June 3, 2015
Scholar of the Week – Kidajah Johnson
2015 Scholars
Celebrating Your Success
Smart Beginnings Campaign Focuses on Health of Young Children
The Deal
By Jason Alderman
Planning a Wedding on a Budget
The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation and the Virginia Chapter-American Academy of Pediatrics have partnered to designate May 10-June 21, 2015, the time period between Mother’s Day Should a dream wedding mean delaying a down payment on a home? That’s a tradeoff many couples and Father’s Day, as an opportunity to focus on the health development of young children and to make these days. recognize that Smart Beginnings Start with Families: Healthy Children are Ready to Learn. Both of these partner organizations develop and implement statewide strategies to help parents, family members and caregivers understand the importance of children’s early years, from birth through age five, as a critical time for building a strong foundation for good health and success in school. Tips for Parents It’s so important for parents to be active participants in their child’s early learning. After all, parents are a child’s first teacher! Here are some tips to cut and clip to the refrigerator or in another spot as a daily reminder of activities that profoundly impact a young child’s growth and development:
• Play with your child – Play is an essential way for children to learn about their world while developing emotionally, physically, socially and intellectually.
• Create and keep routines – Children do best when they know what to expect. Teach about rules by setting up daily routines, particularly for eating and sleeping.
• Read at bedtime – Curling up with your child to read helps your child settle down after a busy day and sets the stage for a lifelong love of reading.
• Have meals together as much as possible – Mealtimes with your children are great ways to spend more time together and share family values and traditions, while also teaching good eating habits and table manners.
• Take time to talk and listen – Talking to your baby or toddler
stimulates brain development and builds a strong foundation for learning. Children feel important and gain confidence when adults take the time to talk with them often. Ask about friendships and activities that your child enjoys. Talk about your own best and worst experiences, and share stories from your own childhood.
The Knot, a wedding planning and publishing company, recently released its Real Weddings Study (http://www.xogroupinc.com/press-releaseshome/2015-pressreleases/2015-03-12-theknot-2014-real-weddingsstudy.aspx) of average wedding costs for 2014, announcing a national average price tag of $31,213 (not including the honeymoon). The average cost of a wedding is a good point of comparison against other major financial goals in a new marriage. Considering that the average price of a new home in America is now $200,000, that wedding estimate would cover the majority of a 20 percent down payment ($40,000). Despite getting married to my wife at the family home 15 years ago, I still remember the sticker shock for all the wedding costs – a whopping $10,000 for the entire event from tux, dress, flowers, food and honeymoon. Here are a few suggestions to plan a wedding that
Letter To The Editor
• Unconditional love – Talk through your child’s challenging behavior with guidance and love and without threats. Acknowledge your own mistakes when your child is old enough to understand and engage in conversation with you.
Marry off-season. The most popular wedding months are now June and October, with longtime leader June losing a bit of ground. The most popular day to get married is Saturday, and nighttime is the most competitive time slot for receptions. Consider a January wedding when the post-holiday rush is over – cold weather wedding venues are generally empty and priced to move. Weekday weddings have the potential added bonus of guests drinking less on a work night, and weekend brunch weddings can be served buffet-style with more reasonably priced menu choices. Find alternative venues. Farms, barns, warehouses, art galleries and, of course, family property can be cheaper venues for a wedding, but make sure such spaces are properly insured for alcohol, food or other party-related risks. Also, in many communities, party venues must be properly licensed and/or zoned to avoid fines or legal action. DIY if possible.
Ervin B. Clarke, Publisher publisher@urbanviewsweekly.com VOL. 8, ISSUE 22 Urban Views Weekly, LLC 6802 Paragon Place, Suite 410 Richmond, VA 23230 Office: (804) 441-6255 Fax: (888) 439-2534
Flora C. Clarke, Administrative Assistant flora@urbanviewsweekly.com Shelia O. Spurlock-Shaw, Advertising shelia@urbanviewsweekly.com Nickkol Lewis, Art Director Visual Appeal, LLC | visualappealstudio.com Follow us!
For more information about Smart Beginnings Start with Families: Healthy Children are Ready to Learn, visit www.smartbeginnings.org. 2
Urban Views Weekly | June 3, 2015
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• Show respect to gain respect – Children learn by example, so put
the cell phone down and turn off the computer or TV to focus completely on conversations or homework with your child. When you cannot stop what you are doing, be honest and tell your child that you’ll be available as soon as your task is completed.
won’t break the bank:
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ViewPoints
We’re the Cops of the World? American folk singer, Phil Ochs popularized a song in the 1960s that encapsulated the anti-war sentiment prominent in the struggle for social and political justice at a time when there was bloodshed throughout the streets of U.S. cities nationwide. The song was titled “We Are the Cops of The World”. Here is an excerpt:
Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Ph.D.
