UNCF raising money to open doors of education
- March 16, 2015
- / Shannon Nickinson
- / education
If education is the key that unlocks the future, the United Negro College Fund is looking to make as many copies of that key as possible.
The UNCF Greater Pensacola Leadership Council last week used the second Chairman’s Luncheon as an opportunity to spread the gospel of community building through the power of education, one mind at a time.
The Leadership Council’s goal is to raise $50,000 to fund scholarships for deserving young people to seek higher education. So far the total stands at a little more than $40,000 raised, said council chairwoman Robin Reshard.
That includes a commitment of $50,000 over five years by Quint and Rishy Studer to the cause.
“Don’t think of the scholarship as the end. Think of it as the beginning of making a difference in our community,” said Quint Studer at the event.
The luncheon honored Zoya Webster Phillips, owner of Benboe Funeral Home, and Collier Merrill, owner of Merrill Land Company and Great Southern Restaurant Group, for their contributions to the community with the Champion of Education award.
Reshard also mentioned that in addition to the scholarships, the council has been able to fund a one-week summer camp with the UWF, PPD and the Escambia Boys and Girls Club.
Quint Studer, honorary chairman of the event, spoke at the luncheon, which recognized
Keynote speaker David Alexander, assistant Pensacola Police Chief, said that investment in young people is critical “if we are going to thrive as a community.
“Young people are going to be educated one way or another. the question is who is educating them and with what. (Those) are the deciding factors in how we will move forward.”
Alexander, who also serves as assistant pastor at Jesus Holy Tabernacle Church, related a story of seeing a woman and her two children in a store. When the woman saw him she told her children, “See I told you I knew a policeman. And if you don’t behave I’ll get him to put you in jail.”
“In the future, if that little girl is a victim (of a crime), how can I get her to trust me? How can we get these children to be productive in the same community they came out of?
“It is the entire community’s job. We can reclaim Main Street by making hope a reality.”
The most powerful words at the event came from Clander Martin, a University of West Florida student who was a recipient of a UNCF scholarship last year.
Mainer is a dean’s list student with a 3.3 grade point average majoring in public relations. She spoke to the audience about the impact the opportunity to go to college has had on her.
“I am Clander Mainer. I am a woman of power,” she said. “I am not a product of my environment. I am proud to say that i am a product of the change in my environment.
“The college experience allows me to turn off the old and embrace the new.”
She vowed, too, in the spirit of the event to pay her opportunities forward: “I will be a donor to the UNCF.”
Reshard also mentioned that in addition to the scholarships, the council has been able to fund a one-week summer camp with the UWF, PPD and the Escambia Boys and Girls Club.
Quint Studer, honorary chairman of the event, spoke at the luncheon, which recognized
Keynote speaker David Alexander, assistant Pensacola Police Chief, said that investment in young people is critical “if we are going to thrive as a community.
“Young people are going to be educated one way or another. the question is who is educating them and with what. (Those) are the deciding factors in how we will move forward.”
Alexander, who also serves as assistant pastor at Jesus Holy Tabernacle Church, related a story of seeing a woman and her two children in a store. When the woman saw him she told her children, “See I told you I knew a policeman. And if you don’t behave I’ll get him to put you in jail.”
“In the future, if that little girl is a victim (of a crime), how can I get her to trust me? How can we get these children to be productive in the same community they came out of?
“It is the entire community’s job. We can reclaim Main Street by making hope a reality.”
The most powerful words at the event came from Clander Martin, a University of West Florida student who was a recipient of a UNCF scholarship last year.
Mainer is a dean’s list student with a 3.3 grade point average majoring in public relations. She spoke to the audience about the impact the opportunity to go to college has had on her.
“I am Clander Mainer. I am a woman of power,” she said. “I am not a product of my environment. I am proud to say that i am a product of the change in my environment.
“The college experience allows me to turn off the old and embrace the new.”
She vowed, too, in the spirit of the event to pay her opportunities forward: “I will be a donor to the UNCF.”
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