The Urban League of Greater Atlanta – Young Professionals (ULGA-YP) honored community heroes and donated scholarships to college-bound Atlanta Public Schools (APS) students at its eighth annual Dream Catcher Scholarship and Community Awards Reception on last Friday, April 20.
The annual fundraising gala, which doubles as a platform for the ULGA-YP to recognize local visionaries while celebrating remarkable APS students, was hosted at The Gathering Spot.
Honorees for this year’s soiree included Education honoree Marcus Blackwell, CEO and founder of Make Music Count; Community Honoree Jasmine Crowe, CEO and founder of Goodr; Business Honoree Quincy Spring, owner of Vine City’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant; and Advocacy Honoree Nikema Williams, senator from Georgia’s 39th District.
In addition to recognizing its honorees, the ULGA-YP also bestowed $10,000 in scholarships thanks to financial contributions from the Southern Company, The Gathering Spot and the Roger Center for Oral and Facial Surgery. Five APS students, which included students from Project Ready—a National Urban League college-readiness program—received $2,000 scholarships to help fund their academic ambitions.
Scholarship funding also poured in from numerous individual donors and a silent auction, which featured in-kind donations from the Atlanta Hawks, Doubletree Northlake, Ruth Chris’s Steakhouse, and General Assembly.
Donations were also made from small businesses including iwi fresh, Reimaging Innovation in Sports and Entertainment (RIISE) and Atlanta Hot Shave. The additional funds raised through the event will go toward future scholarships and educational programs.
“Urban League is incredibly proud to recognize emerging icons in our community and support students’ academic ambitions,” said ULGA-YP president Shalondan Hollingshed. “These individuals are doing such amazing work while also being catalysts of change for our community, and we want to celebrate them while showing our scholarship recipients what they could be.”
