Letter to the Editor

ACT-SO Program Thanks Syracuse for Financial Support

 

Hello Syracuse

Today Syracuse/Onondaga County NAACP ACT-SO Program would like to openly say Thank You.

In June, we asked the Syracuse Community to help us raise the funds to get the local NAACP ACT-SO winners to the National ACT-SO NAACP Competition in Las Vegas, NV, and you did not let us down.

The Gifford Foundation gave us a challenge to raise $1,000, and they would match it, and that is just what we did. We sold bottles, raffles and asked the community for donations and with the help of O’Brien and Gere, National Grid, Garland Bros Funeral Home, Liverpool Associates, State Farm and ACT-SO Alumni just to name a few; we reached the goal and headed to Las Vegas Wednesday, July 16.

The competition was a great experience for the four youth that were able to compete: Aconda Williams in poetry, Jamaris Mitchell in dance, Zifiso Nyoni in Short Story and Chidera Joseph in Drawing.

There were 600 high school students competing in 27 categories. These were America’s cream of the crop. The result was a 2nd place medal in Drawing; and Aconda Williams and Jamaris Mitchell being able to participate in the National NAACP Awards Ceremony.

But that was not the only award, they learned with your donations, that the Syracuse Community helped to make their dreams a reality.

Syracuse you gave them the boost they needed to keep on achieving. When they say it takes a village to raise a child, they were right. The gifts that you presented to these youth proved that:

1. All our African-American & Latino Youth are not bad; there are many who are doing great things; all they need is the communities encourage.
2. That with hard work, anything is possible.

So as we salute the youth for their hard work and drive, we salute the Syracuse and Onondaga County Community for being the wings beneath their wings, and for that we would forever be grateful.

We are now accepting applications for the 2014-2015 local NAACP ACT-SO Competition that will take place in March 2015. If you know of and High School Student in the city of Syracuse and/or Onondaga County that is of African and Latino decent that has a dream to showcase their talent, contact me: Mrs. Gwendolyn Fagan at (315) 430-2586 and leave a message and ACT-SO.

Thanks again,

Gwendolyn D. Fagan
Local ACT-SO Chair