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Highlighting Hispanic and Latinx Communities of Greensboro

Kabrina Shamburger on October 10, 2023

From September 15th to October 15th, we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. This is a time to honor the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latinx communities in the United States. The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro takes pride in the work we do to promote cultural diversity and create an equitable environment for people from all walks of life. We are taking this moment to appreciate the enduring impact of Hispanic and Latinx individuals and to acknowledge the vital role these communities play in shaping our collective identity. We have invited Hispanic and Latinx community leaders from the Greensboro area to share what Hispanic Heritage Month means to them.

“For me, Hispanic Heritage Month is about strengthening community connections and cultural understanding, and I volunteer for two organizations that live these values: Casa Azul of Greensboro and the Greensboro Literary Organization/Greensboro Bound Literary Festival. This fall, Casa Azul is partnering with Greensboro Bound through its Authors Engaging Students to bring Latinx authors to Guilford County Schools and its spring book festival.  More to come on that soon!”

Martin Acevedo
 Vice President of Marketing & Communications at CFGG

“Every Hispanic Heritage Month, I am reminded of my family’s journey to America and the invaluable contributions of the more than 1 million Hispanic/Latinos in North Carolina. Together, we can build a more inclusive and thriving community for all.”

José Olivia
Chief of Staff of Guilford County Schools & CFGG Board Member

José Olivia immigrated to the United States as a teenager. He currently serves as chief of staff of Guilford County Schools. He is the first Latino to serve as chief of staff of a large urban school district in North Carolina. In his prior roles, he served on Governor Cooper’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, the City of Greensboro International Advisory Committee and was elected the first Latino and youngest student body president of his college.

 

“Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to reflect on my roots. As a CFGG employee, I am cognizant of the experiences of those who came before me, and I aim to honor this within my work.”

Megan Quiñones
Program Officer of Grantmaking Programs at CFGG

 

“Hispanic Heritage Month reminds us that this is a good moment to embrace our differences and to support each other on life’s journey.  I am proud of my Latina and Latin American heritage and celebrate it year-round,”

Kattya Castellón
Entrepreneur, Local Small Business Owner & CFGG Board Member

Kattya is of Nicaraguan descent and is an entrepreneur and small business owner in downtown Greensboro. Prior to this, she worked in higher education at UNCG for 16 years as an Associate Director of Admissions. Part of her role at UNCG was to support Latinx students on campus—many who were first generation college goers. Kattya remains very active in Greensboro’s growing Hispanic/Latinx community as an advocate and volunteer—a passion and purpose that began in Managua and benefits our region today.

Equity Allies Giving Circle Welcomes New Members

Kabrina Shamburger on September 18, 2023

A group of Community Foundation donors committed to addressing equity issues in Greensboro has launched the Equity Allies Giving Circle. An outgrowth of the Equity Allies affinity group, founded in 2019, the giving circle focuses on pooling members’ donations to make impact grants that target systemic inequities in Greensboro. Led by Robin Lane, the group includes about 20 Community Foundation donors and meets regularly to learn about and discuss local issues involving social and racial inequities. Circle members are currently exploring the causes and effects of medical debt, particularly on people of color, with a plan to make an initial grant by the end of the year. “We are viewing our work through a justice lens,” Lane said. “We want to address root causes of social and racial inequities, advocating for and funding ideas and programs that go beyond charity.” The circle is open to anyone affiliated with the Community Foundation and welcomes new members, with an initial donation of $2,500 per household required for participation in the leadership, or decision-making, group. Funds can be transferred directly from a CFGG DAF to the Giving Circle fund. For more information, please contact Robin Lane at robin7.lane@gmail.com or at (336) 312-8802. —  Ann Morris

NCCJ to Honor Mae Douglas and Dr. Patrick Harman

Kabrina Shamburger on July 27, 2023

North Carolina for Community and Justice (NCCJ) will honor community leaders Mae Douglas and Dr. Patrick Harman with the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Citation Award at their 57th annual Citation Award Dinner on Wednesday, November 8, chaired by Leslie Dunne Ketner and Robert C. Ketner.

