Celebrating Black History Month
Every year, the month of February serves as a dedicated time to remember, reflect, and celebrate the many contributions of Black communities. Here at Soles4Souls, we are honored to work with individuals and organizations that make up and support these communities year-round.
This month, we want to honor some of these incredible individuals and organizations that not only make a difference at Soles4Souls but in their communities all across the globe.
Here are just a few of the outstanding individuals and organizations we have the honor to partner with:
St. Louis Public Schools – Dr. Deidra Thomas-Murray, Students in Transition Coordinator and Foster Care Liaison, EdD, MSW
Deidra has been one of our 4EveryKid partners since the program started. She was recently honored with the Rosa L. Parks Award. We are so thankful for her dedication to working with homeless youth in her community.
Urban League of Central Carolina (ULCC) – April Turner, Outreach & Engagement Specialist
ULCC’s mission is to advocate for and equip African Americans and all underserved communities with the tools to achieve social and economic equality. Last December, we partnered with ULCC to provide 200 brand new coats during their winterfest event. We are grateful to partner with this amazing organization.
Power of Life Foundation– Lane Harper, Executive Director
Lane Harper funded his own acts of service for years, so he created the Power of Life Foundation to expand his mission to help people in the community who need it the most. Recently, they had an event where they distributed Coach and Kate Spade items to students. We are grateful to be one of the partners at this incredible event.
Access to Success
Over the years, we’ve partnered in their mission to break the cycle of poverty in Nigeria, by sending brand new shoes for youth in their programs. Nigerian founder Andrew Lovedale has worked to educate and strengthen youth communities in the country through his organization programs, like After School Academy and Entrepreneur Success.
This year, Access to Success in Nigeria, opened their “Dignified Giving Center”. To provide their community with a private and personalized experience without feeling the weight of needing to ask for what they need. The Dignified Giving Center (DGC) was designed to feel like a boutique within the A2S Youth Center to provide an uplifting shopping experience. Their staff identifies community members in need, they give out credits so folks can visit the DGC and shop for needed items on their own time. Our staff on-ground in Nigeria went above and beyond with this space.
Creative Girls Rock
Birthed from Charmin A. Bates’s passion for creative arts and youth empowerment, this Nashville-based organization works to empower young girls to utilize their creative talents in unique ways to enhance creativity; and, to foster balanced living, personal growth and happiness. Last summer, we worked with them to provide backpacks for their back to school event.
We are incredibly grateful for these amazing individuals year-round but this month we wanted to recognize that without these partners, our work at Soles4Souls would not be possible.