Bridging Generations
Area youth link with successful elders
EAST ST. LOUIS….For East St. Louis high school youth, a bright future lies ahead, thanks to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Donald Peterson Foundation and other area faith based and civic organizations. The all-day Black History Remembered 2008 event will begin at 9am on Saturday, April 12th at the Ainad Shriners’ Auditorium, located at 609 St. Louis Avenue in East St. Louis. Over 400 area youth and parents from East St. Louis and Madison High Schools have registered to attend.
According to Event Sponsorship Director, Reginald Petty, Black History Remembered 2008 is designed to inspire and encourage our youth to envision possibilities of things that could be and help them gain a desire to achieve their dreams.
“We believe that the youth of East St. Louis have great potential to be successful in their personal lives, education, careers, and families,” commented Petty. “We’d like to inspire them toward success by presenting stories of individuals, both living and , who grew up in East St. Louis and whose lives are rich with success and achievement, as well as goodness and service to others. We want them to learn from the past that their dreams, their hopes, their desires can be realized.”
The event will bring together many successful individuals who were raised in East St. Louis. They will share their stories, including their early years in East St. Louis, their dreams and hopes as young people, and their road through education and career to today’s success.
Those invited to come and share their stories are: Edna Paterson-Petty, Jimmy Williams, Eugene Redmond, Ambassador Donald McHenry, Reginald Hudlin, Maurice Hurst, Dr. William Mason, Dr. Ted Savage, Dr. Karla Scott, Barbara Ann Teer, Reginald Thomas, James Overton, Phineas Overton, Dr. Gordon Bush, Dr. E Mosley and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation.
More than twenty organizations will be on hand to provide on-going mentoring, guidance, scholarship and other post-secondary education funding information, career counseling, and leads on employment opportunities. Lunch and dinner will be served. All Black History Remembered 2008 events are free to pre-registered area youth and their guests.
Participants will also enjoy an evening of entertainment, featuring The Hallelujah Singers. The choir will perform A History of Gullah, “Legacy” a celebration of song, dance, and story telling native to the people of West Africa. A choir comprised of youth from area churches will perform two musical numbers both nights with The Hallelujah Singers.
A public benefit performance featuring The Hallelujah Singers will also be held April 11th at 7pm at the Ainad Shriners’ Auditorium. All proceeds will go to support this day-long event. For ticket information, visit the Black History Remembered 2008 website www.bhr08.org and tickets may be purchased through Ticketmasters. Tickets will be available at the door each night.
You can help! Give a young person a vision of what can be…As an individual or business sponsor; you have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our youth and their families for generations to come. Open your heart and your purse strings and contribute generously. All donations and disbursement of funds shall be handled through a BHR08 checking account established through The Donald Peterson Foundation, a 501(c) (3), non-profit organization. Your kind donation will enable us to provide this event to area high school youth, with hopes that they will be inspired to dream, and to work toward making those dreams become a reality. At the conclusion of the event, all remaining funds will be given to area organizations which offer scholarships and mentoring to area youth. Donations should be made payable to Donald Peterson Foundation, BHR08 Event and should be mailed to BHR08, PO Box 818, O’Fallon, IL 62269. Donations are also accepted online at www.bhr08.org.
As a volunteer, you can also provide much needed help before and during the event. Please sign up online at www.bhr08.org.
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Contact Information:
Reginald Petty
274-1878