
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
Donna Brazile
Sr. Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu
Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker
Norman Francis, president of Xavier University, AND MORE
The event is Friday, Feb. 22: SOBU Builds 7 a.m.-3 p.m with busing to the SOBU Builds sites to depart from Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Saturday, Feb. 23: Symposium 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Health screenings by UnitedHealthcare 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
900 Convention Center Blvd., New Orleans, La., 70130, (504) 582-3023
DDD
Workers heading back to work the day after Mardi Gras were greeted with clean streets and sidewalks, thanks in part to the Downtown Development District’s augmented cleaning crews. With a force of 50 workers – 30 more than usual -- the crews worked from the start of the parades to well-past their conclusions to ensure the cleanest Mardi Gras ever!
For the first time, there was a concerted effort to keep the streets clear of debris throughout the parade season-- not just after Mardi Gras day. The cleaning crews, wearing yellow vests with purple DDD logos of the back, cleaned the parade staging areas as soon as the parade began to roll, then dispatched workers with brooms and blowers to clean non-parade route sidewalks and gutters during the parades. After the parades passed, they funneled the trash to St. Charles Avenue from the side streets so that JNE, the city’s Mardi Gras contractor, could collect it for disposal. Throughout Downtown, the crews cleaned curbs, gutters and sidewalks, emptied trash cans and operated street sweepers.
To help prevent litter, the DDD put out temporary trash cans along the parade routes and set up dumpsters at the end of each route for float riders to use when discarding packaging from their throws.
Mike Strain
A Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry firefighting strike team has been sent to Granbury, Texas, to assist the Texas Forest Service with wildfires, Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain, D.V.M., said today.
The LDAF strike team, comprised of firefighters and their equipment, will make the initial attack on wildfires by constructing fire breaks
NBA All Star
The Allan Houston Legacy Foundation and the PC company Lenovo have partnered together with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and others to bring one of the most comprehensive and progressive young entrepreneurship programs in the country to New Orleans, LA. Successfully launched in Harlem, NY in the Spring of 2007 with the help of Citigroup, the Business Education and Development Program has expanded to New Orleans and the neighborhood of Central City.
On Wednesday, February 13, 2008, Allan Houston, Lenovo, Tulane University, New Orleans Hornets and NBA Cares are proud to produce a community event entitled, “How To Be An All-Star Parent” in support of local business owner Carol Lewis and her publication, Modern Parents Magazine. Identifying the magazine’s need to increase readership, the students of the program have created a marketing plan designed to increase brand awareness and drive sales of Modern Parents Magazine. Tulane University and Lenovo have contributed $10,000 towards the execution of the community event and marketing plan.
Organized by the program’s entrepreneur-participants, the community outreach event (which will include workshops and activities emphasizing family development, health and education) is designed to further the magazine’s mission to empower parents and educators with practical parenting and instructional strategies. Two-time NBA All-Star Allan Houston will be joined by NBA Hall of Famer and NBA Cares Ambassador Bob Lanier at the event, located at Harry S. Truman Middle School, 5417 Ehret Road Marrero, LA 70072.
Designed specifically for young adults aged 18 to 25, the Foundation’s Business Education and Development Program sponsored by Lenovo is a free twenty-four week intensive training program that consists of twice-weekly evening courses at the Good Work Network in Central City, New Orleans. The objective is to develop knowledgeable and enterprise-ready entrepreneurs among the 25 participants who will contribute long-term to the recovery effort. Each participant will receive the knowledge, tools, and guidance needed to build a successful business plan and launch their enterprise. Graduates also receive Lenovo PCs.
At the conclusion of the educational and mentoring portion, two entrepreneurs will be chosen to enter the Foundation’s Allan Houston / Lenovo Small Business Incubator and receive an additional year of support including free office space, a team of advisors to help guide the implementation of their Business Plans, and up to $18,000 in start-up capital. Through the incubator program, these entrepreneurs receive the support needed to build sustainable businesses with lasting economic benefit to their families, neighborhoods and larger communities.
In aggregate, the program offers positive alternatives for personal and community empowerment through a unique collaboration of celebrity, civic and corporate giving, a welcome resource in the Katrina recovering City of New Orleans.
“One of the ways we hope to assist in the New Orleans recovery effort is to support the re-establishment of an economic structure by helping the citizens start their own businesses. The program is designed to empower the community and provided them with tools to create that structure. To me, that’s powerful,” said Allan Houston.
