For Immediate Release                                

August 2,  2003                                                                                                

Community Fundraiser Raises Funds for AWRT Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship

Community Leadership Reception & Fundraiser honors past

AWRT Golden Gate Chapter President Jackie Wright & local charities.

(San Francisco)-It’s the year of Jubilee for community leader, Jackie Wright.  Instead of having a self-focused party, Wright asked friends to help plan a party that will benefit the City she loves.   The AWRT Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship is among the beneficiaries of the event.  A Community Leadership Reception and Fundraiser will be held August 15, 6-8:30 pm. at Lavash Restaurant, 4 Embarcadero Center, to raise fund for charities Wright has been involved with since her arrival in San Francisco June of 1990.  Janice Edwards of KNTV, NBC 11 will be the emcee. Visit www.celebratejackiewright.com for more details.

“Jackie is opening the celebration to benefit the community,” said Belva Davis.  “It’s a chance for the friends and associates she has met over the last decade to pause a moment and contribute to organizations they support.   The fast pace of life often keeps us from taking the time to write that check.  So as Jackie says ‘we’re pausing to party with a purpose.’”  Davis went on to say that Wright characteristically finds ways to enhance people and expand projects.  As president of the 1999 Golden Gate Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television, Wright increased the sponsorship and support level of the organization by setting a fund raising standard that was six times higher than the organizations previous support level.  Additionally, she established the AWRT Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship, in recognition of the fact that Belva Davis was the first woman of color in the nation to join the organization.

“With the Bay Area Skills Bank now defunct, opportunities to raise money for scholarships such as this are very important,” said Jackie Wright, former AWRT Golden Gate Chapter President.  “I ask that fellow AWRT members and other media industry friends send a gift for the Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship.  The focus is the fundraising to give others a helping hand, not my birthday; but I hope folks come out for all the fun.”

The organizations benefiting from the fundraiser include: AWRT Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship, African American Shakespeare Company, Afro Solo Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theatre, American Red Cross, Booker T. Washington Community Center, Christian City Church San Francisco Axis Cafe, Enola D. Maxwell Education Fund,  KALW 91.7FM, Kamala Harris for District Attorney, Leadership San Francisco, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Muscular Dystrophy Association, SFUSD Every Child Can Learn Foundation, Sophie Maxwell’s Re-election Campaign or Volunteer Center of San Francisco.

Wright a broadcast journalist, who drove cross country in 1990 from Athens, Georgia without a job, landed her first position as a public affairs associate for the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter during the one-year anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake.  She worked her way through the organization ultimately becoming the Executive Officer for San Francisco County and along the way she did radio and TV interviews from places like Kill Devils Hill, North Carolina, Birmingham, Alabama and Salt Lake City, Utah after a tornado or hurricane blew through town.  Over her decade of working for the Red Cross, Wright worked with many non-profits.  “Jackie says the non-profit arena is like an alma mater and having this fundraiser is paying tribute to the mom that helped her know herself and grow in ways she could never have imagined.  The concept of community leadership was branded for her when she went through the year-long Leadership San Francisco Program,” said Bernice Brown, former Dean of City College.   The fundraiser is not only for close friends and associates but for anyone who would like to support community, just send in a check to support the organizations.

Individuals or companies can give in several ways which include 1) Giving at a sponsorship level by making a check payable to the Community Leadership Fundraiser with net proceeds going to the organization, or 2) checks can be made directly to one of the named charities. Contributions will continue to be accepted after the event date.  All checks should be mailed to Community Leadership Fundraiser c/o CalWorks Office, City College, 50 Phelan Avenue, B-609, San Francisco, CA  94112 by August 15th.  For more information call 415 705-0557 or visit www.celebratejackiewright.com.  Call in advance to confirm, if you are bringing your contribution with you.

The Community Leadership Fundraiser planning committee members include:  Kelly Armstrong, Bernice Brown, Kelly Castagnaro, Belva Davis, Shirley Howard Johnson, Joan Kelley-Williams, Michelle Ortega, Marsha Pendergrass, Marian Wilson-Sylvestre, and Cheryl Ward.  

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