Naacp Memphis Branch, The New Tri-state Defender & Kroger Delta Division Announce Grant Winners

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - April 19, 2019 - PRLog -- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Memphis Branch in partnership with the New Tri-State Defender Newspaper and Kroger Delta Division announced the winners of the Uplift the Community grant today. Building Blocks Mentoring Program, Principles of Manhood, Safeways Direct Blight Action Program and Strong Tower, Staying Power were selected as the 2019 recipients.

"We reviewed every application that was submitted and were quite impressed with the creative presentations and the vision these organizations have for our community," said Deidre Malone, President of the NAACP Memphis Branch.

The grant program was unveiled in January 2019 and designed for non-profit organizations in the city of Memphis who specifically focus on decreasing blight, decreasing crime and improving the community.  All 501(c)3 nonprofits were required to be located in the Memphis and Shelby County area.

"It is an honor to be a partner in the Uplift the Community grant with the NAACP Memphis Branch and The New Tri-State Defender newspaper," said Teresa Dickerson, Corporate Affairs Manager for Kroger's Delta Division. "Kroger's commitment to feed the human spirit is the driving force behind our mission and we will continue to serve the Memphis community in every way we can."

Building Blocks Mentoring Program's mission is to empower youth through education, job readiness skills, community service and athletics (www.bbmprogram.com).  Families Matter, Inc. seeks to increase the number of healthy families through addressing the need to educate, encourage, empower and support men, women, teenagers, boys and girls in their knowledge of how to build and sustain healthy relationships www.familiesmattermemphis.org. Safeways Direct Blight Action Program collaborates with law enforcement, property managers, and social service providers to promote improved community safety and quality of life in Memphis apartment communities (www.safeways.org). Strong Tower, Staying Power is a Christ-centered, Bible-believing, organization that seeks to connect members to the community (www.easttrigg.org).   Each organization was awarded a $7,500 grant and will return to present the outcomes of their projects to the grant providers in six months.

For more information on the UPLIFT OUR COMMUNITY grant, contact Executive Director, Vickie Terry at 901. 521.1343, email at Vickie@NAACPMEMPHIS.orgor visit the Memphis NAACP website at www.naacpmemphis.org.

About the NAACP Memphis Branch:

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest civil rights organization, and the NAACP Memphis Branch is the largest branch of the organization in the United States.  The mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.  During the entire year of 2017, the Memphis Branch NAACP is celebrating 100 years of service to the community.