“NCCJ is delighted to honor Mae and Patrick,” says Ivan Canada, NCCJ’s executive director. “These two remarkable people are both multi-hyphenate community leaders. Mae and Patrick are volunteers – and mentors – and philanthropists. They make generous investments, but they don’t stop there. They then roll up their sleeves and do the work of creating the change they want to see for our communities. They’re using every resource they can to break down barriers, foster collaboration and partnership, and set our Triad community on the path toward a future that’s good for all of us – not just some of us.”

“Robert and I are proud and excited to chair this important event,” says Leslie Dunne Ketner. “In a polarized world, love is the only hope – and NCCJ is dedicated to bringing people together in understanding, acceptance, and love. We can’t wait to gather with our community this fall to celebrate Mae and Patrick and shine a spotlight on some of the incredible work these leaders are doing to uplift and strengthen our community.”


ABOUT OUR HONOREES

Greensboro native Mae Douglas is a lifelong advocate for racial and social justice. After a distinguished career as a corporate business leader and human resources executive, Mae came home to Greensboro – and got to work. Driven by her belief in the promise Greensboro embodies, calling it “a place of diversity, compassion, vision, and collaboration,” Mae is working to build a better city for future generations growing up in our community.

Since retirement, Mae has invested her time, talents, and resources as a volunteer, mentor, and philanthropist. She is dedicated to advancing the policy and systemic changes necessary to achieve full equity and accessibility in education, health care, business development, and all facets of life for those in our community. Her efforts are often focused in predominantly Black areas like those in East Greensboro where she grew up, since investments in the city’s growth historically left out neighborhoods like hers.

Mae currently serves with organizations such as Cone Health, UNC-Greensboro, and the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. She previously served with several others, including NCCJ. Most recently, she played a key role in establishing the Black Investments in Greensboro (BIG) Equity Fund, a permanent endowment with a vision to transform the well-being of Greensboro’s Black communities.

During Mae’s career, she was nationally recognized for her significant contributions to diversity efforts and leadership development across the telecommunications industry. Mae has been honored many times for her work in the Triad, including the 2020 Athena Award by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce; the 2022 Outstanding Greensboro Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals – NC Triad Chapter; and the 2022 Thomas Z. Osborne Distinguished Citizen Award by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, and the 2023 Black Business Ink Power 100 Award.

Dr. Patrick Harman works tirelessly to improve the quality of life for all people in his hometown of High Point. For more than 20 years, he has leveraged his Hayden-Harman Foundation to bring about positive, lasting change in our community.  Patrick’s impact is both deep and wide; he quietly plays a key role in many aspects of High Point’s civic life and community development.

Much of Patrick’s work has focused on revitalizing the Washington Street area, High Point’s historic Black Main Street, through commercial and residential building renovation, business and economic development, and youth education and leadership initiatives. He founded Growing High Point to address healthy food access through comprehensive and sustainable food systems through the creation of urban farms, a food hub, and a mobile grocery store.

Seeking to grow the capacity of all nonprofits to respond to community trauma, Patrick founded Resilience High Point, a nonprofit that encourages public, private, and nonprofits to collaborate on building systems for a compassionate community. Patrick also launched the Bridge project that will serve as a comprehensive community-based hub of support to address healthy food access, health services access, job skill training, agribusiness development, and youth development.

Patrick has worked closely with organizations including D-Up, Elon University, Forward High Point, Greater High Point Food Alliance, Growing High Point, the John Coltrane International Jazz Festival, the Washington Street Community Association, United Way of High Point, and others.

Patrick’s philanthropic and social change work is informed by his background in political science and policy, and educational research methodology and psychology. His honors include the 2014 Esther Award from the Welfare Reform Liaison Project and a 2015 Fulbright award for supporting work alongside social scientists at Durham University to identify neighborhood-rebuilding projects deemed most effective by politicians, nonprofits, and community members.

ABOUT THE CITATION AWARD DINNER

The Citation Award Dinner is the Triad’s largest annual event dedicated to diversity and inclusion. It is also NCCJ’s biggest community program and fundraiser. Honoring Mae Douglas and Dr. Patrick Harman and chaired by Leslie Dunne Ketner and Robert C. Ketner, the 2023 Citation Award Dinner will be held both in-person and virtually (live streaming) on Wednesday, November 10, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. Doors to the Guilford Ballroom will open at 5:45 p.m. for the reception, with the dinner and program taking place from 6:45 to 9 p.m.

