Editorials
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On April 10, 2010, Shades of Brown alumni reunited to host “Lift Every Voice,” a benefit concert dedicated to recovery efforts in Haiti. Organized by Anniedi Essien ‘02, the Shades concert featured the a cappella group accompanied by a live band and a special performance by founding member and Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Gordon Chambers, ’90. Over 150 Brown alumni and friends came out to support the show and volunteer their talents for a worthy cause. All proceeds from the event were donated to the Partners in Health Stand with Haiti Fund. | May 11, 2010 |
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We knew each other at Brown but from 2003-2006, Joan Y. Reede, Sc.B.’76, MD, MBA, MPH, was my boss. I was, and still am, awed by all she has done and still does to bring students of color into the biomedical sciences pipeline. Joan gives and gives, and when she’s not shepherding her many programs, she spends every waking moment convincing others to give. She is Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School, and founded the Biomedical Science Careers Program, Inc. (BSCP) in 1991. BSCP was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1994; Joan is president and CEO. | May 11, 2010 |
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FLY is a vibrant, community-based nonprofit which provides vital youth services to one of Washington DC's most neglected neighborhoods. FLY serves 29 youth (7-18 years old) primarily from the public housing community called Barry Farm in Southeast DC. In a community like Barry Farm, in which more than half of the heads of households are listed as unemployed, the median income is $14,000, the high school graduation rate is less than 30%, and the crime rate is one of DC’s highest, the need for long-term youth support has never been more evident. | May 11, 2010 |
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When Kezia L. Ellison, Class of 2005, learned that some companies in African countries were hiring two people for one job because of the likelihood that one would die with AIDS, she was appalled. She recognized that unlike the world of professional theater, it is impossible to hire an "understudy" to replace another person's life. While serving as a Pennsylvania Delegate to the National Summit on Africa in February 2000, she became determined to do something about HIV/AIDS in her community. | May 11, 2010 |
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Folami Prescott-Adams ’82 and Madge Gill Willis ’73 soon learned that they had a great deal more in common. They also had similar educational philosophies (stimulated in part by education courses at Brown) and a vision of a school centered around academic excellence, character development and cultural connections. Three years later they became two of the co-founders of the Nsoromma School, Inc. Nsoromma’s mission is to create educational programs in a rigorous yet nurturing environment that emphasizes African and African American culture and history. | May 11, 2010 |
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Since 2006, the Cross Currents Minority Rowing program has successfully provided minority residents with the opportunity to participate in water-related activities, focused on rowing in Rochester, New York. Founded by Lydia Boddie-Rice, Class of ’76, and beginning with the formation of adult rowing teams, a viable year-round model that promotes and engages minority youth, young adults (collegiate and post collegiate), and mature adults in the greater Rochester area in rowing and other water-related activities has taken the rowing community by storm.
| Apr 1, 2010 |
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Since the fall of 2008 when the current downturn--now less than affectionately referred to as The Great Recession—began, no segment of the economy has been harder hit than the philanthropic sector. Nearly every month brings sad reports from around the country of nonprofits—some old and established—closing their doors because the flow of donor support on which they had come to rely and their membership pools have evaporated. As the marketplace continues to contract, we see Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection in ruthless practice. Those organizations able to adapt to this increasingly competitive new environment will survive. Those that can't, or even worse won't, will become extinct. | Mar 30, 2010 |
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“Earthquake has struck down P-A-P. I am 21 years old and days shy of being 22. My mother is a diplomat in the US Embassy. So many souls were lost. Will I see another sun…” These were words I scribbled on a piece a paper that I ripped from my planner. I wanted to record how I felt and who I was just in case something happened to me. I wanted written proof in my hands just in case I didn’t survive so that it would be easy to identify me. “5:50” said my watch as I looked again for the tenth time since the earthquake hit about fifty minutes before.
| Mar 2, 2010 |
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On Wednesday January 13, when we saw images of the destroyed Palais Nacionale (Presidential Palace), we became speechless. The days forthcoming were rather awkward, and sleepless. We managed to phone home at 4:00 AM each morning; things sounded grim. We begin to pray, that things somehow would get better. | Mar 1, 2010 |
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A million people in Port-au-Prince were finishing their workday, gathering their belongings for the long trek home. By sheer numbers the city is Philadelphia during rush hour or midtown Manhattan. As the sun began to set, something terrible happened. An 8.0 earthquake tore through the earth underneath their feet. Buildings up to code, the National Palace, the UN building, major hospitals, firehouses collapsed like a deck of cards, and those edifices/structures not up to code, fell even faster. | Mar 1, 2010 |
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When the earthquake struck Haiti we were all heartbroken by the immense impact of the destruction and the many lives lost. Our hearts and souls were filled with sorrow as we quickly coordinated to provide support to the people in Haiti. It was heart wrenching to see lifeless bodies scattered on the streets and the look of devastation and hopelessness on the faces of people as they desperately seeked refuge. Putting all that in perspective let’s take a moment and revisit Haiti’s rich history. | Mar 1, 2010 |
