Thurgood Marshall College Fund

Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Inc. (Tmcf), and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Inc. (Tmcf): As the only national organization representing America's 47 publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the nearly 300,000 students that attend them each year, TMCF's mission is to ensure student success by promoting educational excellence and preparing the next generation of workforce talent through leadership development.

Dear SEO interns,

One of the core values at SEO at all levels is to acknowledge the support we have received along our paths and learning to lift as we climb. Every year SEO Interns make a contribution to SEO Scholars, those that are following in our footsteps. This year, in light of the national and global crises, the SEO class has chosen to direct this Intern Class Gift to a selection of COVID relief organizations supporting Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities across the US.

Please join us in making a difference and practicing the value of giving back even as you climb. Giving at any level is more important at this stage of your careers than the dollar amounts given. This year is even more important to put this principle into practice. We are aiming for full 100% participation from our SEO intern class of 2021!

One of the three COVID relief organizations you chose for your SEO Intern Class Gift of 2021 was Thurgood Marshall College Fund. More information about TMCF is below and exhibited in the Fundraiser video:

As the only national organization representing America's 47 publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the nearly 300,000 students that attend them each year, TMCF's mission is to ensure student success by promoting educational excellence and preparing the next generation of workforce talent through leadership development.

The Delta Gamma and Lambda Chi Alpha chapters at the University of Southern California are coming together to raise money for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund in honor of Black History Month. 

Named after the first black supreme court justice, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund provides scholarships to around 300,000 students. This non-profit organization sponsors students from 47 schools that are almost entirely historically black colleges/universities and current predominantly black institutions. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund allows for academic and, ultimately, career success.

This year we weren’t able to do our typical Q2 volunteer work at Rosie’s place.  They’re still not accepting outside volunteers for anything as many of the women sheltering there don’t have any other place to socially distance.  Last week I talked with some of the office leadership and we decided it was time to try something different.  It’s easy to say I want to help kids with cancer.  It’s easy to say I want to go to a food bank or a shelter and help the food insecure.  And it’s easy to buy gifts for kids to help impoverished families during the holidays.
It’s not easy to admit that our society, and each of us in particular, has biases that disadvantage others.  And with so many black athletes speaking out about the discrimination they experience here in Boston, we can’t continue to ignore it or say it’s just a problem with a few bad apples in some other area. It’s our problem.  It’s a problem we all contribute to through our words, our actions, or through our inaction, and I believe it’s a problem for all of us to solve.
There are so many battles to fight to address the disadvantages black people face in America.  Judicial, education, economic and employment, and so many others.  A challenge so massive isn’t overcome all at once, it’s overcome by each of us doing our part in a few ways, some small, hopefully some not so small.
The leadership team here in Boston – and I’m not ignorant of the fact that so many of us are white skinned men, more change needed there – have decided today we want to start to do something to help.  We’ve decided to raise money for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.  One of the obvious small ways in which we can help is to make sure that young black men and women have the opportunity to obtain a strong education in spite of the economic disadvantage they and their families face, and this is a great way to help.
This is not an official CoStar sponsored fundraiser – this is just the group of us asking for your participation in the fight.  And don’t forget about all that money you’re not spending on commuting, at the barbershop or the salon, etc. – wouldn’t this be a great place to direct some of that? 
 

One more thought.  Even if this fundraiser is more challenging than our other activities, it’s still easy for those of us with so many advantages to give a few dollars and say “I’ve done my part.”  I think this fundraiser is important and I’m donating to it, but that can’t be all we do.  Vote.  Speak out about the problems you see.  Confront this inequity.  There are so many other injustices in our society but this fight, right now, has national momentum.  Let’s do everything we can to finish it, today and every day.