Nationwide — Black History Month is a great time to pay tribute to the past, but it is also an important time to invest in the future. These organizations help provide Black people with access to support services, education, employment opportunities, and counseling.
Black Girls Code
Founded in 2011, Black Girls Code’s mission is to provide young girls of color with the resources and skills necessary to be successful within the growing field of computer programming. To accomplish this goal, the organization offers after-school programs and workshops to girls from underrepresented communities. Right now, they’re objective is to train one million black girls in the computer science and technology field by 2040. Help them achieve this goal by donating to the cause or volunteering at one of their seven U.S. offices.
The Empowerment Program
The Empowerment Program strives to provide disadvantaged Black women with education, employment assistance, counseling, housing referrals, and long-term support services. Since 1986, this organization has helped women of color who’ve experienced poverty, homelessness, incarceration, and HIV/AIDS, by providing them with services to help them live a more self-sufficient lifestyle.
Common Ground Foundation
Through mentoring and college preparation programs, the Common Ground Foundation helps high school students from under-served communities achieve financial literacy, character development, proper healthcare, and creative expression. The organization’s positive impact is undeniable; students who participate have a 100 percent high school graduation rate, an average GPA of 3.16, and score above the state average on their ACT.
Audre Lorde Project
The Audre Lorde Project works to provide lesbian, gay, bisexual, two-spirit, transgender, and gender non-conforming people of color with social and economic equality. This New York-based organization works with the communities it serves to develop culturally specific programs tailored to their specific needs.
Black Women’s Blueprint
Imagine a world where women of color are wholly empowered and have achieved complete gender and racial equality. That is the mission of Black Women’s Blueprint, an organization that provides support services to black women who have experienced sexual violence, abuse, gender injustice, and incarceration. Services include sexual assault crisis counseling, crisis intervention, case management, and advocacy.
Make a real difference this February (and all year long!) by donating to one or more of the admirable causes to support during Black History Month listed above.