The AGB Foundation is pleased to partner with the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC) for another Free Food Pop Up and Vax event! Attendees will receive fresh fruits and vegetables and can also get COVID vaccines at the event, which starts at 10 am on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. The AGB Foundation will host a book bag giveaway, donating sturdy book bags in bright colors for elementary school children and 20-piece school supply kits. This event is open to the public and will be held in the Save a Lot parking lot at 7938 S. Halsted St. in Chicago.
Our Summer Business Interns collaborated with the GAGDC previously to pass out more than 200 book bags stuffed with school supplies and PPE materials in time for the new school year!
This community partnership aligns with the AGB Foundation’s culture of giving and our mission to pay it forward in our own backyard of Englewood and other underserved areas of Chicago. We are committed to disrupting the cycle of poverty in black and brown communities, and we believe that providing educational tools helps move us toward that goal.
Teaming with the GAGDC allows us to expand our reach to include the service area of Auburn Gresham, Englewood, and West Chatham. It also allows our organizations to support one another and make a greater impact. We are proud to be a member of the GAGDC and stand with them in their efforts to promote economic development, health, safety, and sustainability on the far South Side of Chicago.
The Free Food Pop Up and Vax event will be supported by AGB Foundation members and our Marketing Department. If you are interested in volunteering to assist with our backpack giveaway, please send an email to Venetta Coley. You are also welcome to assist our efforts with a charitable donation!
Seeking Donations for a Successful Fundraiser
The AGB Foundation is gathering in-kind donations for our 10th annual fundraiser, held virtually from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1, 2021. Your donation of an item or gift card for an experience will be used to create themed baskets for an online auction.
In years past, we have raffled off incredible prizes, including gift certificates to restaurants, tickets to sporting events, salon services, fine artwork, and so much more. Please support our efforts this year with a donation for our gift baskets!
Your donated gifts and other revenue raised from our campaign will directly support the following programs:
- Business Internships for young adults
- College Scholarships for freshmen
- Family First initiatives to assist parents and children in need
All donated items are tax deductible, and donors will be recognized in all our print and digital marketing materials.
Examples of items we would be delighted to receive include: gift certificates, tickets for performances or athletic events, airline or hotel vouchers, signed sports memorabilia, memberships to museums, high-end wines and craft liquors, tickets to local attractions, and the like. If you know of a business that we could reach out to for a silent auction donation, we’d love your recommendations!
Have an item to donate? Please send an email to Venetta Coley. Be sure to include a description of the item and its value, along with your contact information, business name, logo, and website address. If we need to pick up the donation, please let us know. Otherwise, we ask that you mail the item(s) to Always Giving Back Foundation, 7545 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60620.
Apply for a Summer Business Internship
Motivated young high school and college students in Chicago are invited to apply for the 2023 AGB Summer Business Internship. This robust, six-week paid internship experience pairs qualified students with successful businesses, nonprofits, and public organizations that are minority operated or owned. The exposure is meant to inspire Chicago youth to pursue their own goals for entrepreneurship and professional success. Read more
3rd Annual Bike Giveaway is Dec. 10
The AGB Foundation is pleased to present our third annual Bike Giveaway, one of our favorite events of the year! Since 2020, we have gifted more than 300 children’s bikes during the holiday season, thanks to our partnership with Walmart and the generosity of AGB donors. This year, we will again give away bicycles to children aged 2 to 10 living in the 60620 zip code on Saturday, December 10, at 11 am. Kids will also receive a candy cane, hot cocoa, and the opportunity to take a picture with Santa!
We would appreciate it if you RSVP so that we can plan ahead and be sure to have enough bicycles. This event is first come, first served.
A big thank you to our donors for being our strongest supporters throughout the year, and especially during the holidays. If you are interested in volunteering your time and talent to the event, please email us. Happy Holidays!
Your continued support allows us to impact even more young people and families in underserved communities. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your generosity.