"The long term benefits of this type of educational program are phenomenal and long overdue. Not only will it tremendously impact and develop the future leaders of New Orleans but it will also help revitalize the economic opportunities in the New Orleans community by creating entrepreneurs while attracting large businesses back to the
city,” said Diana Beasley, Executive Director - "The New Orleans Journey Home Center" City of New Orleans, Mayor C. Ray Nagin Office.
This summer Allan Houston and Citigroup welcomed Lenovo as a new partner. As the third largest PC maker in the world, Lenovo is dedicated to supporting 100,000 entrepreneurs by 2010.
“The Business Education and Development Program gives us an opportunity to support hard working, innovative young people who have the potential to transform their communities and create new jobs. We are committed to working with the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation and helping foster the development of entrepreneurs in New Orleans,” said Bill Stevenson, Manager of Lenovo’s Corporate Social Investments.
Graduating its first class of participants in Harlem, NY last September, entrepreneurs Vaughn Jereaux and Sarah Farzam were chosen to for the incubator program and are now receiving support over the next year.
“Prior to participating in the Business Education & Development Program I did not have any sense of direction for my business or confidence in myself. I am blessed with an amazing talent; however I lacked the skills necessary to turn my talent into a successful business. Until now, I did not believe in myself. I doubted my abilities and compromised my worth. The Allan Houston / Lenovo Small Business Incubator is providing me with the resources and gave me confidence to further develop my business. My dream of opening Vaughn Jereaux Inc.’s first storefront specializing in prom and special occasion dresses in Harlem, NY is achievable because of this incredible opportunity,” said Vaughn Jereaux.
“The Allan Houston / NFTE program has tremendously helped me to see the potential in my business concept and encouraged me to take my idea to a more advanced level than I ever imagined. Specifically, the Lenovo Small Business Incubator Program will create yet more opportunities for me and my business. Bilingual Birdies, a language and music program for young kids, has been operating all administration primarily out of a tiny New York City apartment. I feel the newly appointed office space will help with program and curriculum development… and this money is a chance for Bilingual Birdies to grow in a way that will establish us as a true front runner in the industry,” said Sarah Farzam.
To attend the NBA All-Star Community Event on Wednesday, February 13th as well as speak with Allan Houston about the program, please contact Michele Scott at 646-373-6998 or LegacyPress@AllanHouston.com.
Other NBA All-Star activities Allan Houston is involved in:
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Allan Houston Shooting Clinic
Location: Ednar Karr High School, 3332 Huntlee Drive, New Orleans, LA 70131
In partnership with Coach Dannton Jackson of Xavier University and Allan's shooting coach Ivorie Manning , Allan will host some of the area's top middle school and high school basketball players and their Coaches. The event will focus on the fundamentals of basketball and will feature a personal development workshop with Allan.
Friday, February 15, 2008 - 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Business Education and Development Program Reception
Location: W Hotel – French Quarters, 316 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
A private reception celebrating the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation’s long-term partnership with Lenovo to educate, train and empower young aspiring entrepreneurs in the City of New Orleans.
Saturday, February 16 – 10:00am to 1:00pm
Project Smile: Kids Basketball Clinic
Location: Dryades YMCA, 2200 O.C. Haley Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70156
The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) in partnership with Allan Houston Legacy Foundation will host 150 underprivileged boys and girls from local elementary and middle schools in an event that will kick off with a motivational session by Allan Houston, followed by a clinic teaching the fundamentals of basketball.
The NBRPA is pleased to launch their official Legends community outreach initiative, Project Smile a community outreach program that aims to boost the spirits, bring hope, and deliver smiles to the hundreds of men, women and children in post-Katrina communities.
*Also look for Allan at the NBA Technology Summit (Friday morning), NBA Jam Session (Saturday afternoon), and the All-Star Legends Comedy Show (Saturday evening)
LRA
The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Board of Directors is meeting today on the campus of Baton Rouge Community College in the Louisiana Boardroom of the Louisiana Building, which is located at 5310 Florida Boulevard Baton Rouge, LA.
Following brief opening remarks from LRA Chairman Dr. Norman Francis, the newly appointed LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater addressed the board with the Executive Director's Report.
The Board is also expected to consider and vote on several measures, including:
A resolution to increase funding for Long Terms Community Recovery Programs;
A resolution to increase funding for K-12 repair and rebuilding of schools;
A resolution to approve an Action Plan on Road Home Property Dispositions;
A resolution to reallocate $1.7 million for Uniform Code Enforcement;
Approval of the St. Charles Parish Long Term Community Recovery Plan.
The board will also receive briefings from representatives of the Louisiana Land Trust, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security (GOHSEP) and the Office of Community Development's Disaster Recovery Unit.
Click here to download the agenda.
