Community Leadership Fundraiser

c/o Freda Leeper

CalWorks Office

City College

50 Phelan Avenue B-609

San Francisco, CA  94112

For Immediate Release                                

July 24, 2003                                                  

Community Fundraiser to Benefit Kamala Harris Campaign and Enola Maxwell Ed. Fund

Community Leadership Reception & Fundraise honoring Jackie Wright will benefit local causes.

(San Francisco)-It’s the year of Jubilee for community leader, Jackie Wright.  Instead of having a self-focused party, Wright asked friends to help plan a party that will benefit the City she loves.   A Community Leadership Reception and Fundraiser will be held August 15, 6-8:30 p.m. at Lavash Restaurant, 4 Embarcadero Center, to raise fund for charities Wright has been involved with since her arrival in San Francisco June of 1990.  Janice Edwards of KNTV, NBC 11 will be the emcee.  Visit www.celebratejackiewright.com for details.

“Jackie is opening the celebration to benefit the community,” said Belva Davis.  “It’s a chance for the friends and associates she has met over the last decade to pause a moment and contribute to organizations they support.   The fast pace of life often keeps us from taking the time to write that check.  So as Jackie says ‘we’re pausing to party with a purpose.’”  Davis went on to say that Wright characteristically finds ways to enhance people and expand projects.  As president of the Golden Gate Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television, Wright increased the sponsorship and support level of the organization by setting a fund raising standard that was six times higher than the organizations previous support level.  Additionally, she established the AWRT Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship, in recognition of the fact that Belva Davis was the first woman of color in the nation to join the organization.

“It’s not easy when you are on the cutting edge of history, that is why I want to show support for district attorney candidate, Kamala Harris, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell and the Enola D. Maxwell Education Fund,” said Jackie Wright.  “I know Supervisor Maxwell is not campaigning at this time, but we need to start thinking of supporting her for when the time comes.  Ms. Harris is in the thick of a campaign and it’s my hope that others will think of ways they can raise funds to help in this historic effort. And there is no better way to pay tribute to Mrs. Enola D. Maxwell than to help young people for whom she crusaded,” Wright continued.   “African American Shakespeare Company, Afro Solo and the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre are other black organizations that will benefit as the community responds,” said Wright.

The organizations benefiting from the fundraiser include: African American Shakespeare Company, Afro Solo Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theatre, American Red Cross, AWRT Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship, Booker T. Washington Community Center, Christian City Church San Francisco Axis Café, Enola D. Maxwell Education Fund, Kamala Harris for District Attorney Campaign,  

KALW 91.7FM, Leadership San Francisco, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Muscular Dystrophy Association, SFUSD Every Child Can Learn Foundation, Sophie Maxwell’s Re-election Campaign or Volunteer Center of San Francisco.

Wright a broadcast journalist, who drove cross country in 1990 from Athens, Georgia without a job, landed her first position as a public affairs associate for the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter during the one-year anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake.  She worked her way through the organization ultimately becoming the Executive Officer for San Francisco County and along the way she did radio and TV interviews from places like Kill Devils Hill, North Carolina, Birmingham, Alabama and Salt Lake City, Utah after a tornado or hurricane blew through town.  Over her decade of working for the Red Cross, Wright worked with many non-profits. 

“Jackie says the non-profit arena is like an alma mater and having this fundraiser is paying tribute to the mom that helped her know herself and grow in ways she could never have imagined.  The concept of community leadership was branded for her when she went through the year-long Leadership San Francisco Program in 1996,” said Bernice Brown, former Dean of City College.   The fundraiser is not only for close friends and associates but for anyone who would like to support community, just send in a check to support the organizations.

Individuals or companies can give in several ways which include 1) Giving at a sponsorship level by making a check payable to the Community Leadership Fundraiser with net proceeds going to the organization, or 2) checks can be made directly to one of the named charities.  All checks should be mailed to Community Leadership Fundraiser c/o Freda Leeper, CalWorks Office, City College, 50 Phelan Avenue, B-609, San Francisco, CA  94112 by August 10th.  For more information call 415 705-0557.

Also, on Tuesday, August 12, Wright will be a part of the Muscular Dystrophy Lock Up-Behind Bars for Good at the Sony Metreon.   She asks that you put a few dollars aside to help bail her out in that fundraising effort.  Call 415 673-7500 for more details about that event.

The Community Leadership Fundraiser planning committee members include: Kelly Armstrong, Bernice Brown, Kelly Castagnaro, Belva Davis, Shirley Howard Johnson, Joan Kelley-Williams, Michelle Ortega, Marsha Pendergrass, Cheryl Ward, Marian Wilson Sylvestre.

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