Urban Views Weekly December 30, 2015

Dec. 30, 2015 Scholar of the Week - Clark Frierson

2016 Promises for the New Year

2 Urban Views Weekly | December 30, 2015 www.UrbanViewsWeekly.com

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VOL. 9, ISSUE 52

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FUNdraising Good Times

Nonprofit mission creep: good or bad?

Civic Beat

This is the first in a series focused on the prerequisites for fundraising success.

Happy New Year! We hope you are energized and ready to embrace a new year and new fundraising success. We start 2016 by sharing a few nonprofit fundamentals: your fundraising should focus on securing funds and resources to implement your strategic plan. Your strategic plan is a road map for the activities which bring your mission to life. Your mission is the way your organization expresses its vision.

This means your mission is at the very core of your fundraising. Your mission may be unwavering, or it may change over time. Sometimes that’s “good” and sometimes it’s “bad.” Most of the time, it lies somewhere in between.

Let’s say your nonprofit’s vision is “a world without violence” and your mission is “to teach conflict resolution to teenagers.” Your board has focused on conflict resolution because members have seen how young people quickly move from conflict to violence without knowing how to “de-escalate” the situation and move to resolution.

Your responsibility as a nonprofit leader is to keep your eye on the relationship between vision and mission and

to understand the needs of the community you serve. You may find a donor wants you to pilot a new program believing it is a step towards your vision of a world without violence. It makes sense to the board, and the donor wants to fund it. So you add a new program. It is well received by the families you serve, and more donors join with gifts to sustain and grow this new program.

Over time the board looks at the organization and its programming and realizes the “new” program is now it’s largest. This is one manifestation of “mission creep.” Is that “good” or “bad?” That is something for the board to grapple with.

When reviewing your programming against your mission and vision, make sure you have both quantitative and qualitative information to guide your assessment. You don’t want your own opinions and experiences to be the only lens that guides your decision making.

For example, it could be that new programming has helped your organization serve people it hadn’t been able to reach before. Or maybe the causes of youth violence have shifted and your initial programs aren’t able to impact teenagers as they had in earlier years. What’s most important is that you evaluate your programs and the

environment you are working in to make sure you are in sync with community needs. Your mission may change over time, and that may be good.

Copyright 2015– Mel and Pearl Shaw

For more ways you can make a difference in your community visit www.saadandshaw.com

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3 www.UrbanViewsWeekly.com Urban Views Weekly | December 30, 2015

Scholar of the Week

One opportunity that was very memorable for Clark Frierson was his experience at Yellowstone National Park. “I immediately felt a connection with the Earth beneath my feet,” Clark wrote in an essay. “I took my first breath of Yellowstone air and I felt the spirit of Yellowstone awakening in me.” Despite experiencing altitude sickness from being 8,000 feet above sea level, Clark felt as if he was returning to the home he never knew he had.

As a youth leader with Ground Work USA, Clark had the opportunity to do many community service based activities as well as a chance to take a hike. While hiking, he was one of the first people to get to the top so initially, all was quiet. “I looked around and I don’t know, something just clicked with me,” Clark said.

“Like, I’m a part of the Earth and it hit me that the Earth is just a big living thing.” Mesmerized by the beauty he saw, Clark was reassured that the Earth doesn’t need to be restored, but it needs people who will stop others from harming it.

This moment and his experience at Yellowstone did not change Clark’s life goals but it did shift his concentration. “Before the trip I was dead set on going into biomedical engineering, but after that I did some more research and I decided that I want to do architecture with a focus on sustainable building and urban restoration,” Clark said. He now plans to further his education by studying civil engineering. In the future, he

wants to be one of the people who help plan how cities and highways are laid out and how to make communities more environmentally friendly. Currently his top choice of college is North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, NC. He has already gotten accepted into 10 schools and is also looking at other schools, such as University of Virginia in Charlottesville and the University of Maryland at College Park.

While he prepares to continue his education in engineering, Clark said his mother and brothers are big influences in his life. Seeing and learning from his brothers’ experiences of doing great things and being successful, encourages him to do the same or better.

As he prepares for college, Clark stays busy at Richmond Community High School where he currently has a 4.03 GPA.

He is a member of the National Honor Society, Richmond Community High School’s Jazz Band, Richmond Community High School’s Pharaoh Ensemble, the Honor Council and the Environmental Club. He has learned a lot while attending Richmond Community High School and called it the best experience of his life. “The people, the faculty, the staff, everything about Richmond Community High school I just love, they’re just amazing,” Clark said. One lesson that he has learned from high school and will take with him to college is how important it is to just sit down and do work. “When something has to get done, you just have to make yourself do it even down to the littlest or biggest things,” Clark said.

