Monday, October 7, 2013

Spotlight on Partnerships

We are all familiar with the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Here at SMART especially, we know this to be true. We also know that without the strong support of our community, we could not do the vitally important work that we do; therefore, we’d like to take a moment to recognize some of our community partners:  Bingham McCutchen,  the Junior League of San Francisco, and theBalm!

Bingham McCutchen

For over a year, SMART has had the good fortune of enjoying a partnership with the San Francisco office of global law firm, Bingham McCutchen.  Bingham has provided probono legal services for our families on an as-needed basis, held internal gift drives in which individual staff members purchased much needed school and office supplies for SMART, and for the last two years they have provided backpacks filled with supplies for our Scholars. They have hosted celebratory graduation events in their beautiful offices, welcomed our high school students for a career tour, and provided vital funding support of our programs. 

On September 10, 2013 SMART was invited by Bingham to participate in JFK50: Justice for All. Presented by Bingham McCutchen and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the event featured diverse leaders from business, law, journalism and government, including Condoleeza Rice, former Secretary of State, Jason Collins, NBA professional and Stanford All-American, Thurgood Marshall Jr., Bingham partner and principal with Bingham Consulting, Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of California, William Swanson, CEO of Raytheon and John Yang, NBC news correspondent and commentator.  The panel discussed the legacy of the civil rights movement, the importance of continued engagement in diversity initiatives, and how those initiatives are reflected in today’s companies, classrooms and communities.
Thanks to Bingham, SMART was invited to contribute to this important conversation. A panel of distinguished speakers dropped into the SMART office to host a panel discussion for our Scholars, and SMART Scholar, Emerson Herrera, was invited to participate as a featured speaker during the event at the SFJAZZ center!

Junior League of San Francisco
This summer, SMART joined forces with the Junior League of San Francisco, to become the organization’s newest Community Program Grant Recipient. Not only has the Junior League awarded SMART with a generous grant of $15,000, but their partnership has allowed us to launch our first mentor program for our College Access Program Scholars. 19 Junior League volunteers have stepped forward to work one-on-one with a high school student to work through the college application process, which includes choosing a “best fit” school, perfecting their college essays, practicing for college interviews, and finding scholarships.

theBalm Cosmetics
theBalm is a local San Francisco company that boasts a complete line of makeup, skin care, hair care and nail polish. Aside from their commitment to making paraben and cruelty-free products, the generous folks at theBalm are committed to supporting the initiatives of local nonprofits, such as SMART. The company’s founder and CEO, Marissa Shipman, joined us in May for SMART’s 5th annual SMART Goes to College fundraiser. After learning more about our programming, and hearing SMART alumna Liliana Santos speak about her experiences with SMART and her imminent entry into Yale University, Marissa decided to launch a charity flash sale program at theBalm, with SMART as the company’s first beneficiary! Please join us in sending a big thanks to Marissa and the entire crew…they are theBALM!

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