By Dr. T
solutions. So, whatever we do now will be very painful and costly in both lives and treasure, as if we have not already spent far too much money and lost far too many men, women and children to a misguided, misrepresented and mindless campaign to accomplish what in the Middle East?
Our nation’s urban communities are struggling with epidemic dysfunction in the criminal justice system. DrT@Margins2theCenter.com Racial injustice, economic www.theconciliationproject.org injustice, and continued systemic and moral corruption in leadership bring up the ghosts of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. We saw Black people beaten in the streets, We own half the world, oh say can you see assassinated in public for asserting their right And the name for our profits is democracy to be treated with dignity and humanity. The So, like it or not, you will have to be free Bloody Sunday attack in Selma, Alabama, ‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys covered by media sources and projected onto We’re the Cops of the World television sets across America, seared the --- Phil Ochs copyright 1966 consciousness of the American public, the white American public. We stand on a precipice in 2015 within the social-political narratives of our time. We are The more recent killings and shootings of caught like Prometheus between a rock and unarmed Black men, recorded and posted to a hard place, the conflict between rational social media in the last few months, has once thought or reason, and power or violence. The again slapped the unconscious and oblivious conundrum we find ourselves bound by has into the real world and brought us to a place some eerily familiar lines and commonalities of decision. We still need social justice reform. with the narratives of the 1960s. We are a We have NOT come as far as we once thought. war-weary nation with an overstretched and We, the people, must engage in setting the exhausted military fighting for the freedom policy for our nation, through activism and and liberty of people in foreign lands where whom we choose to represent us at every level. the politics, culture and will of the people, within the regions where our military is Would our “knee-jerk” reaction to insert “fighting”, are torn apart by ancient wounds, ourselves all over the world be different if we tribal and religious strife and civil war. The ALL had “skin” in the game? Let’s bring back U.S. has interjected itself into nation states the draft so the sons and daughters, grandsons and regions without proper historical context and granddaughters of our legislators are also or knowledge in the name of spreading on the frontlines of the wars we fight. That freedom and democracy because “American would be as revolutionary as term limits on Exceptionalism” demands it. the U.S. Congress. We MUST decide can we afford to be the cops of the world? We always have “good” intentions. But as the old folks say “The road to Hell is paved with Up Next Week: Daring or Dumbfounded to the good intentions.” We have built that road to Grads of 2015? Hell in the Middle East. There are NO good We’ll spit through the streets of the cities we wreck And we’ll find you a leader that you can elect Those treaties we signed were a pain in the neck ‘Cause we’re the Cops of the World, boys We’re the Cops of the World
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Founder and Artistic Director The Conciliation Project and Associate Professor Virginia Commonwealth University
Urban Views Weekly | June 3, 2015
The Town of Bowling Green Kicks Off Its First Annual John Cephas Piedmont Blues Festival The first John Cephas Piedmont Blues Festival will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2015 in Bowling Green, Virginia. This event has been an initiative for the Bowling Green Arts Commission since last June, when a historical highway marker was dedicated to Cephas, the legendary blues guitarist and Bowling Green local. John Cephas was born in Washington, DC, but reared in the Town of Bowling Green. Having a rich history of gospel and blues music in his family, Cephas developed a banjo-like technique of playing guitar. John Cephas and Phil Wiggins teamed up after meeting at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1976, and released several albums through German record label, L+R. Cephas and Wiggins enjoyed their breakthrough to American blues enthusiasts with “Dog Days of August”, winning the W.C. Handy Award for best traditional blues album in 1987. Cephas’ influence on Piedmont Blues was further recognized by The National Endowment For the Arts when he was presented with the National Heritage Fellowship award. Cephas and Wiggins went on to release over a dozen albums. John Cephas died on March 4, 2009, in his home, just outside of Bowling Green; however, The Bowling Green Arts Commission hopes to keep continues from page 2
Couples with a flair for party planning, decorating and cooking might be able to slash costs planning and executing their own event with minimal dependence on hired or volunteer help. From flowers to photography, wedding cake to wedding planners, check for affordable options. If a venue allows couples to supply their own flowers and decorations, it is wise to comparison shop. Consider professional photographers or skilled amateurs who meet your tastes and budget. Use a gift registry to pay for the wedding. Couples can set up online gift registries that allow guests to directly fund honeymoon trips or specific expenses associated with the wedding. Plan a destination wedding. Resorts around the world and well-known domestic wedding/travel destinations like Las Vegas or Hawaii offer wedding packages that blend a ceremony and vacation getaway.
