The Negro Educational Emergency Drive, better know as NEED, hosted their 54th annual scholarship benefit dinner at the Wyndham Grand Hotel ballroom, March 5. Fifty youth scholars received scholarships through NEED that ranged from $1000 to $5000 each.
There were private and corporate scholarships as well as matching scholarships. The Wyndham ballroom was filled with about 600 people, everyone from friends and families of scholars to supporters and NEED staff. Attendees celebrated each scholar as they took their walk, one by one, through the ballroom to the stage.
Many speakers, from the dinner chairs to the president and CEO of NEED, gave remarks of thanks for the supporters, and praise and encouragement of the scholars. The theme was “Celebrating Pittsburgh Genius.”
“The first thing you have to do to be a genius is to believe that you are and I would encourage every parent to tell your child that ‘you are so smart, you are brilliant you are a genius,’” Marcia Sturdivant, president of NEED, reminded everyone during her remarks.
This year’s scholars have been accepted to many different colleges all over the country, such as Morgan State, University of Kentucky, Alabama State, Pitt, Penn State and many others. Some have even been accepted to more then one school before making their decision on where they are going to attend.
Maia Rhodes from McKeesport, who has a 4.3 GPA and has been accepted to multiple colleges, said, “I am enjoying communications; I want to be a teacher and go into education because I feel that it’s needed in the Black community. We need better teachers.”
Many of the event’s attendees were proud parents of the scholars, like that of Sequoya Simpson, Camille Simpson-Pryce’s mother.
“Camille has always been my genius, she has always been hard working, very well disciplined and is very responsible,” Simpson said. “It is very important that NEED does this because these kids need a chance and you never know where they are coming from or how hard it has been for them.”
Simpson-Pryce, who is going to Howard University where she will study biology and pre-med to become a OBGYN, said, “I didn’t think I was going to get the scholarship, but then I got it and was super excited. It was the first scholarship that I applied for and got, so I thought, ‘if I could get this one I could get other scholarships.’”
She talked about how important it is for NEED to do this by saying, “If kids had more people to push them to actually do better, I believe they would have a chance and with NEED, they give people who don’t have it the opportunity to better themselves and make them feel like they can become something in life. It’s so awesome and seeing people who are something makes a difference and is eye opening.”
Pamela Lawton, mother of scholar Joshalynn Copeland, said, “NEED is very important for the Black community because, a lot of times, we don’t have the resources and the network to empower our children; it is difficult for single, or even two parent, homes to afford the cost of educating our children at the best.”
“I thank God for NEED because they kick in doors and knock down walls so that our children can get a better education, allowing our kids to not just reach for the minimum, but they can go to the maxim,” Lawton said. NEED offers several programs, such as its scholarship/grant programs; historic Black college and university educational campus tours; access to college and career education program; workforce diversity internship program; African American male mentoring initiative; and STEM programs for the youth. NEED can help children during their whole high school and college careers in many different ways.
Also, NEED recently began a new mentoring program called The Gentlemen’s Club, where they work with middle school students from Penn Hills Entrepreneurial Charter School to prepare them for college.
“We know the challenges these youth face everyday, however, if you support them, believe in them, and show and give them options, then they will achieve,” Sturdivant said. “We are very thankful for the financial support we get from corporations, the people who are giving private scholarships in their name and all those who make small contributions as well, we are thankful and we just can’t thank everyone enough.” Explaining some of the issues that youth may face once in college, Sturdivant said, “Kids will be in the first weekend of college and some are calling back saying, ‘I need a book or I don’t have the meal money,’ or asking general questions about how to navigate or what should I do here? Or about some social issues. You can’t imagine how significant some of those dollars are or what it means to give. It could mean the difference between a child going or not going to higher education or it could mean if a child finishes or not finishes college. I can’t think of a better investment.”
(To find out more about NEED, call 412-566-2760 or go to their website at www.needld.org.)
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