Reserve a Children’s Bike
AGB Divvy Bike-A-Thon Rolls on 8/6/22
Hey Chicago, join us Saturday, August 6, for a fun event that will get your blood pumping—and support our work to develop young business leaders of color.
The first annual DIVVY Bike-A-Thon is a 5K route that participants can either ride or walk. The event benefits the Always Giving Back (AGB) Foundation’s Alumni Network and Scholarship Fund, which provides needed financial resources to young people seeking higher education as well as professional guidance and workforce development.
The Bike-A-Thon will kick off at 8:30 am with a continental breakfast for all registered participants. Bikers are invited to check in to receive their racing number and water for the ride. The first round of riders will leave at 9:00 am sharp. The Bike-A-Thon route begins and ends at AGB headquarters, 7545 S. Western Ave. in Chicago.
Sign up to ride a DIVVY bike for $10, or walk the route for $5. Bring your family members, friends, and colleagues to join you for an enjoyable morning supporting a deserving cause!
Double the Gifts, Double the Cheer
One of our favorite events at the Foundation is the annual Bike Giveaway, which helps kick off the holiday season early. Last year, we brought Christmas cheer to residents of the 60620 community with hot chocolate, a black Santa Claus, and 100 brand-new children’s bicycles. It gave us so much joy to give bikes to kids who had never had their own. The smiles on their faces were priceless, and inspired us to give back even more this year.
Thanks to our partnership with Walmart and the generosity of Always Giving Back Foundation donors, we are looking forward to gifting 200 kids’ bikes this year! We will distribute them to children in underserved areas of Chicago on Saturday, December 11, 2021.
In keeping with our tradition, we will serve hot chocolate from a heated tent (after all this is Chicago), and will enjoy a two-hour visit with not just any Santa, but Chicago’s Black Santa—Dreezy Claus! A big thank you to our donors for being our strongest supporters throughout the year, and especially during the holidays.
If you are interested in volunteering your time and talent to the event, please email Venetta Coley. Happy Holidays!
Your continued support allows us to impact even more young people and families in underserved communities. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your generosity.
Give Back & Get Gifts with our Silent Auction
Shop for holiday gifts and help a great cause at the same time during the Always Giving Back Foundation Silent Auction, taking place online November 26 through December 3, 2021.
The Silent Auction is our biggest fundraiser of the year, an annual event that makes many of our programs possible. Because of COVID, this year’s Silent Auction is a virtual experience. Participants can bid on various high-end items beautifully presented and ready for gifting (or enjoying).
This year’s fundraising goal is $10,000, and proceeds will support the foundation’s programs for underserved members of the community. These include professional internships, college scholarships, and direct assistance to families, such as our upcoming bike giveaway event.
We have curated an exciting collection of Silent Auction prizes this year, including tickets to a Chicago Bulls basketball game, two-night luxury hotel stays in Chicago, high-end restaurant gift certificates, clothing, massages and more! If you are on social media, please like and follow us on Facebook for details on our fantastic Silent Auction items.
Registration is now open through our secure partner Silent Auction Pro! You’ll need to create an account to view a sampling of auction items, and it only takes a minute to set that up. Your credit card will not be charged unless you are the highest bidder on an item.
The bidding begins on Black Friday, November 26, and closes December 3, 2021. All are invited to participate in the bidding and support the mission of the Always Giving Back Foundation!
Fall Focus: Students, Public Health & Our Annual Fundraiser
The AGB Foundation is pleased to partner with the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GAGDC) for another Free Food Pop Up and Vax event! Attendees will receive fresh fruits and vegetables and can also get COVID vaccines at the event, which starts at 10 am on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. The AGB Foundation will host a book bag giveaway, donating sturdy book bags in bright colors for elementary school children and 20-piece school supply kits. This event is open to the public and will be held in the Save a Lot parking lot at 7938 S. Halsted St. in Chicago.
Our Summer Business Interns collaborated with the GAGDC previously to pass out more than 200 book bags stuffed with school supplies and PPE materials in time for the new school year!