his legacy alive through the annual John Cephas Piedmont Blues Festival. Beginning at 2:00 p.m. and going until 8:00 p.m. on the main stage, festivalgoers and blues enthusiasts will enjoy live music by various artists paying tribute to Piedmont blues, the genre of blues that Cephas is world-renowned for pioneering. Confirmed musicians include Cephas’ longtime partner and harmonica master, Phil Wiggins, MSG Acoustic Blues Trio, Piedmont Bluz Acoustic Duo, Eleanor Ellis, Rick Franklin, and Robert Flowers with Jay Summerour, Warner Williams and Eric Selby. Admission is free. Performing artists will also be offering hands-on instructional workshops before live performances, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for longtime admirers to meet the artists, and for beginners to learn the fundamentals of playing instruments commonly used in blues music such as harmonica, guitar and banjo. In addition, attendees will enjoy a variety of food vendors, artisan crafts and activities for all ages. Jo-Elsa Jordan, Town of Bowling Green; Events Coordinator bgtownevents@gmail.com (804) 516-5045 www.johncephasfestival.com Planning a winter wedding? Research options for a warmer climate or snowy destination at a ski resort. Finally, be flexible. Some venues have cancellations, and if a couple is willing to put themselves on a waiting list and move quickly if they get the call, savings might be possible. Before planning a wedding, it’s wise to start with planning finances. A meeting with a qualified financial advisor might help put wedding costs in perspective with other major financial priorities. Bottom line: Dream weddings don’t have to put a couple’s financial life on hold. Consider real financial priorities first and build a smart wedding budget from there. Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs. To Follow Jason Alderman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney. www.UrbanViewsWeekly.com
Congratulations to our 2014-2015 Scholar of the Week Graduates
Congratulations for Making Honor Roll! You worked hard this school year and it’s paid off. Stay engaged. Enjoy a good book. Have a safe and fun summer. Jennifer L. McClellan Virginia House of Delegates
71st District Authorized by Jennifer McClellan Paid for by Friends for Jennifer McClellan
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Urban Views Weekly | June 3, 2015
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Lamar Greene
Miah Hardy
Richmond Community High School
Richmond Community High School
of
GPA: 4.8
of
GPA: 4.6
of
Petersburg High School GPA: 3.7
College of Interest: Brown University in Rhode Island
College of Interest: Spelman College
College of Interest: Radford University
Major Community Service: Boys and Girls Club, Folk Festival, and service through the Key Club
Major Community Service: Elementary School Tutor, Key Club
Major Community Service: Kiwanis Club Yard Sale, Golden Living Center, work with the Key Club
Strong Interests: Public Health Administration and Pre-Med
Strong Interests: History, African American history, volunteering
Strong Interests: Science, math, babysitting, Key club
Favorite Activity: Yearbook
Favorite Activity: FBLA
Daysia McSweeney of
GPA: 4.02
Richmond Community High School
2014-
Schola The W
Favorite Activity: Spending time with friends
Erica Pierce
Toni Boyd
of
of
Varina High School
Petersburg High School
GPA: 3.7
GPA: 3.6
GPA: 3.9
College of Interest: Clark Atlanta University
College of Interest: Christopher Newport University
College of Interest: Christopher Newport University
College of Interest: Old Dom
Major Community Service: Teacher Assistant, Student Tutor
Major Community Service: National Beta Club, National Honor Society, Key Club
Major Community Service: Work at a nursing home
Major Community Service and other events
Strong Interests: Social Work, working with children
Strong Interests: Biology and law
Favorite Activity: Reading, dancing, listening to music and shopping
Favorite Activities: Spending time with family, cheerleading, school
Douglas Smith Open High School
Austyn Brown
Richmond Community High School
Richmond Community High School
GPA: 3.87
College of Interest: Virginia Commonwealth University
College of Interest: Spelman College
Major Community Service: Work with his church, work at the library
Major Community Service: Richmond SPCA, 10k events, MARSS
Strong Interests: Information technology, politics, business
Strong Interests: Reading, volunteering, being a student ambassador
Urban Views Weekly | June 3, 2015
