City of Linden, Linden Police, HOPE Initiative, and former NFL players host summit
On July 28th and 29th, The HOPE Initiative, in partnership with the City of Linden and the Linden Police Department, will host a Social Justice Summit for Linden young adults ages 14-20.
The two-day event will be from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both days for participants in the Linden area. Special guest facilitators include NFL Player Partners Byron Williams and Tony Covington along with social justice expert Jarrad Carter and educator Dr. Robert Harper.
“Our program is uniquely positioned to address social justice issues, community advancement, and public trust through the lens of college, career and life readiness and non-enforcement activities with police officers,” said Dr. Robert Harper, Founder and President of The HOPE Initiative and Executive Director of Beyond Change. “And with the funding support provided by the NFL Foundation Social Justice Matching Grant Program and the City of Linden, we are able to scale up our social justice programming in an effort to create a model that can be implemented throughout all 32 NFL cities.”
The Social Justice Summit will be spearheaded by The HOPE Initiative, a federally recognized 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, who receives funding from the NFL Foundation to provide its social justice program, Beyond Change, to youth and young adults throughout the country. The Beyond Change program was designed to assist youth, law enforcement, community organizations and social justice experts in promoting positive change through collaborative partnerships and community service.
In addition, Beyond Change specifically addresses the need for intentional programming in support of the NFL Foundation Social Justice Grant Matching Program and the NFL Inspire Change Initiative.
The NFL Foundation Social Justice Grant Matching Program is designed to provide nonprofit organizations with funding of up to $5,000 on behalf of a current or former NFL player in the arena of social justice. The grant is used to fund organizations, programs or initiatives that reduce the barriers to opportunities. Areas of priority include, but are not
limited to education, criminal justice reform, police/community relations and can also address poverty, racial equality and workforce/economic development.
“I am appreciative of the support from the city of Linden, the Linden Police Department, and the NFL community; especially the NFL Foundation who matched the donations of former players to The HOPE Initiative,” said Byron Williams. “I believe and know that this is an exciting time for us to continue to prepare young people to be challenged and ready for all of the opportunities presented to each one of them. Victory and life’s “Achievement” is on the horizon for our youth.”
Conducted as a twoday workshop, Beyond Change’s Social Justice Summit incorporates solution-oriented activities that specifically focus on two of the three priority areas for the NFL Inspire Change initiative: 1) Education and Economic Advancement and, 2) Police and Community Relations, and 3) Criminal Justice Reform.
“It is incumbent upon us as black men and former NFL players to reach back into the communities where we live and work and help to create pathways for our youth,” said Tony Covington. “If we want to affect change, then it starts with making an investment in our youth while teaching them to lift as they climb.”
To learn more about The HOPE Initiative or register to participate in the Beyond Change Social Justice Summit, visit www.the-hope-initiative. org.
About The HOPE Initiative, Inc.: Helping Others Prioritize Education (HOPE) Initiative, Inc. is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit, whose mission is to provide equal access to educational and workforce opportunities for individuals living in under-resourced communities. The HOPE Initiative brings together nonprofit organizations, community-based institutions, and business and philanthropic communities to significantly impact college, career and life readiness with traditionally underrepresented populations. HOPE’s goal is to end the cycle of poverty through education and create a new generation of employees and leaders to accelerate positive change.
About Beyond Change: Beyond Change is a program developed through a social justice lens to support the NFL Inspire Change Initiative and the NFL Foundation Social Justice Matching Grant Program. Specifically, it assists youth, law enforcement, community organizations and social justice experts in promoting positive change through collaborative partnerships and community service. The Beyond Change Model conceptualizes social justice broadly and combines the key components of Youth & Law Enforcement Interaction, Mentoring & Life Readiness, College & Workforce Development and Social Justice & Community Engagement to solve social justice problems in underserved communities.
This broad approach allows for these collaborations to impact Education and Economic Advancement and Police and Community Relations which directly supports the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative.