The Textbook Stipend Project Welcomes Faith Culpepper

Meet Faith Culpepper our newest addition to the Textbook Stipend Project. She is attending BMCC and has plans to transfer to the University of Delaware. She's majoring in Nursing. She hails from Harlem.

Faith came to our attention via her mother who was chatting about her youngest daughter starting college. She was talking about the prohibitive costs involved with college and looking for ways for Faith to maximize all opportunities available. Let's just say, it brought about a lot of stress.

Faith is outgoing and smart. She easily gets A's in her classes. But as I explained, getting A's indicates you follow direction well; however, being excellent means you exceed expectations. This is what we see for Faith - excellence.

Please feel free to welcome her! Here she is in her own words:

Please feel free to congratulate and encourage our students. We can help more students like Faith, by making a generous contribution to Project Brownstone's Textbook Stipend Project:
http://bit.ly/1pc2msM

Please remember, $5 can buy pens and pencils, $10 can buy notebooks and paper, no gift is too small….
Thank you!

Introducing 2014 Textbook Stipend Project Recipient Gavin Ferguson

We want to introduce to you our second student recipient of the Textbook Stipend Project, Gavin Ferguson. He came to us via a recommendation from a high school guidance counselor as someone who would benefit from the stipend. The counselor thought he was a great candidate based on his history of facing academic challenges head on. See, Gavin came to the US from Jamaica at an early age. He had to adapt to a new system, new schools, friends etc.

Gavin has done very well and now is on his way to being an electrical engineer. He's enrolled in the College of Staten Island. He balances school with work and sports. He plays soccer. It takes great discipline to manage all of the activities mentioned. This is what makes Gavin an attractive candidate. He has the moxie to complete his studies as well as the qualities we look for in students.

Gavin is somewhat reserved. But he shares a great quality with our other awardee, Dina Atwa; he's driven. This is the drive that will help to lead other students along the path to better futures. He's willing to accept the role of leader amongst his peers - we applaud that.

Here's what Gavin had to say about the Textbook Stipend Project:

Please feel free to congratulate and encourage our students. We can help more students like Gavin, by making a generous contribution to Project Brownstone's Textbook Stipend Project:
http://bit.ly/1pc2msM

Please remember, $5 can buy pens and pencils, $10 can buy notebooks and paper, no gift is too small….
Thank you!

Introducing 2014 Textbook Stipend Project Recipient Dina Atwa

Project Brownstone is extremely proud to introduce Dina Atwa as one of our recipients of the Textbook Stipend Project. She's an affable, intelligent young woman on her way to Suny Oneonta where she will major in Psychology.

Dina has that rare quality that we look for in students. She's a go-getter and does not take 'no' for an answer. She has big dreams for her future. She plans to etch out a career using her degree in Psychology as a springboard. She has already set in place an internship even before school started! So, it's evident why Project Brownstone is honored to have her as one of our first recipients of the Textbook Stipend Project.

The stipend will assist by providing funds for Dina and others to purchase textbooks and supplies for their courses. It is our goal to act as an advocate, guide, interventionists, or whatever we can do to make her academic journey a success.

Hear from Dina herself what the Textbook Stipend Project means to her:

We can help more students like Dina, by making a generous contribution to Project Brownstone's Textbook Stipend Project: http://bit.ly/1pc2msM

Please remember, $5 can buy pens and pencils, $10 can buy notebooks and paper, no gift is too small….

Project Brownstone Gallery Series

The mission of Project Brownstone is to find ways to empower underserved youths. Art plays an important role in the development and empowerment of children. We will host a collaboration with artist Noel Donaldson to add further context to the role of uplift through stories told through painting.

Noel was generous to donate artwork to the Annual event for the silent auction. His work caused a stir and a bidding war ensued. There were a few hurt feelings but what it did was inspire us to bring a more comprehensive collection of his work to the community.

What makes Noel's work important is that he documents the human experience from the perspective of Africans of the Diaspora. Now it's possible to adorn your homes with artworks that have relevance to the time and space we reside in giving historical context to it.

The Gallery Series will begin on Saturday and Sunday, September 27 at 3:00pm-8:00pm, and September 28 3:00pm-6:00pm at Project Brownstone 133 West 131st Street, New York, NY 10027.

A portion of the proceeds will go to support the ongoing work of Project Brownstone.

We hope to see you there!