November 9, 2020
To help you navigate these uncertain times, we’ve compiled timely news and resources related to small business, education and connectivity. We hope this provides both information and comfort as we continue to weather these challenges.
The T.D. Jakes Foundation mourns the loss of our dear friend Forrest Smith. Throughout his lifetime, Forrest passionately served the City of Dallas via a wide range of endeavors. Smith previously served as the President of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, where his primary focus was to make Dallas a better place to live. Forrest received so many honors throughout his life, but his most treasured was the Father of the Year Award given by the Dallas Morning News. Read more on Forrest’s legacy via our blog post.
T.D. Jakes Foundation in Action
The Dallas Symphony Association (DSO) has appointed Chairman Jakes to serve on the Board of Governors. This summer, Chairman Jakes helped recruit the orchestra to support the foundation’s STEAM Academy 2020, a free, first-of-its-kind virtual learning experience that featured 46 DSO-related activities, including 18 videos created by education staff and musicians showcasing individual instruments, and six activities focused on composers of color. Read our latest blog post to find out more about the exciting news!
Today, in the United States, there are approximately 2.6 million Black-owned businesses—a number has risen by more than 30 percent in the past decade. Click here to visit the T.D. Jakes Foundation’s helpful resource guide to help those looking for ways to support Black-owned businesses.
Need additional resources around STEAM? The T.D. Jakes Foundation has compiled a list of STEAM resources for the arts, coding, and engineering and even resources specifically for kids and teachers. Check out our STEAM resources here.
Diversity and Inclusion
Following the death of George Floyd, many companies have rededicated their efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace. To hold those with this mission accountable – Fortune and Refinitiv have launched Measure Up, which will give companies the standards and tools needed to regulate and report their D&I statistics. Fortune hopes to use this data to create a Fortune Diversity & Inclusion list of its own. Read the full story in Digiday.
June Sarpong, author of The Power of Privilege: How White People Can Challenge Racism, highlighted 10 recommended actions that nonprofit organizations can take to fight racism. If applied, these actions can ignite open conversations that result in transformative change. Read more via Forbes to find out how your organization can start today.
Digital Divide
Over the past two years, AT&T has invested nearly $4 billion dollars to aid in expanding internet access across Dallas. These investments have improved critical communications services for first responders and supported connectivity for 270,000 students, including K-12 districts, departments of education and colleges and universities. Despite such efforts, broadband is still inaccessible for many American households. Read more via The Dallas Morning News on how AT&T looks for government to help to continue closing the digital divide.
2020 Election
The 2020 Presidential Election has made history as Sen. Kamala Harris becomes the first woman, first Black American and first South Asian American elected vice president. Additionally, a record-setting 298 women ran for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Of those candidates, 115 identified as Black, Latina or Native American. Learn more on the many states breaking down historic barriers via CNBC Make It.
Following the 2020 elections, Texas voted on and approved two Dallas ISD bond propositions totaling almost $3.5 million, which will help fund more than 200 of the district’s campuses and district technology updates. Learn more via the Dallas ISD.
Together, we can and will get through this.
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