This community partnership aligns with the AGB Foundation’s culture of giving and our mission to pay it forward in our own backyard of Englewood and other underserved areas of Chicago. We are committed to disrupting the cycle of poverty in black and brown communities, and we believe that providing educational tools helps move us toward that goal.
Teaming with the GAGDC allows us to expand our reach to include the service area of Auburn Gresham, Englewood, and West Chatham. It also allows our organizations to support one another and make a greater impact. We are proud to be a member of the GAGDC and stand with them in their efforts to promote economic development, health, safety, and sustainability on the far South Side of Chicago.
The Free Food Pop Up and Vax event will be supported by AGB Foundation members and our Marketing Department. If you are interested in volunteering to assist with our backpack giveaway, please send an email to Venetta Coley. You are also welcome to assist our efforts with a charitable donation!
Seeking Donations for a Successful Fundraiser
The AGB Foundation is gathering in-kind donations for our 10th annual fundraiser, held virtually from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1, 2021. Your donation of an item or gift card for an experience will be used to create themed baskets for an online auction.
In years past, we have raffled off incredible prizes, including gift certificates to restaurants, tickets to sporting events, salon services, fine artwork, and so much more. Please support our efforts this year with a donation for our gift baskets!
Your donated gifts and other revenue raised from our campaign will directly support the following programs:
All donated items are tax deductible, and donors will be recognized in all our print and digital marketing materials.
Examples of items we would be delighted to receive include: gift certificates, tickets for performances or athletic events, airline or hotel vouchers, signed sports memorabilia, memberships to museums, high-end wines and craft liquors, tickets to local attractions, and the like. If you know of a business that we could reach out to for a silent auction donation, we’d love your recommendations!
Have an item to donate? Please send an email to Venetta Coley. Be sure to include a description of the item and its value, along with your contact information, business name, logo, and website address. If we need to pick up the donation, please let us know. Otherwise, we ask that you mail the item(s) to Always Giving Back Foundation, 7545 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60620.
A Wealth of Knowledge in Seven Short Weeks: Our Summer Internship is a Wrap
Congratulations to our sixth cohort of Summer Business Interns! They spent seven weeks with us this summer, learning what it takes to run a successful business.
The highlight of this year’s program was a capstone presentation to the executive team at AGB Investigative Services. The interns became department experts and provided assessments with recommended improvements for the areas they worked in. This gifted group of young people was eager to learn about the skills and experience needed to operate the various departments. Working at AGB inspired several interns to explore entrepreneurship, thanks to the example set by John and Denitra Griffin, and all they have accomplished.
This year, we expanded the Summer Business Internship to 25 students and were able to offer them a weekly stipend, thanks to our targeted youth investment funding and a state grant that we were awarded.
Our interns worked across every department in AGB. They spent time in Marketing, Procurement, Finance, Human Resources, and—for the first time—Fleet, where they saw the logistical side of AGB. The cohort came away with a wealth of experience! Students learned how to draft contracts, studied the science behind marketing research, and got a first-hand look at how the Foundation creates content and facilitates programs.
Your support allows us to continue providing a REAL (Real Experience Always Learning) opportunity to deserving young people of color. We couldn’t do it without you!
Please consider supporting the foundation today with a tax-deductible gift.
“Providing internship opportunities . . . changes the whole equation.” —Eduardo J. Padron, educator
Donate – Always Giving Back Foundation (agbfd.org)
Intern Spotlight ~ Kinaya Kerr
“We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.” Mary McLeod Bethune.
We love our Interns at AGB. This month’s news letter is dedicated to Kinaya Kerr. Kinaya is a recent graduate of Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and a returning AGB Intern. She is working under the leadership and guidance of Sara Martinez, the Program Director for the AGB Foundation. Kinaya was given a leadership role as an Intern Supervisor. She will be attending FAMU (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University) in the fall where she plans to major in Business Administration. I had the opportunity to interview this dynamic young lady.