Visit NCCJ’s website, www.nccjtriad.org/citation to reserve your tickets or event sponsorship, or to make a gift in honor of Mae Douglas or Dr. Patrick Harman. All revenue from the dinner provides essential support for NCCJ’s work throughout the year.

MORE ABOUT NCCJ

NCCJ is a human relations organization working to create compassionate and just communities free of bias, bigotry, and racism. We promote understanding and respect among all cultures, races, and religions through advocacy, education, and dialogue.

While we work with people of all ages, NCCJ’s youth leadership work is our cornerstone. We support teens’ mental health and social and emotional development by building their confidence, self-esteem, and resilience; showing them firsthand the value of diversity and the importance of inclusion and equity; helping them see their own agency to create positive change; and facilitating social connections with peers and adult allies to grow and strengthen their support systems.

NCCJ’s best-known youth program is Anytown. Since the 1980s, thousands of local high school students have participated in this weeklong youth leadership and human relations summer camp. Thousands more have attended NCCJ’s in-school programs like Anyday and Break the Cycle: Be the Change, which focuses on teaching students to recognize and counteract the stereotypes and prejudices that lead to bullying and discrimination.

In addition to our youth-focused programs, NCCJ also offers community programs like The Reset and Open Minds, Respectful Voices, as well as diversity and inclusion training for educators and other adult professionals.

Contact nccj@nccjtriad.org to arrange an in-person or virtual NCCJ program or presentation for your school, workplace, or organization.

Black Investments in Greensboro (BIG) Equity Fund 1st Annual Celebration

Kabrina Shamburger on November 10, 2022

Donors and volunteers gathered to celebrate the second anniversary of the fund’s official launch. Here are a few key facts about Big Equity Fund and Black philanthropy shared at the event: Black Philanthropy

  • Blacks give 25% more of their income than whites, according to a Kellogg Foundation report—a fact that is not well-known.
  • Black Investments in Greensboro (BIG) Equity Fund is a one-of-a-kind charitable fund led BY the Black community FOR the Black community in Greensboro.
  • BIG Equity Fund remains Black-led and Black-funded so that the wealth and assets of the Black community in Greensboro are recognized as key contributions to our community’s quality of life. BIG Equity Fund
  • BIG Equity Fund has raised $1.5M to date since its initial fundraising began in the winter of 2019-20.
  • BIG Equity Fund is a permanent “endowed” fund, which means that for as long as there are opportunities to strengthen the Black community in Greensboro, BIG Equity Fund will be there to lend a helping hand. It is a “forever” fund hosted by the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.
  • The first $300,000 in contributions to the fund were from Black donors, and more than half of all contributions to date continue to flow from the Black community.

To learn more, visit www.bigequityfund.org

Connie Leeper: Dr. George C. Simkins Jr.’s Lasting Impact

Kabrina Shamburger on February 18, 2022

After my husband and I moved to Greensboro in 1985, I soon learned of the fight for civil rights that took place right here in my newly adopted town. One person, in particular, was Dr. George C. Simkins, Jr., who was a community leader and civil rights activist. Born in Greensboro in 1924, Dr. Simkins was a well-known and respected dentist. In 1955, he and several other black men were arrested for trespassing after they played nine holes at the all-white, municipal Gillespie Golf Course. The men appealed their convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against them in a 5-to-4 vote. Rather than integrate Gillespie, the city closed the course, reopening seven years later with Dr. Simkins the first to tee off.

Most notably, Dr. Simkins was involved in a court action to desegregate Moses Cone and Wesley Long Community Hospitals. You can find a permanent reminder near Cone Hospital where a plaque describes the role Dr. Simkins played in this landmark case.

In 2010, Dr. Simkins’ friends and family chose the Community Foundation as a home for The George C. Simkins, Jr. Scholarship. To date, almost $200,000 in scholarships have been awarded to high school students of color. This scholarship is a permanent reminder that there was once a brave, dedicated African American who was committed to equality and would surely be proud to see that his legacy is being honored in this way.

Connie Leeper, Donor Services Manager

Steve Hayes: January is National Mentoring Month

Kabrina Shamburger on January 31, 2022

There was a study done decades ago that discovered that children who thrived after traumatic events had one thing in common:  An adult who was a constant positive presence in their lives.  Upon hearing this, one of our more prominent nonprofit leaders remarked,” Where is my adult?  I need that too!”  We all need that “Adult” in our lives we can turn to for guidance and support.  One of the tenets of the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium is that good training for nonprofits must be supported by opportunities for individual coaching and mentoring.  While the Consortium offers forty different “classroom style” training events each year, much of the benefit of that training are the hundreds of hours of mentoring, coaching, and support that is built into every event.

