Weekly Report 2-29

By d-mars.com News Provider

According to a new survey, routine activities are making people feel unsafe, including walking through a parking lot or garage or even taking a run.

Conducted by SABRE personal safety brand via Ipsos.Digital, a new survey revealed that over the past three years more than 80% of Americans have, at some point, felt unsafe in everyday situations.

Polling a nationally representative random sample of 1,000 people nationwide on their personal safety habits and attitudes, the survey provided several insights including just how common it is for Americans to feel unsafe and how people try to protect themselves. A few of the most notable findings include:

gers, while 30% stated they have pretended to be on a phone call to protect themselves. These forms of protection may be instinctual to further defend yourself but are ineffective and can provide a false sense of security. According to Gabrielle Rubin, founder of self-defense course Female Awareness, the real problem with holding keys between your fingers is that your attacker is already too close. The ideal safety protection tools can protect you from a distance while requiring minimal engagement and force.

Unsafe in daily routines

Four in every five Americans admitted to feeling unsafe in everyday situations over the past three years. Beyond this, many also shared they have been uncomfortable as they go about common day-to-day activities. Fortytwo percent of people confessed that walking through an area that is not well lit made them feel unsafe.

And these anxieties are not limited to dimly lit areas, as 32% of people stated they felt unsafe walking through a parking lot or garage, nearly a quarter of those surveyed (22%) experienced similar feelings while in the stairwell of a building.

1 2

To many, spending time exploring a local forest preserve or running solo on a trail can be a way to relax and escape everyday stress, but for a large percentage of people, these types of activities and experiences have often left them feeling uncomfortable. Most notably, two-thirds of all women surveyed expressed that when spending time running, walking or hiking in isolated areas, they have felt uncomfortable at some point over the past three years.

4 3

4) Increased confidence with effective tools

2) Uneasy during recreational activities

Walking at Night? Increased confidence with effective tools Ineffective protection methods

3) Ineffective protection methods

When presented with situations they felt were unsafe, an overwhelming majority (90%) admitted to taking steps to protect themselves. However, with only a split second to react, many of the cautionary measures being taken have been proven to be ineffective.

Among the most popular means of protection include 36% of people who have put keys between their fin-

Ultimately, however, the majority of those surveyed (64%) stated they already own a personal safety device, and of those, the bulk (86%) admitted that carrying it with them provides an increased sense of confidence and security. Some of the most popular forms of protection are self-defense products such as pepper spray (30%) and personal alarms (17%). Given the increased sense of confidence and security that effective personal safety tools can provide, it is a good idea to explore the options to find what device works best for your needs.

A tool such as Smart Pepper Spray is one solution for everyday use. Connected to your phone via Bluetooth, this product can share your GPS location whenever pepper spray is deployed, allowing loved ones to know your exact whereabouts the moment the product is used.

Meanwhile, a product like SABRE Runner Pepper Gel may be a better fit for those searching for on-the-go safety devices to bring along as they are out preparing for a 5K and hoping for some added confidence as they begin their running regiment this spring.

Ideally the right safety tools provide an added level of confidence for users, enabling them to continue to do everything from routine daily activities to adventurous travel excursions with assurance and ease.

Source: BPT

Veteran Business Executive Forms

Minority-Owned Professional Services and Corporate Advisory Holding Company Minority-Owned Professional Services and Corporate Advisory Holding Company

By d-mars.com

News Provider

In response to the growing market demand to provide integrated professional and business solutions, veteran business executive and CEO advisor Jarvis Stewart announced today the formation of Highland Poe. Stewart will serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at the holding company and Chief Strategist to each of the three portfolio companies – Cover Communications, Ian Reid, and HP Global Advisors.

Headquartered in Washington, DC with senior and strategic advisors across the United States, Dubai, and Guyana, Highland Poe’s portfolio companies offer professional services in strategic and diversity communications, federal government and regulatory affairs, and corporate advisory in environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) and capital markets consulting.

“As the U.S. and global economies continue to recover from the financial devastation of last year, CEOs and business leaders are in search of a professional, integrated services firm that understands their challenges and offers creative growth solutions rooted in experience and relationships,” said Jarvis Stewart, Chairman and CEO of Highland Poe. “We have assembled a diverse team of leaders with expertise in equity and inclusion, public policy, and global investment and corporate development.”

In addition to Stewart, the senior leadership of Highland Poe includes Vice Chairs and equity partners Matthew McGuire, Shawn Rochester, and Ja'Ron Smith. Appointed by former President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, McGuire is the former U.S. executive director of the World Bank Group and has more than 20 years of financial and invest-

ment experience. Rochester, a celebrated author and corporate strategist, is credited with his advice and counsel to Fortune 100 companies on seamless ways to leverage their brand and incorporate equity and inclusion goals into their business verticals. Roches ter also spent more than a decade as a senior M&A and corporate development manager at IBM, In ternational Paper, and Amphenol. Smith brings extensive Executive and Legislative Branch experi ence to Highland Poe. He is the former Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and formerly served on the legislative team for U.S. Sena tor Tim Scott of South Carolina. Smith is also the executive director at the Center for Advancing Opportunities, a research and education proj ect of the Thurgood Mar shall Scholarship Fund.

Other senior team members include MIT-educated econo mist Dr. Julianne Malveaux, a senior advisor at Cover Communications, former U.S. Sen ate Banking Subcommittee counsel Joi Sheffield, a senior advisor at Ian Reid, Guyana-based business executive, Abbigale Loncke, and Damu Win-

ston, Dubai UAE-based fintech entrepreneur and enterprise innovator. Former U.S. Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary, Daraka “Doc” Satcher will serve as general counsel

For more information about Highland Poe, www.highlandpoe.com.

Source: NNPA

Black Business Registrations Increase During COVID Pandemic

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Correspondent

Several states have shown that the number of registered businesses has “more than doubled” according to analysis by the New York Times.

In the month after the CARES Act was passed by Congress in March 2020, business registrations increased by 60 percent. Though the economic downturn caused by the COVID pandemic is likely to damage entrepreneurship and put many small businesses in a financial hole or out of business

entirely, there are signs that many have turned to creating businesses after losing employment elsewhere.

Andre Perry, a Brookings Institution fellow, told the Times that some of the surge in Black business registrations could be a signal

of personal economic trouble.

“This is more about survival than it is about wealth creation. There’s lots of people who have lost their jobs and lost their businesses. People are starting to realize that side hustles are businesses,” Perry said.

Additionally, Google Trends data reported an “uptick in searches related to Black-owned businesses” in June of last year during the start of the pandemic. According to Google Trends data, searches for “How to find black owned businesses in your area” saw a 300% spike and searches for “Black owned restaurants near me” tripled.

An app that is a guide to Black

owned restaurants, called EatOkra, witnessed a 4,450% increase in downloads of new users in May 2020. Many believe that activism after the murder of George Floyd coupled with the COVID19 pandemic spurred manny to think about economic activism and Black owned businesses.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

Source: NNPA

Photo Caption: Jarvis Stewart will serve as chairman and CEO of Highland Poe, overseeing client relations and operations for portfolio companies, Cover Communications, Ian Reid, and HP Global Advisors.