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Change4FiveHundred BackpackGiveaway

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I would like to take a moment of your time to introduce myself and thank you in advance for reading my letter. I am Marcus Byrd-Ray Sr., a 29-year-old formerly incarcerated African American from Richmond, CA. Currently, I am attending Laney College majoring in Psychology with plans to transfer to Cal State East Bay upon completion.
My past lifestyle consisted of crime and gun violence, countless murders and prison sentences of childhood friends. Sadly, this is not an uncommon experience for many youth in Richmond (and surrounding communities). Such environmental conditions perpetuated a violent cycle, in which I was no exception to. While on probation I was introduced to a movement called Ceasefire. There I met with members of our community, law enforcement, resource providers and clergy. Collectively, their shared initiatives to create positive opportunities for local youth inspired my passions to influence change.
I am starting a non-profit organization (Change4FiveHundred), which will mentor & motivate young men and women. Our organization also recognizes that to address the nuances affecting our youth, we must commit to serve them early via outreach and consistent engagements. One way in which this can be accomplished is by establishing an annual backpack giveaway for Richmond youth. Last year Change 4 FiveHundred hosted our 1st backpack giveaway with Richmond Ceasefire. Our wonderful team of volunteers served the community by giving out over 300 backpacks to the youth. Many of the families we hosted were residents of Richmond’s most underserved neighborhoods (i.e. North Richmond and Iron Triangle). We also had TV news coverage by KRON 4, which allowed us to share the beauty of our work and the generosity of respective donors. Events like this are empowering for the community, as they remind local youth that their pursuits in education are valued and encouraged.
Change4FiveHundred has partnered with Ya-Neema to present this innovative Mentorship Program to the North Richmond Community by hosting Change4FiveHundred Second Annual Bar-B-Que & Backpack giveaway on August 18, 2018 at Shields Reid Community Center located in the heart of North Richmond, California. We are pleased to offer you an opportunity to participate in this event by making donations to our efforts. Our goal is to provide 500 backpacks with school supplies to children in the North Richmond Community. We intentionally aim to host our events in marginalized communities like North Richmond, to ensure our reach is connecting with those of disadvantaged backgrounds.
Our team aims to ensure that this event is more than students becoming prepared and equipped for the upcoming academic school year. We are communicating with several Community Based Organizations to provide valuable information, resources, and interactive demos for the community. We look forward to potentially having your support in our endeavors to better serve underrepresented communities. Any contributions are tax-deductible. Tax ID #: 501C- 0677001
Sincerely,
Marcus Byrd-Ray
Change4Fivehundred
Phone: (510) [phone redacted]
Email: [email redacted]

Organizer

Marcus Byrd Ray
Organizer
Richmond, CA

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