Favorite Activity: Playing with her sisters, working, knitting, writing
Chelsea Crawford
GPA: 3.95
Favorite Activities: Church, robotics, Mayor’s youth academy
Strong Interests: Pediatrics, art
of
of
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Brianna White
Favorite Activities: Mentoring and reading to students
Strong Interests: Music
Favorite Activity: Music and
of
GPA: 4.13
Major Community Service: Church, Delta Sigma Theta, Highland Park Neighborhood Clean-Up, etc. Strong Interests: Sports and Physical Therapy Favorite Activities: Community Service and Cheerleading
GPA: 3.9
College of Interest: Old Dom
Major Community Service YMCA, National Honor Soc
Strong Interests: Nursing an
Favorite Activities: Cheerlea Leaders Club
Jasmine Cousins
-2015
ars of Week
Shakera Vaughan
of
Richmond Community High School
GPA: 4.62
College of Interest: University of South Carolina or University of Richmond Major Community Service: Visiting the elderly, fed homeless, on her church’s hospitality committee Strong interests: History, listening to music Favorite Activity: Reading
La’Vonya Wilkerson John Marshall High School
of
of
Open High School
Richmond Community High School
GPA: 4.56
GPA: 4.56
College of Interest: Cornell University
College of Interest: UNC at Chapel Hill
Major Community Service: Project Rousseau, Future leaders program
Major Community Service: The Down syndrome Association, Blackwell Elementary Head Start Program
Strong Interests: Politics and derivatives in calculus
Strong Interests: Journalism, International Studies
Favorite Activity: Volleyball, Building leaders of RVA
Favorite Activity: Swimming, community service and spending time with friends
Charisma Clark
Tamia Morris
Christopher Staten
Petersburg High School
Richmond Community High School
Richmond Community High School
of
of
Grace Zipperer
of
of
GPA: 4.0
GPA: 4.03
ominion University
College of Interest: Georgia Institute of Technology
College of Interest: University of Virginia
College of Interest: University of Richmond
e: Volunteering for church
Major Community Service: 5k run, feeding the homeless
Major Community Service: Minority Health Consortium, The Giving Heart, and the Special Olympics
Major Community Service: Children’s Miracle Network, Newbridge Baptist Church
Strong Interests: Computer engineering
Strong Interests: Fashion and Kinesiology
Strong Interests: Music, technology and football
Favorite Activity: Cheerleading and working
Favorite Activities: Work, Cheerleading and volunteering
Favorite Activities: Playing video games with friends
d volunteering
Chynna Stewart
Melissa Smitherman
Bryce Tyree
John Marshall High School
John Randolph Tucker High School
Richmond Community High School
of
of
GPA: 4.03
Jacqualyn Battle
of
of
John Marshall High School
GPA: 3.66
GPA: 4.02
GPA: 4.4
ominion University
College of Interest: Old Dominion University
College of Interest: University of Richmond
College of Interest: Virginia Union University
e: Leaders Club at the ciety
Major Community Service: ESL tutor, Henrico Doctor’s Hospital, Big Cats, etc.
Major Community Service: Church events, FeedMore, Toys for Tots
Major Community Service: Boys and Girls Club, Carytown Crunches Cancer
nd English
Strong Interests: Nursing, traveling and community Service
Strong Interests: Music, Long Distance running, Health Sciences
Strong Interests: Psychology, criminal justice
eading, volunteering at
Favorite Activities: Volunteering, traveling, and spending time with family and friends
Favorite Activities: Marching Band, Swimming, Community Service
Favorite Activities: Working at the Boys and Girls Club, Fashion continues on page 8 www.UrbanViewsWeekly.com
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Kyhiem Banks
Bre’Ana Coleman
of
of
Petersburg High School
John Marshall High School
Your Name Here of Your High School
GPA: 4.3
GPA: 4.16
College of Interest: Old Dominion University
College of Interest: Florida A&M University
Major Community Service: Volunteering with a Richmond 10k, helping to clean out a church
Major Community Service: Walk for Hunger, Relay for Life, Nursing Home
Strong Interests: Electrical engineering, landscaping and math
Strong Interests: Science, Cosmetology
Favorite Activities: Studying, driving, football and basketball
Do you know a Scholar? We’re accepting applications all summer. We’re giving away $100.00 every week this summer. Go to www.UrbanViewsWeekly and apply.
Favorite Activities: Band, Community Service, doing hair, babysitting her nieces
Ze’Nya Butler
Brandon Dabney
of
Congratulations to all Richmond Public Schools Honor Roll students!
