Thank you for joining CPE for our virtual fundraising event on June 1, 2021! It was a way to culminate all of the challenges and celebrations we’ve made it through, together. We were able to uplift students and celebrate their determination – it also allowed us to take a moment to uplift CPE, which without a gala last year and amidst COVID continues to urgently need your support.
Event Speakers Included:
Howard University President and Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery, Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, has advanced Howard University’s commitment to student opportunity, academic innovation, public service, and fiscal stability.
Dr. Frederick understands the value mentorship can provide to a student’s life, having been a mentee himself, and recognizes the importance of uplifting students through community.
Jason Reynolds is the 2020–2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and the New York Times best-selling author of All American Boys, the Track series, Long Way Down, For Everyone, and Miles Morales-Spiderman.
Born in Washington, DC, and raised in neighboring Oxon Hill, Maryland, Reynolds found inspiration in rap to begin writing poetry at nine-years-old. He writes novels and poetry for young adults and middle-grade audiences.
The last year has reminded us all about the importance of community and being connected to others.
No group of people have needed that sense of community more than students – specifically low-income Black and Brown students who have struggled with social isolation, loss of learning, and family challenges from job loss to death.
Our students have also lived through one of the most consequential and tumultuous years for racial justice, fighting to assert that #BlackLivesMatter. Yet through their grit, determination, and perseverance with support from CPE and mentors, our students have made progress – they’re succeeding and moving forward.
In spite of the challenges our students faced this year, 84% of our high school graduates enrolled in college and 29 college students earned their degree!
Our program was essential prior to COVID – now even more so, offering guidance and direct services to students so they don’t fall through the cracks. A portion of the donations we received will go directly to help get students back on track by offering tutoring services to CPE students.
Thank you for your participation.