By Janeal Downs

Clark Friersonof Richmond Community

High School

GPA: 4.03

College of Interest: North Carolina A&T, University of Virginia or University of Maryland, College Park

Major Community Service: Youth leader at Yellowstone National Park

Strong Interests: Civil Engineering, Sustainability

Favorite Activities: Being outside, building things, reading, etc.

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Campaign slogans are usually “catchy” and promote a candidate’s platform, policy proposal and “agenda.” And since the election of President Obama, there has been this undercurrent beating like a bass drum to the chant of, “We want to take our country back!” Which is confusing because that statement begs the question, “Take your country back from whom?” The follow-up questions being:

“Take your country back to where?” How far back do you want to go? Do you want to go back to the pre-Civil Rights era when Black people were victims of state-sponsored terrorism, brutalized by public lynching, cross burnings, legalized segregation and the violation of both their human rights and constitutional rights? Or, do you want to go back to the days when women did not have the right to vote and could be legally raped by their husbands without penalty because there was no such thing as “rape inside marriage”? Or perhaps, you want to go back to when, by Executive Order, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the internment of over 125,000 Japanese-American citizens because their country (the United States of America) was at war with Japan? No matter we were at war with Italy and Germany as well, and Italian and German Americans were not interned within the barbwire fences of concentrations camps and held without charges. Going back to those times would be a very costly proposition, indeed, for millions of American citizens. Going back even further to a time in our nation’s history when President Andrew Jackson ordered thousands of people from the Cherokee Nation to abandon their lands and walk over 2,200 miles with all of their belongings to resettle in the deserted western territory of Oklahoma in the middle of winter. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the removal of native tribes located in the south and southeast, the Cherokee being but one, to the western

territories of the United States. Thousands died along the way renaming the expedition, the Trail of Tears. Are these U.S. candidates for office, who call themselves patriots, asking us to go back to that time? They seem to want to dwell in the past, nostalgically remembering a time when America was great! Do we want to take our country back to a time when people were property and lands were stolen in the name of Manifest Destiny? The rhetoric is confusing and they are sending out “mixed messages” that can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, but as you look out on the large crowds gathered in support of the rhetoric that implies we have “lost” our country and need to take it back, or that somehow once we were great and now we’re not, the demographic makeup of those gathered cannot be ignored nor is it inconsequential. There is a misguided anger towards the colorful and diverse demographic that has become, and is continuing to evolve, a nation that by the end of the next decade will no longer be predominantly white Anglo-Saxon Protestant and male. The “great experiment” of building a nation of immigrants, exiles, people of all faiths, backgrounds and origin is finally taking root and these people, these Americans and their descendants, are cashing the check that was signed by the forefathers of this nation that we are ALL endowed by our creator with the right to life, and the ability to seek and obtain liberty and pursue happiness. We ALL will hold our government and those who seek to

serve in any public office to that standard. Social justice is not an option; it is a right, and this country does not “belong” to any individual or group of individuals seeking to take it back to a place where injustice, terror, oppression, subjugation, and inequality reign down on those with less power, privilege or resources. We will NOT GO BACK! Up Next Week: How “new” will the New Year be?

ViewPointsBy Dr. T

Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Ph.D.Founder and Artistic DirectorThe Conciliation Project andAssociate ProfessorVirginia Commonwealth UniversityDrT@Margins2theCenter.comwww.theconciliationproject.org

Take your country back to what…from whom…to where?

TanyaFree.com/Urban Views Weekly Poll

Many hospitals are now mandating that all employees take a flu shot or be fired. Some employees are refusing based on religious beliefs, and because their job does not require contact with patients or the public.

What’s Your Take? Should an employer require a flu shot even when the job doesn’t require public contact?Check out the story and respond to this week’s poll at TanyaFree.com and the Urban Views Weekly FACEBOOK Page. Listen to the Tanya Free and Friends Talk Show Wednesdays @ 2 p.m. on WCLM1450AM streaming LIVE @ TanyaFree.com and BlackTalkRadioNetwork.com.

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The year of 2016 is anticipated for many reasons. Next year will mark 30 years since the first legal holiday commemorating the legacy and life of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King took place. The new year also will mark the end of President Barack Obama’s eight years as the United State’s first elected African American commander in chief.

In addition, the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. scheduled to open in 2016 will further highlight the contributions of King, Obama and other African Americans whose lives have inspired millions. Such remarkable achievements, perhaps unthinkable a century ago, could not have occurred without purpose and vision.

