New Orleans, LA (June 30, 2011)–UNCF–the United Negro College Fund–the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, today announced actor Brian White and TV producers Monique Jackson and Kita Williams will headline the 2011-2012 UNCF Empower Me Tour. Targeting minority college, high school and middle school students and their parents, the tour inspires and motivates youth to empower themselves through career and college readiness seminars, personal development workshops and celebrity led panel discussions. White, Jackson and Williams will be at Essence Music Festival this weekend. On Saturday, July 2 Monique Jackson and Kita Williams will lead panel discussions on the Army Experience Stage at 1 p.m. and will sign autographs and photos at 1:45 p.m. at the UNCF booth at the convention center. On Sunday July 3, Brian White will be featured on the Army Experience Stage at 1 p.m. and will be at the UNCF booth for a book signing at 1:45 p.m. UNCF booth visitors will be eligible to win tickets to the Nation’s Football Classic and a free copy of Brian White’s book, “Black Carpenter.”
The UNCF Empower Me Tour presented by Wells Fargo, focuses on six areas: financial education, college readiness, career readiness, entrepreneurship, health and wellness, and service and philanthropy. Students will learn how to best prepare to go to-and-through-college and how to chart a successful destiny using financial, leadership and self-efficacy tools.
“UNCF is excited that Brian White, Monique Jackson and Kita Williams are committed to education and support UNCF’s work of helping students get a good education from pre-school through college,” said Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., UNCF president and CEO. “They are making sure that thousands of students are empowered to become the next generation of scientists, teachers, doctors and leaders who get the college education they need and our nation needs them to have.”
Brian White is an Ivy League graduate of Dartmouth College, a former NFL New England Patriots football player, a licensed stock broker, and an accomplished film and TV actor. Some of White’s movie credits include leading roles in Mr. 3000, Stomp the Yard and I Can Do Bad All By Myself. White also appears on TNT’s hit series “Men of a Certain Age.” Upcoming films that will feature White include: the romantic comedy “Politics of Love” (Sept.1), the Joss Whedon thriller “Cabin in the Woods” (Fall) and Tyler Perry’s “Good Deeds” (Feb. 24).
Additionally, White is releasing a book on July 1 entitled, “Black Carpenter,” which is also a multi-platform youth development program that urges young people to “build their future.” Black Carpenter empowers and encourages young people to secure and leverage essential “tools” for success in their professional, financial and personal life. During the UNCF Empower Me Tour, White will share some of the tools included in his book, which are metaphors for life’s most important values and highlight personal anecdotes from his life. Included in the Black Carpenter series are the following tools for success: the hammer which is symbolic of strength; the tape measure, which is illustrative of prompting kids to inquire and ask questions in a respectful manner; and pliers which are representative of kids being versatile and being able to recover quickly when faced with obstacles or challenges. Visit
www.blackcarpenter.org to learn more.
Monique Jackson and Kita Williams, of VH1’s “The T.O. Show,” have extensive experience in the entertainment industry. They are TV producers, reality TV stars and entrepreneurs. They are best friends, business partners and co-founders of the Define Your Pretty charitable platform. Define Your Pretty (DYP) founders Monique Jackson and Kita Williams have spoken to over 30,000 young women about self love, self respect, self esteem and image in an effort to motivate women of all ages and walks of life to love themselves and learn how to “Define their own Pretty.” Some women are Pretty talented, Pretty creative , Pretty smart, Pretty bold. Whatever your Pretty is, DYP's core message is to not let anything or anyone Define you! Only YOU can “Define Your Pretty.” Visit
http://defineyourpretty.com/ to learn more.
Currently, Define Your Pretty actively partners with the UNCF Empower Me Tour, visiting historically black colleges and universities (HBCU’s), PWI's in urban markets and Community Colleges with outreach to African-American and Hispanic middle school, high school and college students as well as parents and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) “Act Against Aids” PSA Campaign.
As creators and executive producers of VH1's hit show "The T.O. Show," Monique and Kita are using Season 3 of the show to gain national exposure, to over 4 million weekly viewers, for the “Define Your Pretty” movement.
Sponsors and UNCF Strategic Partners include Presenting Sponsor: Wells Fargo, Major Sponsors: McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, Workshop Sponsor: the U.S. Army, and Education Partners: INROADS, Education Is Freedom, the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Asian & Pacific-Islander American Scholarship fund and Teach For America. For more information on the tour, visit
www.EmpowerMeTour.org. About UNCF
UNCF—the United Negro College Fund—is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 38 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 21 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."® Learn more at
www.UNCF.org.
Posted By: How May I Help You NC
Thursday, June 30th 2011 at 8:00PM
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