President's Pen
Welcome to the official website of the awarding winning After capturing the Chapter of the Year Award – Best in the East in 2010 and on two earlier occasions during the past decade, we understand the essence of designing and implementing programs that are responsive to current and evolving needs. The world is changing and we must continue to emulate a collective faith in our quest to address the dynamic needs that we continue to witness in our communities and beyond. We must also communicate our efforts to our communities and we are doing so with 650+ members serving as ambassadors throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area, an Annual Report of Accomplishments, an annual magazine that summarizes many of the Chapter’s activities during the given year, a bi-annual newsletter that highlights upcoming activities and invites community support, and a Chapter website that features a monthly calendar of activities and offers readers with opportunities to provide feedback. During my past administration, we focused on the overall well-being of children and their families with the added focus of an anti-obesity campaign, women’s health, engaging young African-American boys, international awareness and involvement, and economic resilience. Moving forward, those areas of outreach will be intensified, but we will augment our efforts with an intentional focus on children and teens living in foster care and group homes and sending more students to college and/or vocational schools. The work has already begun with a record breaking Fashion Show/Luncheon Scholarship Benefit that surpassed all expectations with the awarding of $50,500 in scholarships in March 2011, coupled with an exciting tracking component that allows us with the opportunity to track our scholars over time. Additionally, we are preparing for our 25th Anniversary Tour of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in November 2011. After hosting HBCU Tours for the past 24 years, I am so proud that the Chapter has positioned itself to provide technical assistance to a number of other organizations who now value this type of youth enrichment program. We have augmented this program with a one-day tour for middle schools students and high school freshmen. While I could go and on with what we’ve done and what we hope to do, I invite you to explore the PGCAC website, read about the current and evolving programs, and make a pledge to support at least one of our public service endeavors. If you are a first-time visitor to our history breaking website or someone who returns from time and time again, we believe you will experience the essence of our love and commitment for our beloved community. We have accomplished so much, but much remains to be done. Together with our extraordinary partners, we intend to magnify our efforts to develop and implement priceless, ageless programs and initiatives, and ultimately change the lives of individuals and families living in our communities and beyond. “And let us not be weary in doing good for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” – Galatians 6:9.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
President