RICHMOND POLICE DEPARTMENT CHIEF ALFRED DURHAM www.richmondgov.com/police
College of Interest: Norfolk State University Major Community Service: Children’s hospital, feeding the homeless Strong Interests: Physical therapy, sports Favorite Activities: Playing basketball
Urban Views Weekly | June 3, 2015
College of Interest: Richard Bland College Strong Interests: Chemical Engineering, manufacturing Favorite Activities: Writing, Playing Chess
Konstonza Peerman
Kidajah Johnson
of
of
Cosby High School
George Wythe High School
GPA: 3.94
GPA: 3.9
College of Interest: George Mason University
College of Interest: Hampton University
Major Community Service: Feeding the homeless, John Randolph Medical Center
Major Community Service: Food Drives, SunTrust Marathon, Coat Drives, etc.
Strong Interests: Health
Strong Interests: Nursing and Business
Favorite Activities: Church activities, Step Team
Favorite Activities: Cheerleading, Softball, spending time with her sisters
Find out what we can do for your business. 8
Petersburg High school GPA: 3.61
GPA: 3.0
to participants in Richmond Police youth initiatives Have a safe summer!
of
John Marshall High School
Call: (804) 441-6255 www.UrbanViewsWeekly.com
Civic Beat FUNdraising Good Times
Supporting fathers and fatherhood It’s time for Fathers’ Day. Time to lift up fathers and fatherhood. And time to ask ourselves how we honor fathers in our daily lives, the work of our nonprofits, and through our business and public policies. News headlines spotlight the phenomenon “absent fathers,” seeking to assign blame for the many challenges we face as a country and as communities. What’s often missing is a discussion of public policies and investments that can impact, support or disempower fathers, as well as the personal decisions we make that can be hard to overcome. We shy away from sensitive issues of how court-ordered child support and divorce decisions can keep fathers from fully engaging with their children, and with fulfilling their financial and emotional obligations. Many of us have perceptions of fathers that don’t match with reality. A father is a father even if he is not in the children’s home and is not the breadwinner. A father is a father regardless of whether he is gay or straight, employed, incarcerated, intelligent, handsome, rich, or poor. Here’s our suggestion: Let’s focus on restoring the dignity of what it means to be a man and a father. For example, there are deep stigmas associated with incarceration and too many men – especially African American and Hispanic men – are incarcerated. The consequences and stigma of incarceration often continue for a lifetime and impact men’s immediate and long-term ability to father. You can’t vote, you can’t get a job, you don’t earn enough, your birth family may not welcome you back, your children may not know you. You may feel you don’t
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have anything to “bring to the table.” Part of being a father is being a man. Supporting fatherhood includes, for example, supporting men’s ability to recover from incarceration, build new lives and engage their children. As nonprofit leaders and concerned community members, we can encourage schools, nonprofits and faith organizations to look at their programs and explore if and how they are serving fathers – especially young fathers – and encouraging connections between fathers and their children. We can encourage the organizations and institutions we are personally involved in to become part of the solution. In that process, we need to remember that fatherhood can be expressed in so many different ways. We can’t get stuck on the image of a traditional father: that can hold us back from helping real-life dads be part of their children’s lives. As donors, we can look for organizations – especially grassroots ones – within our communities that are active in supporting men in their roles as fathers. We need to support faith-based initiatives as well as those programs that support fathers who may not have or want a faith affiliation.
Martin’s Joins The Great American Milk Drive To Bring Milk To Local Food Banks Easy way for shoppers to give a gallon of nutrient-rich milk to their local food bank MARTIN’S Food Markets are joining with The Great American Milk Drive, the firstever national program to help deliver highly desired and nutrient-rich gallons of milk to hungry families who need it most. According to Feeding America®, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, milk is one of the items most requested by food bank clients, yet there is a nationwide shortage because it is rarely donated. That’s because Americans are generous with canned and dry goods, but milk is much harder to donate because it’s perishable. Feeding America clients receive the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person per year.
For Fathers’ Day, honor your favorite father by making a gift in his honor to an organization that supports fatherhood.
From May 31 through June 27, GIANT/ MARTIN’S customers have the opportunity to make a $4 donation, which equates to one gallon of milk to their local food bank. Tearoff pads will be available in the dairy section of all stores. Customers simply tear off one of the Great American Milk Drive scan-cards and bring it with them to any register to make their donation.
Copyright 2015– Mel and Pearl Shaw. Mel and Pearl Shaw position nonprofits, colleges and universities for fundraising success. For help with your fundraising, visit www.saadandshaw.com or call (901) 522-8727.