Locally, several Richmonders who are active in business, culture and education, eagerly anticipate the new year to continue the work of visionaries such as King, Obama and Lonnie Bunch, the NMAAHC’s founding director. In recent interviews, Ashby Anderson, Myja Gary and Rebekah L. Pierce discussed how the coming year will enable them to incorporate purpose and vision in their work and everyday lives.

Ashby Anderson Ten years ago Ashby Anderson had a dream. A music educator and composer by training, Anderson, then 41, wanted to create a space for Richmond’s jazz musicians that also would teach and train local youth about jazz and acoustic instrument playing. In 2006, Anderson opened The Muse Creative Work Space in a 7,000-square-foot converted warehouse in Shockoe Bottom. The space

primarily was used for rehearsals, music education and community events.

“Our approach was to stay small and work on a community-based approach through niche marketing,” said Anderson. Two years later, Anderson founded the Richmond Youth Jazz Guild, offering year-round music instruction for youths ages 8-18. Since its founding, the company has served more than 400 youths, with many of them having received more than $1.1 million in college and national performing arts scholarships, thanks to an affiliation with the Berklee College of Music. The guild currently enrolls about 30 students, who reflect a diverse gender and racial demographic.

Anderson, now 50, continues to dream. He wants to expand his brand, Ashby Anderson Enterprises, nationally. The time is right based on America’s current social climate, he said.

“When you look at it—our nation—there is a lot of tension,” said Anderson. “People are upset and enraged with police brutality and understandably so. I ask myself how can I improve the environment of young people. I believe that the arts are an excellent way” to provide an outlet for youth.

During a recent Richmond Youth Jazz Guild concert, Anderson’s prodigy displayed energy and zeal while executing selections by Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Art Blakey

and the Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane, Freddie

Hubbard, Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock.

The concert also enabled Anderson to collect donated

musical instruments that will be distributed to students who can’t afford to purchase them.

“The purpose is to offer something very positive to offset the negative things in the community,” Anderson explained. “It’s about helping to change the environment.”

Myja Gary Myja Gary is a senior at North Carolina A&T State University. Having grown up in Chester, Gary once wrote

Urban Views Weekly | December 30, 2015

Entering the New Year with Purpose and Vision

7 www.UrbanViewsWeekly.com

about being bullied as a youth, an experience that failed to deter her from her goals.

“I believe that everything you do must be done with a vision and purpose,” she said. “You have to visualize your goals coming into fruition and your success that will follow. You must also understand your purpose and how you plan to positively impact others in all that you do.”

As an honors journalism student who aspires to own a magazine, Gary

realized a special dream last April when she was elected as Miss

N.C.A&T State University. Using the acronym RISE, Gary sought the position as a way of “Reaching, Inspiring, Strengthening, and Empowering”

the university campus and surrounding communities.

Gary said that other reasons led her to run for the coveted campus leadership position at the nation’s largest historically black university.

“Everything I have done in 2015, I made sure that it would benefit me later,” she said. “I made sure that my actions and decisions were necessary steps in accomplishing my goals. For example, I plan to publish and produce my own magazine in the future. This year I dedicated myself to being the copy editor of my college yearbook to gain experience in managing a staff and working with photo and layout editors to understand all aspects in the production of the yearbook. I also worked with other news outlets that would further prepare for the multimedia journalism industry.”

As she prepares to graduate in May 2016, heading into a world of unknowns, Gary appears as poised and ready for the challenge as when she accepted her crown as Miss A&T. She offered this advice to other young women who are charting their future.

“Enter your new world with a vision and a purpose,” said Gary. “Life will happen and things will change, but it is important

to remain focused. Explore, discover, and become everything that you set out to be. Dream, create goals, establish a plan, and execute.”

Gary also believes in resilience and the will to continue despite the odds.

“Lastly, never give up,” she said. “I know that sounds so cliché, but it is so real. Serena Williams once said, ‘Champions are not defined by how much they win, but by how much they recover from their losses.’ In other words, it’s not your awards and achievements that make you successful, but how you

persevere through all of your triumphs. Every place that you go, every person

that you meet, and everything that you do is for a purpose. Find that purpose and fulfill it.”

Rebekah L. Pierce During a visit to the Black

History and Cultural Center of Virginia several years ago,

Rebekah L. Pierce noticed photographs of well-dressed

African-American men and women that lined the museum’s walls. The images

of the elegantly-clad people reflected what is commonly known as Richmond’s Jackson Ward district, an area once considered the “Black Wall Street of the South” and a major center of commerce for black business, culture and entertainment.

