By Clifford L. Williams,
Globe City Editor

The National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW), Oakland/ Bay Area Chapter, recently awarded eight grants to deserving organizations as part of its sixth annual Public Service and Education Awards Program. The grants were presented at the coalition’s holiday celebration.

   Cheryl McDonald, co-chair of NCBW’s Public Service & Education (PSE) Committee, said the primary objective of NCBWis to provide financial assistance to various organizations throughout the Bay Area that work primarily with African American women and girls. “Many of these programs are vital and crucial to the success of our community, so it’s really key that we support them,” she said. “The coalition works toward the betterment of our communities, whether it be issues involving health, economics or spiritually,” said Rose Scott, co-chair of the PSE Committee.

    “In addition to giving our grants, we provide scholarships for youths in high school who aspire to go to college, and for working women who are returning to college after they have gone back to work. This year, we gave out $30,000 in scholarships,” she said.
    “Over the last five years, we provided for over $150,000 in scholarships,” said Sahara Alexis, NCBW parliamentarian. “In terms of our community grants, this year, we’ve given out $25,000, and over the last five years, we’ve awarded $110,000.”
    Alexis said that in the upcoming year, the coalition will focus on advocacy. “We expect to do a lot of collaboration with other organizations to help bring awareness to the African American community about the political arena and the candidates that are running for office, as well as key issues that are going to be on the ballot,” she said.
    This year’s community grant recipients included:
• The Alameda County Health Care Foundation, which raises funds and generates community support for the Alameda County Medical Center. The NCBW grant will support the foundation’s Model Neighborhood Program, created to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in the health profession.
• The ASAAcademy, which is a private school with a challenging curriculum designed for African American students in grades six through 12. The NCBW grant will support the implementation of the To Be Young, Gifted and Black Merit Program.
• A Sister Helping Another Excel, a grassroots organization that provides educational resources and personal and career development workshops to disadvantaged individuals. The NCBWgrant will support the group’s 2008 southern college tour, which will take 10 deserving junior and senior female students on tours of historically black colleges and universities.
• Cal-PEP (California Prevention and Education Project), which provides accessible heath education, disease prevention and support services to people at high risk for HIV. The NCBW grant will expand their publication and marketing efforts by purchasing additional “Sistahs Getting Real About HIV” billboards and flyer-size advertisements, which are distributed at community events and health fairs.
• First Place for Youth, which was founded in 1998 to end homelessness and poverty among former foster youth. The NCBW grant will help initiate a new project to enable the group to expand the First Steps program for transitioning youth who are pregnant or parenting.
• GirlSource, which helps low-income, high-school-age young women of color and young mothers ages 14 to 21 in San Francisco develop entrepreneurial and job skills. The NCBWgrant will support the Bound for Success Program, which provides participants with practical and logistical support to succeed academically and personally.
• Inner City Family Resource Networks, which preserves and supports families by building self-esteem and strengthening kinship bonds in the community. The NCBWgrant will support the network’s After School Tutorial Program and the Boys & Girls Academy, as well as family support services offered through the network’s Family Resource Center.
• The Women’s Cancer Resource Center, which is a cancer education and support organization serving women with cancer and their supporters in the Bay Area. The NCBW grant will support the center’s Community Health Advocate Program, which assists underserved women and their supporters. In attendance at the holiday party were NCBW’s Positive Step Girls.
    The Positive Steps Program provides young women ages 12 to 17 the opportunity to recognize their full potential through educational, developmental and cultural programs focused on health and wellness, careers and leadership.
    For more information on the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, call Niccore Rapp at (510) 287-0769.

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