Pittsburgh Youth and Community Leaders to Witness General Colin L. Powell (Ret.) Deliver Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Message

Pittsburgh youth and community leaders will gather to watch a live broadcast of inspiring remarks from General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret) he’ll be giving at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast in Minneapolis on Monday, January 19.

Amachi Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation and the Pittsburgh chapter of the NAACP will co-host a community event that highlights this broadcast. The event will be held on Monday, January 19, 2009 at Heinz Field from 8:15 to 11:30 a.m. and will include the simulcast with General Powell and a panel discussion on “Empowering Urban Youth to Become History Makers.” Panelists include Dr. Larry Davis, Dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh; Troy Robinson, former resident and Chief Development Officer at Holy Family Institute; Royce Woods, Relationship Manager for PNC Private Client Group; Jeffrey Nash, Project Manager for the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh; and an Amachi Pittsburgh mentor and mentee. The cost is a $20 donation.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to co-host such an important event,” said Anna Thorpe Hollis, Executive Director of Amachi Pittsburgh. “November’s election of the first African American president showed us the Civil Rights movement begun by Dr. King was not in vain. By ensuring that our urban youth are well-acquainted with the history leading up to this important landmark, we can validate that Dr. King’s struggle and sacrifice was and continues to be a success.”

Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation is part of a three-year, 16-city National Mentoring Project supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, to provide more than 4,000 additional mentors for at-risk youth in these cities. The goal is to significantly expand Amachi Pittsburgh, which provides mentors to the children of prisoners, plus other programs that mentor at-risk youth in Pittsburgh. Adults interested in mentoring youth, age 15-18, can contact Amachi Pittsburgh at 412-281-3752. Training is provided.

General Powell will bring to life this year’s theme—Lead, Grow, Inspire—particularly as it relates to America’s young people. General Powell was the founding chairman of America’s Promise Alliance, the nation’s largest multi-sector collaborative dedicated to the well-being of children. A soldier for 35 years, General Powell rose to the rank of four-star general. He served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993, and as Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005, breaking barriers as the first African-American to hold those positions.

The General Mills Foundation and UNCF (United Negro College Fund) have hosted the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast in the Twin Cities since 1991. This year, in a unique alliance that features technology support from Best Buy, General Powell’s address will be simulcast by Twin Cities Public Television to nearly a dozen other cities involved in the National Mentoring Project. Best Buy also plans to make the keynote address available to its 1,000 stores around the country.

As the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, UNCF’s mission is to enhance the quality of education by providing financial assistance to deserving students, raising operating funds for member colleges and universities, and increasing access to technology for students and faculty at historically black colleges and universities.

The General Mills Foundation, celebrating more than 50 years of giving, is a champion for stronger communities. In fiscal 2008, General Mills awarded $87 million to communities, in targeted areas of youth nutrition and fitness, hunger, social services, education, and arts and culture.

Best Buy, a multinational consumer electronics retailer, focuses its social change platform on giving teens a voice and opportunities to direct the company’s philanthropy through the newly created @15 fund. In fiscal 2008, Best Buy donated a combined $31.8 million to improve the vitality of the communities in which its employees and customers live and work.

About Amachi Pittsburgh

Who knows what God has brought us through this child? Since 2003, Amachi Pittsburgh has been dedicated to helping Allegheny County’s children fulfill their God-given purpose. We take our name – and our inspiration – from a Nigerian Ibo word that affirms the potential that exists in each and every child. Through a unique partnership of secular and faith-based organizations, Amachi works to mentor young minds, ensuring that all children are rightfully recognized as children of promise. For more information, visit www.amachipgh.org.