The Executive Leadership Academy is a year-long leadership development program that allows participants to attend training at the Center for Creative Leadership.  After a battery of online assessments, participants meet for day-long seminars on developing their own leadership skills. Supporting the training is a program that gives each nonprofit leader an individual coach to work with during the training to implement what they’ve learned.  Participants are also placed in small “Peer Coaching” groups where they learn how to coach and support each other in their development.  Many of these Peer Groups continue to meet years after the Academy is over.

In 2020, Triad Coaching Connection, an organization of local professionals in leadership and organizational development, partnered with the Consortium to provide 24 nonprofits with individualized coaching to help them navigate the early days of the pandemic and economic crisis. These professionals volunteered their skills and support to help local nonprofits keep the doors open in those early dark days.

One of the most valued Consortium programs is our Executive Director Roundtable Series.  This is a “closed door” meeting for the Executive Directors of nonprofits where they can safely and confidentially discuss the challenges they face in their day-to-day work.  Topics may include human resources issues, relationships between Directors and their Boards, financial management, and fundraising.  There may be no topic at all!  During the pandemic, many roundtables were just opportunities to check in with each other and offer mutual support.

The staff of the Consortium spend much of their time mentoring and supporting nonprofit professionals.  The Consortium Director met with 289 individuals from 136 different organizations in 2021.  They may have heard from Board Chairs asking, “How can I get this Board member to participate in meetings?”  From Executive Directors they heard, “How do I lead my organization through Strategic planning?” The young nonprofit professional asked, “Can you help me develop the skills I need to build my career?”  The most common request for help came from the committed community member who asked, “How do I start a nonprofit?  Should I?”

There is the old adage “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”  This is the heart of the work of the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium.  We do indeed train people, but more importantly, we help build the relationships that make training work.  We help find that “Adult” that our nonprofits need to thrive.

Could you be an “Adult” for one of our local nonprofits?  Organizations that rescue animals, mentor youth, develop our economy, provide the Arts, feed the hungry, ensure affordable, safe housing, and many other causes need your support.  One of the best ways to share your talents is by serving on a nonprofit board.  The Consortium can help you find that nonprofit that needs your help and shares your values.  We will even offer you training on how to be an effective board member.

January is National Mentoring Month.  We usually associate mentoring with providing young people with personal, academic, or professional support.  This is important, but our nonprofit community needs those same supports.  Consider being an “Adult” for a nonprofit by offering your skills in accounting, human resources, events planning, fundraising, or any of the myriad of ways that you can help.  The Consortium can help you find that “right fit.” Contact us at guilfordnonprofits@gmail.com  and start building those relationships.

Steve Hayes, Director Guilford Nonprofit Consortium

Ending the Cycle of Poverty Through Micro-Enterprise

Kabrina Shamburger on March 15, 2020

Passion to Purse and YWCA Greensboro are empowering women to start small businesses as a big step toward financial security.

In 2015, the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro’s Women to Women endowment fund awarded its first-ever, multi-year grant to Passion to Purse. This program, offered through YWCA Greensboro, is aimed at ending the cycle of poverty and homelessness by helping low-income and minority women start micro-enterprises.

While the core of the program remains an eight-week course covering business development, market research, pricing, and financial projections, it also offers a safe space for these women.

“It was like a support group for them,” said Rosalyn Womack, founding director of Passion to Purse. As the women worked on their individual businesses, they were also helping each other through the adversities they faced in their own personal lives.

Now in its fifth year, Passion to Purse has countless success stories of helping women create jobs for themselves. From selling hair products and hand-made soaps to opening bakeries and online consignment stores for designer children’s clothing, the “graduates” of Passion to Purse can be found living and thriving across our community.

The program is also thriving. Since receiving its first grant from Women to Women, Passion to Purse has been able to secure additional funding due in part to the prestige of that first grant.

“It makes other funders very comfortable [to know that] Women to Women found it fundable,” said Lindy Garnette, Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Greensboro.

To learn how you can donate to causes like this and others that are empowering people to create better lives for themselves, contact us today.

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