Pierce, an educator, playwright and author who hails from Stockton, Calif., was unfamiliar with Richmond’s rich black history

Entering the New Year with Purpose and VisionBy Bonnie Newman Davis

continues on page 10


When was the last time you made a financial resolution on New Year’s Eve? If you can’t remember, you’re in good company.

The Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America’s annual New Year’s resolutions survey for 2014 reported that 49 percent of respondents said that health and wellness were their first priorities for the coming year, up from 43 percent in 2013. Only 30 percent ranked financial stability as their top goal for the year.

In 2016, maybe it’s time to push financial fitness to the top of your list by creating an annual financial calendar that helps you save, spend and invest a little smarter. Here are some suggestions to build your calendar:

Set three important money goals for the year. Three money goals may not sound like a lot, but if you’ve never thought about money goals before, establishing these targets can make a major difference in your financial life. Set goals that address key money concerns or serve as a springboard for a solid financial future. Choose what makes sense for you, but here are three basic goals to start with:

• Create or reset your budget. If you’ve never made a budget before, spend a month or two tracking everything you spend. Review your findings closely and see whether you’re spending less than you earn. If not, determine if you can cut spending to direct more funds to meet key goals. If you already have a budget, consider reevaluating your finances to see where you could cut costs.

• Build an emergency fund. An emergency fund contains between three to six months of living expenses you can draw upon only in a real financial emergency such as unemployment, illness or a major unplanned expense.

• Save for something special. Make one of your three goals a fun goal – a vacation, a new bike, a wardrobe upgrade – something that feels like a reward.

Here are calendar items that might help you reach those goals.

Make sure you note staggered receipt dates for each of your three free credit reports from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax so you can keep a steady eye on your credit and spot irregularities if they happen. The reports are available at www.annualcreditreport.com.

Prevent severe money surprises by marking key repair or replacement dates on home, appliance and other personal expenses that might be coming up in the future. Use the time you have now to schedule inspections and estimates for each so you’ll be able to start setting aside funds in advance.

Retirement readiness is another key calendar item. At least once a year, consider reviewing your holdings in retirement or investment accounts to make sure they’re still performing as you’ve planned or if not, whether you need to restructure the investments in your portfolio.

Put the open enrollment dates for employer- or self-employment benefits on your calendar and then mark a date several weeks before to allow you to start thinking through necessary changes. The way you choose employer or self-employment benefits is a key part of your financial planning and should intersect with other independent money decisions you’re making for yourself and your family.

Insurance renewal dates are important to mark as well. If you’re not comparison-shopping for the auto, homeowners or health insurance coverage you buy on your own, there’s a good possibility you’re losing out on money, service or coverage.

Set two dates each year to review your overall finances. You might consider dates in June and November to see how you’re doing with budget, savings, spending, investment and tax issues. The June date is for corrective actions; the November date is to determine the last-minute spending, savings or tax moves you want to make before December 31 and to set financial goals for the New Year. If you work with a qualified financial or tax expert, consider involving him or her in the conversation.

Bottom line: If you use a calendar or datebook to keep on schedule, add important money dates and activities so you can meet your lifetime financial goals.

Nathaniel Sillin directs Visa’s financial education programs. To follow Practical Money Skills on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney.

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Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ -- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Urban Views Weekly invites you to nominate a person whom you believe best embodies the courage, compassion, integrity, inspiration and vision displayed by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The nominee should live in the Greater Richmond and Petersburg communities.

Two individuals will be selected and featured in our January 2016 Martin Luther King edition.

Letters of nomination should be 400 words or less, and must include the nominee’s full name, address and telephone number. Nominators should include his or her name, address, telephone number and email address.

Help us showcase the good work being done in our community by dedicated heroes and heroines.

2016

Urban Views Weekly6802 Paragon Place Suite 410Richmond, VA 23230 Attention: Visionaries 2016

For more information call: 804.441.6255

The deadline for nominations is Jan. 1, 2016. Submissions may be emailed to Publisher@

UrbanViewsWeekly.com, or mailed to:

Visionaries

? ?

Help us pick our Visionaries

It’s that time of year again. From minor colds to severe flus and fevers, seasonal sicknesses are unpredictable and can sneak up on your family at any time.

Unfortunately, even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot predict the timing, severity and length of a seasonal virus. Luckily, there are steps you can take to ward off illness and better monitor symptoms when you’re sick.

Check in with Your Doctor Make an appointment with your primary care physician to get a look at the family’s vitals. These are good indicators of overall wellness. Plus, it’s a great time to schedule that annual flu shot, if you haven’t already done this.

If you’re pregnant, have kids, or are a caregiver to elderly parents, it’s an even better idea to get vaccinated, as these are the most at-risk groups for complications from flu. If you don’t have time to schedule a full exam, many pharmacies like CVS offer quick, in-store vaccinations.

