What Matters

Amidst all of our region's successes, poverty and inequality threaten our shared fate.
Triangle Community Foundation

Dr. Tony Iton, physician/lawyer at The California 

Endowment, speaks to the Triangle Community

Foundation on April 27th.

My last post was faith-related. Living evermore dangerously, I venture into public policy/politics...

I was once a disciple of "trickle-down economics" and "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" self-determination. In recent years I've had an attitude adjustment. 

There's still some truth in trickle-down, but in a global economy the trickling (job creation) may occur in China or Sri Lanka, not necessarily in NC. Money invested on Wall Street might become profit for a company that has off-shored, not supporting our tax base at home. 

And personal bootstrapping has little motivational luster in places of high poverty. Weak schools, poor job prospects, high crime and health deficits conspire against upward economic mobility.

I received a refresher course on this a couple of weeks ago at the Triangle Community Foundation's What Matters event. We heard about a California initiative - an attack on poverty and inequality - through the lens of public health. Please invest five minutes watching this video. And it's narrated by George Takei, Mr. Sulu from Star Trek!

 

Congratulations to our CEO and his wife. Jim and Barbara Goodmon received the Catalyst Award from TCF for their support of the foundation, their emphasis on regionalism and their philanthropic work.

Post 50 Goes to College

I have to brag on our Explorer Post 50 scholarship recipients...

In cooperation with Fox50 TV, the Bulls sponsor an Exploring program (through the Occoneechee Council, Boy Scouts of America) that provides training to about 75 young people in television broadcasting. This group of students, most of them in high school, produce the Bulls' in-house video, televised games and webcasts. Amazing program! Amazing kids! 

We awarded six $1,000 tuition grants last month as the 2012 season was winding down...and our Post 50 members were heading off to college for the fall semester. Here's a list of winners from the scholarship competition administered by the Triangle Community Foundation. Check out the GPAs and their plans for matriculation. (Did I use that word correctly?) 

Chris Lehman - This is Chris’s second season with the Post. He graduated from Leesville Road High School in 2012, now attending North Carolina State University, studying Communications with a concentration in Communications Media.

Blake Stafford - In her fourth season with the Post, Blake graduated Durham Academy in 2012, studying Communications and Political Science at Furman University.

Susannah Roberson - This is Susannah’s first season with the Post. She is a graduate of Riverside High School with a 4.9 GPA and is attending Duke University.

Evan Fortman - This is Evan’s sixth season with the Post. He graduated from Jordan High School in 2011 and attends American University in Washington DC studying Business Administration specializing in International Business/Communications.

Katherine Jordan - In her second season with the Post, Katherine is a graduate of Panther Creek High School in 2010 and is attending North Carolina State University, studying Communications/PR.

Kristen DeMaria - This is Kristen’s second season with the Post. She graduated from Cardinal Gibbons High School with a 5.0 GPA and is attending Elon University where she will be studying Communications/Journalism.

Left to right: Chris Lehman, Susannah Roberson, Katherine Jordan, Kristen DeMaria

The Post 50 scholarship program is funded by the annual Great American Tobacco Duck Race. If that sounds intriguing, click here for more info.

Wanna buy a duck?

Wanna buy a duck? That’s a famous vaudeville era line, and it's thoroughly appropriate for the fall of 2010.

Explorer Post 50 – the cadre of high school students that produces Bulls’ TV broadcasts – aims to raise $10,000...selling rubber ducks. Hence, I need you to support these young folks and BUY A DUCK. Here’s the background:

The Bulls, Fox50 TV and Capitol Broadcasting Company have recently established a scholarship program at the Triangle Community Foundation for Post 50 seniors. We seeded the fund with $10K. Now, the students are adding to the principle, and ducks are performing better than many investment alternatives!

…so the Post is selling ducks - $10 each - that will be entered in the Great American Tobacco Duck Race on October 2nd. Another twist: we have “corporate” ducks that can represent your business. They go for $250. (Hey, it’s cheaper than a NASCAR sponsorship.)

…so buy a duck, please, and mark October 2nd on your calendar. Watch the ducks paddle down the Old Bull River in the American Tobacco campus courtyard. It’s part of the Fox50 FamilyFest - an afternoon of live music, games, food and fun in downtown Durham.

Click here for more info:
• BUY A DUCK
• Explorer Post 50
• The Fox50 FamilyFest