July 30, 2012
by María Eugenia Miranda
Two
years after launching, the Soledad O’Brien and Brad Raymond Foundation is well
on its way to becoming a key change agent in higher education. At the
organization’s second annual “New Orleans in the Hamptons” gala, Wall Street
and entertainment industry players alike showed up to support the group’s
efforts and celebrate its progress.
“As
an organization we’ve become more sophisticated in understanding what it is
we’re here to do,” said Dr. Steve Perry, founder and principal of Capital
Preparatory Magnet School and a board member from its inception. “It’s about
transforming lives.”
With
additional support from Target and Google, the foundation held a mentoring
retreat in New York City this year, just prior to Friday night’s gala, and
provided the now 12 scholars with brand new laptops. “We doubled the number of
scholars—we’re up to a dozen with a couple other girls who are sort of pending,”
said CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, who heads the foundation with her husband, Brad
Raymond.
“Google
was nice enough to send some of their young women to come and meet with our
young women and mentor them and also be part of our retreat yesterday. We see
that growing into a bigger mentoring session, more than a day, which is what we
started with.” Along with more formal programming, the foundation also has set
up an application process. In the past, most of the students were people
O’Brien came across in reporting on natural disasters and the education crises
in the United States.
Hip-hop
mogul Russell Simmons lauded O’Brien not just for raising funds for education,
but for shedding light on important issues. “Aside from raising the money for
the children who need the education, it’s helping to raise awareness.
Communities are falling to the wayside. In the next America we don’t know
what’s going to happen.”
Each
scholar in the organization gets personalized help in whatever it is they’ll
need to succeed in college, whether it’s covering tuition, childcare expenses,
study abroad fees, or just a mentor to navigate the bumps and hurdles on the
road to a college degree. “Through your contribution you won’t just give kids
some money so that they can go to college, but [you’ll] help them through the
process of staying enrolled in college, mentoring them through the whole entire
education journey,” Steve Perry said.
Emma
Bradford Perry, dean of libraries at Southern University and A&M College,
was honored at the gala for her mentorship of Tyreiron Segue, a soon-to-be
junior at Spelman College. In her freshman and sophomore years at Spelman,
Perry helped Segue in everything from advising her for classes to securing an
on-campus part-time job. “I run interference if she runs into any issues on the
campus,” said Bradford Perry. “She doesn’t know yet . . . but I have already
set up a job for her at Spelman. I will probably be with her for the rest of my
life because I think she’s worthy of that.”
The
mission of the fund has always been to keep it personal, said executive
director Rica Triggs. “We have tried to create a foundation that has a family
feel to it,” said Raymond onstage with his wife. And indeed they have, as many
of the scholars are boarding at their New York City apartment to do internships
this summer.
“Some
of these girls probably had never been on a plane before, and to come to New
York and interact with all of the people that they are interacting with — that
is very special too,” said Bradford Perry.
Part
of this year’s programming included a retreat at CNN at the Time Warner Center
in Columbus Circle, where the girls discussed their life struggles and met with
successful women they could relate to.
“I’m
absolutely inspired after last night to do bigger things,” said Amanda Lynn
Hill, who was featured in O’Brien’s documentary about Hurricane Katrina,
“Children of the Storm,” and thanks to a scholarship from the foundation
recently finished her nursing degree.
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