SBI’s 5th Annual Benefit Gala Raises Over $65K to Serve the Students of A. Philip Randolph H.S. in NYC Participating in the College and Career Preparatory Institute

Harlem, NYC — Sound Business, Inc. (SBI) hosted its 5th annual Benefit Gala on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019 at the Harlem Stage Gate House in NYC to celebrate their valued alumni and our growing community of supporters. The evening included a special guest performance by Trumpeter Brandon Woody a talented young musician on the rise.

The keynote speaker & SBI Spotlight Award recipient was Derrick Adams. Derrick is an American visual and performance artist and curator, frequently referencing patterns, images, and themes of Black culture in America who was recently featured in The New York Magazine.

SBI also honored with the SBI Founders Award Aquenette Purnell-Hurd a retired educator for the NYC Department of Education with over 28 years of service to A. Philip Randolph Campus H. S., Nicole Charisse McShall a graduate and now one of the Assistant Principal at A. Philip Randolph H.S., and Larry Scott Blackmon the VP, community and government affairs at FreshDirect. Past honorees include Academy Award winning Director Spike Lee, Olympic Track and Field Champion and SBI alumna Natasha Hastings, and Broadway choreographer George Faison.

The Benefit Gala raised over $65K in support of SBI’s non-profit mission to bring together students, faculty, artists, alumni, and an extensive network of professional affiliates to create a community that values education and achievement. SBI’s unique and collaborative approach supports hundreds of young people of color. Its programs have helped thousands of students achieve success, with 99% of students graduating in four years (compared to NYC’s rate of 70%) and 90% of those graduates who enroll in selective residential colleges, including Ivy League Schools, private liberal arts schools, and top city and state university colleges. SBI has annually committed to preparing students who enroll in A. Philip Randolph High for the opportunity to enter the college of their dreams after high school and continues to be committed to this mission.

Founder and Executive Director Charles Thompson has served the students of A. Philip Randolph
H.S. for over 25 years. As Mr. Thompson shared with the Gala guest, “What we do is always for the students – what can we do to help them, to move them forward, to make them better, more well-­rounded citizen, business leaders, civic leaders, and leaders of their community.”

If you would like to support the efforts of SBI and its College and Career Preparatory Institute which prepares publicly educated high school students for admission into life-transforming undergraduate programs at selective residential colleges. Please go to www.soundbusiness.org and make a donation today.

Join the likes of Open Society Foundation, Customers Bank, Fresh Direct, Capital One, Ernst Young, Deloitte, Metropolitan Bank, Chivas Regal, and Complex in contributing to the growth of SBI.

 

PRESS CONTACT:
Sound Business Inc.
charlesthompson@soundbusiness.org
(718) 928-5779