Practice Healthy Living Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Get enough sleep, eat the right foods to ensure proper nutrition, drink plenty of water and exercise regularly. Avoid close contact with sick people, and maintain a safe distance from others when you are sick. If necessary, stay home from work or school to keep your germs from spreading.

Cover your mouth and nose with a sleeve or tissue when coughing or sneezing. Sanitize doorknobs, light switches and work areas with germ-killing soap. Also, don’t forget to wash your hands or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer throughout the day to combat contamination.

Keep Your Cool Even the best preparation can leave your family susceptible to cold and flu. Fever and

chills could be a sign you’re getting sick. Remember, a fever isn’t always a bad thing. It means your body is working hard to fight off infection. But for parents of small children, putting feverish kids to bed at night can still be unnerving.

New technology can help you rest at night. For example, TempTraq, available at Amazon.com, is a Bluetooth wearable temperature monitor in the form of a soft, comfortable patch. It records your child’s temperature every 10 seconds for 24 hours, sending the data to your smartphone via a free, downloadable app. You can view real-time data or receive alerts when your child reaches a user-set “red zone” level.

“A 24-hour temperature monitor that continuously records a child’s temperature readings could alleviate many parent’s concerns when caring for a sick child,” says Aris Eliades, director of Nursing research, Akron Children’s Hospital. “The child can rest, the parent can be alerted if anything changes, and we as nurses and physicians get needed information to make better decisions for patients.”

Find yourself with a stubborn fever? Adults can use it too. Consider keeping TempTraq in your medicine cabinet for unexpected fevers all season long.

Take proactive steps for a healthy household. And, when all else fails, grab a hot cup of tea with honey and lemon, a warm blanket and a good movie. -StatePoint

Three Tips for Surviving Cold and Flu Season

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before seeing the museum’s standing exhibit at its current Clay Street home. Further research led her to examine more closely Jackson Ward’s past, which included various cycles of gentrification and gave birth to legends such as Maggie Walker, the first woman to charter and serve as president of an American bank, and John Mitchell, editor of the Richmond Planet, a black newspaper. Pierce’s research led her to write her first novel, “Murder on Second Street: The Jackson Ward Murders,” a blend of history and fiction. The plot is set during a “pivotal time in American history: 30 days before the infamous Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929,” according to Pierce. As a result of the novel, Pierce was approached by others to create a film based on the book. Rather than accept the offers, Pierce decided to create a documentary film about Jackson Ward’s history with producers L. Roi Boy, III, Yemaja Jubilee and Full Motion Media. The result is the short film, “Black Wall Street: The Money, The Music & The People.” Pierce, the film’s executive director and producer, plans to send the film to various festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca and the African-American Black Film Festival. Securing a spot in film festivals will help draw attention to the work and Richmond,

and hopefully have it distributed, said Pierce. “If we have presence in these festivals, companies will knock on doors for us. It’s about entrepreneurship. Our goal is to have an opportunity to put the film in our classroom, museums, libraries and to encourage arts in the community.”A first viewing of the film will be Feb. 21 Unity of Bon Air Church in Chesterfield County.When asked what John Mitchell and others would say about the film, Pierce did not hesitate to respond.“He would love it,” she said. “He was all about putting the truth out there. They (Jackson Ward residents and business owners) were so much about owning their history. I think they would probably appreciate the play. They didn’t care what outsiders thought. They cared what their own thought!”Bonnie Newman Davis is a Richmond-based journalist, journalism educator and news media consultant.

From Purpose & Vision pg 7

Martin’s Food Markets Customers Donate More than $100,000

through 2015 Share a Holiday Meal Campaign

Carlisle, PA – MARTIN’S Food Markets customers gave generously this holiday season to help Richmond and Williamsburg area families in need by donating $100,347 through Share a Holiday Meal.

From Nov 1 – Dec. 5, MARTIN’S customers made donations of $2, $5 or $10 at the checkout to support Christmas Mother and Salvation Army campaigns and programs in Central Virginia.

Share a Holiday Meal funds will be donated to:

• Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Christmas Mother - $28,034

• Hanover Christmas Mother - $14,060

• Henrico Christmas Mother - $22,044

• Salvation Army Central Virginia Command - $26,026

• Salvation Army of Williamsburg - $10,182

Since 2010, MARTIN’S customers have donated more than $550,000 to the Share a Holiday Meal campaign.www.CVAACC.org

Central Virginia African American Chamber of Commerce

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Chamber Membershipcould increase your bottom line.


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