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“When you let the youth lead, you will learn things about them you never knew and discover skills and talents you didn’t know they had.” LDSYouthLeadership.com
AGB is paving the way for our future Black and Brown leaders of America. Please continue to support the AGB Foundation. If you would like to make a donation please click on the following link:
Donate – Always Giving Back Foundation (agbfd.org)
Sweet Surprise for our Scholarship Recipients
“Surprise is the greatest gift life can grant us” said Russian Poet and Novelist Boris Pasternak. This quote rings true and was definitely a surprise for the five scholarship recipients. According to scholarship statistics by race, only 38% of scholarship recipients are minority students, and 62% are white students. The AGB Foundation has leveled the playing field by awarding (5) Scholarships to deserving minority students in June. How did we do this ? The AGB Foundation was awarded a $40,000 grant courtesy of NBC Universal Studios. This grant enabled us to extend our program to provide additional services like care packages, mentorship, mental health and wellness support throughout the duration of their academic career. The Scholarship categories were named after the First Family of AGB, The Griffins, otherwise known as the G Tribe!
Each of these scholarships were awarded to students in secrecy with them being under the impression that they were coming to AGB for a follow up interview. Unbeknownst to them, we had secretly hidden their parents in a conference room where it was revealed that their students had been awarded a scholarship. You can imagine their surprise. The students were in a different part of the building, where they were anxiously awaiting further instruction. They were reunited with their parents in celebration of the big reveal that they had each been awarded a $2,000.00 renewable scholarship. This was the first time in AGB Foundation history that we were able to award a renewable scholarship thanks to the grant provided by NBC Universal Studios.
The AGB Foundation thought about the scholar’s journey as they head off to college by providing each winner with a new set of matching luggage. As Oprah Winfrey would say, “you get new luggage, and you gGet new Luggage”. It was quite a surprise as we rolled the luggage out and presented it to the scholarship awardees. The parents of the Scholars were very appreciative and thankful for the luggage as evidenced by the happy smiles. The morning’s event was capped off with a luncheon and no event is complete without cake.
The five Scholarship recipients are pictured below: They represent the Future of Black Excellence to come.
“The scholarship program is more than just about giving money, ” said Dr. Denitra Griffin. “It is really about connecting with young people and helping them gain access to the resources they need in order to secure employment post graduation.” “This grant from NBC 5 Universal Studios is allowing us to do that.” “It is allowing the opportunity to share our resources and information to coach our Scholars throughout the tenure of their studies.”
Thanks for your continued support to the Always Giving Back Foundation. If you would like to continue the blessings, please click on the following link:
Donate – Always Giving Back Foundation (agbfd.org)
Training Future Leaders & Awarding Scholarships—It’s What We Do
AGB Business Internship Updates
Over the past seven months, our AGB interns completed an extensive training course in Workforce Development led by Sara Martinez, AGB Program Manager for the Foundation. The goal was to prepare them for employment and to teach them about the different departments within a thriving business like AGB Investigative Services. We introduced them to the AGB Leadership Team, and the interns learned about their specific job duties. The following departments participated in this exercise: HR, IT, Operations, Marketing, Finance and Procurement.
In addition to this exposure, our crop of interns learned critical professional skills, including how to dress, respond to emails, and communicate with their colleagues. They were trained in resume writing and also learned interviewing skills, which they used in meetings with AGB departmental leaders. As a final highlight, we were pleased to provide 11 business suits for our female interns and nine suits for our male interns, courtesy of the Tom James Company.
Our interns completed all this training during Saturday workshops in preparation for the opportunity to work in house at AGB Innovative Security Solutions this summer. We will be announcing those summer placements very soon!
Expansion of Programs
We are excited to announce that the AGB Foundation was recently awarded the NBC5 Project Innovation Grant for $40,000. This award will be used to expand the scholarship program and provide holistic support to our scholars through mentorship, social and emotional support, and post-graduation employment. The enhancements of the program include care packages to the Scholars during mid terms and finals, professional headshots, resumes, and professional clothing.
The program initially provided 1 year of support to our scholars but with this new grant and expansion of services, we can provide 4 years of services and critical mentorship to guide them towards their academic achievements and post graduate goals.