“Milk tops the list of food items requested by many of our regional food bank partners and local children and families in need are missing out on the essential nutrients that
milk provides,” said John MacDonald, director of marketing and external communications, GIANT/MARTIN’S. “In honor of National Dairy Month this June, when you pick up a gallon of milk for your family, consider donating one to a local family in need too.” GIANT/MARTIN’S customers can also make a donation online. With a simple click of a mouse (milklife.com/give), it is possible to buy much-needed milk and donate it for as little as $5 to a family who does not have regular access to it. By entering your zip code, you can ensure that the milk is delivered from the farm to a local Feeding America food bank in your very own community. The Great American Milk Drive is made possible by the nation’s dairy farmers and milk companies. “June is National Dairy Month, and this month The Great American Milk Drive is on a mission to bring more fresh, nutritious milk to children and families in need in local communities and beyond.” said Althea Zanecosky, Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association registered dietitian. “We’re focused on powering the play of those in GIANT/ MARTIN’S communities by encouraging much-needed, nutrient-rich milk donations.”
Urban Views Weekly | June 3, 2015
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Scholar of the Week
By Janeal Downs One of the biggest inspirations in Kidajah Johnson’s life is her grandmother. “She was always big on helping other people,” Kidajah said. “I feel like that’s what makes me want to go out into the community and help other people. It’s not always about yourself.” One way she hopes to give back is by one day starting her own assisted living home. When her grandmother got sick, Kidajah did not like that she had to go to a nursing home. She said a better alternative would be an environment where people feel like they are at home and not in a hospital or nursing home.
Kidajah Johnson of George Wythe High School
GPA: 3.9
College of Interest: Hampton University Major Community Service: Food Drives, SunTrust Marathon, Coat Drives, etc. Strong Interests: Nursing and Business Favorite Activities: Cheerleading, Softball, spending time with her sisters
her cheerleading team, which she said is one of her favorite activities, she was also able to cheer on the sideline of the SunTrust Marathon. Along with cheerleading, Kidajah loves to play softball and spend time with her sisters. Kidajah is a member of organizations within the school such as the National Honor Society and the Team Advisory Board. While continuously staying involved, Kidajah currently has a 3.9 GPA in school.
Scholar0
In order to achieve her goal of owning her own assisted living home, Kidajah plans to major in nursing and minor in business. She said these two subjects will teach her how to not only run her business but also allow her to work in her own establishment. “Being responsible for the overall well-being for someone else’s loved one and also being trusted by that person’s family is something I will take great pride in,” Kidajah said. This fall, she will be attending Hampton University to further her education.
ek of the We
As she prepares for college and works toward owning her own business, Kidajah already gives back to the community while in high school. She worked with an AIDS awareness program on Brown’s Island, Growth for Change, different organizations for breast cancer awareness, food drives for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and a coat drive in the winter. With
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She was even involved with the community when she was younger as a Girl Scout. “The sisterhood I made while in this organization is something I will cherish forever,” Kidajah said. She enjoyed meeting and spending time with the other girls, working on the different tasks and going on trips. Her family was also able to get involved and her aunt often went on camping trips with them. She hopes to keep this experience close to her and one day be a mentor for the young girls in the program.
After finishing her school and starting the assisted living home, Kidajah desires to travel the world. She wants to go to places such as the Bahamas, Hawaii and countries in Africa. She said these experiences can expose her to different perspectives and cultures that will enhance her creativity and knowledge. With so many aspirations, dreams and plans for the future, Kidajah said her “mind is racing, so eager to accomplish so much.”
Watch for our Scholar of the Week segment, Wednesdays at 6:30 PM on
$100 Scholarships Awarded Every Week
Encourage your scholar to apply! 10
Urban Views Weekly | June 3, 2015
Do you know a High School Senior who can meet the following criteria?
1. Have a 3.0 grade point average or better 2. Participates in extracurricular community service activities 3. Attends public school in Central Virginia Go to UrbanViewsWeekly.com for application and details.
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TanyaFree.com/ Urban Views Weekly Poll Half of Americans consider themselves “pro-choice” on abortion, surpassing the 44% who identify as “pro-life” according to a recent poll. This is the first time since 2008 that the pro-choice position has had a statistically significant lead in Americans’ abortion views.
What’s Your Take? Would you consider yourself “pro-choice” or “pro-life”? 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 @ 2pm on WCLM1450AM streaming LIVE @ TanyaFree.com and BlackTalkRadioNetwork.com.
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