“Project 100” Launches to Provide $1,000 Direct Digital Payments to 100,000 Families Hard Hit by COVID Crisis
Backed by Stacey Abrams, Andrew Yang, Leading Philanthropists, Nation’s Largest Private Direct Cash Payments Effort Launches;Over $55M of $100M Already Raised: [anchor funders] Schusterman Family Foundation, Blue Meridian Partners; [seed funders] Flourish Ventures, Google.org; Flu Lab, Wend Collective, Blue Haven Initiative, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, among others;Also backed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Patrick Adams, Camilla Luddington, Tony Hale, Chris Meloni, Carrie Preston, Kevin Alejandro, Andra Day, Sundar Pichai, NBA Cares, the Players Coalition and David Sze & Seth Rosenberg from Greylock
Ready for a trip to South Africa? Take a Break with us today...
RainbowMe Kids are providing 15 minutes of entertainment while you take a break! Join RainbowMe Kids on a trip to South Africa to learn about the Xhosa folklore tale of Demane and Demanzana.
HISD to broadcast virtual town hall meeting for students pursuing college
On Tuesday, April 28, the Houston Independent School District will broadcast a virtual town hall meeting to assist students pursuing postsecondary education options during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation Launches Emergency COVID-19 Response Fund
Kroger and The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation aim to direct $10 million to local, state and national relief organizations
The Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation has committed more than $6 million to date to nonprofit partners addressing urgent COVID-19 response efforts, including:
The Center for Pursuit receives grant from Greater Houston COVID-19 Recovery Fund to assist clients in need
Joint effort between United Way of Greater Houston and Greater Houston Community Foundation
The Center for Pursuit, Houston’s largest not-for-profit organization serving adults with intellectual and development disabilities (I/DD), has received a grant from the Greater Houston COVID-19 Recovery Fund, a joint effort by United Way of Greater Houston and the Greater Houston Community Foundation. The first round of the fund will distribute $1.5 million among 30 nonprofit organizations with constituents who need urgent access to food and emergency financial assistance due to COVID-19.
13 Year Old Accomplished Day Trader provides Key Tips to Fiscally survive in a tanking market!
Mr.Christon “The Truth” Jones is a 13 year old accomplished day trader, entrepreneur and an international speaker. Truth has spoken in 3 continents as a Certified Les Brown Speaker, while also writing “3” international best-selling books. As a child prodigy, Truth continues to excel at youth sports as he is also an MVP for All American Youth Football.
Organizing and Town Halls
Upcoming events include sessions on "COVID and the Class of 2020 - Black Students' Transitions to College and Work" (New America Indianapolis, Apr. 21) and “Under the Blacklight Part Five” (African American Policy Forum, Apr. 22) on ways to protect the most vulnerable populations).
The COVID-19 Racial Divide
As more states release racial demographic information (29 states so far according to The Atlantic), newly released studies show that 31% of Black adults are very concerned about getting COVID-19 compared to 18% of White adults (Pew Research Study conducted April 7 – April 12, 2020). See this Associated Press chart of 24 states and the District of Columbia showing the disproportionate effect on Black communities in each jurisdiction.
Political Studies & COVID-19
Last Wednesday, the Joint Center hosted an online briefing on accessible vote-by-mail and safe in-person voting for Black communities. The session explored safeguards to ensure an accessible vote-by-mail system that does not dilute Black votes (e.g., prepaid postage, a postmark deadline of Election Day, the ability for third parties to collect and return sealed ballots, and quick notification of and ability to remedy any signature matching issues—see this Brennan Center brief showing vote-by-mail racial disparities without these safeguards). Participants also discussed the need to maintain sanitized and uncrowded in-person polling places for those who choose not to vote-by-mail.
Economic Studies & COVID-19
Last week 5.2 million workers filed for unemployment in a single week (CNN), bringing the total number of filings near 22 million in the past four weeks. This was more than five times worse than the worst 4-week stretch of the Great Recession.
Interim COVID-19 Stimulus This Week, Larger Bill Possible Later
Right now, Members of Congress and the Trump Administration continue to negotiate a $450 billion “interim” COVID-19 bill that could be passed this week. The new bill could provide an additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses and nonprofits (the program ran out of funds last Thursday). House and Senate Democrats are pushing to direct some of the funds to minority-owned and rural businesses, and to add more for hospitals and enhanced COVID-19 testing capacity. The interim bill is smaller than the $2 trillion CARES Act signed in late March. For more, see the New York Times, CNN & Politico.
Deepwater Horizon: BP’s SECOND Blowout–The Secret History
Greg Palast reporting for Channel 4 (UK)
Ten years ago, April 20, 11 men on the Deepwater Horizon were incinerated when the BP/Transocean oil rig blew out and exploded.
New App Designed to Help Keep Employees Safe When They Return to Work Is Seeking Beta Testers.
With pressure building to reopen the country, employers want to protect their workers from the coronavirus, alleviate return-to-work anxiety, and mitigate the risk of legal liability. Howard Tiersky
There's a nationwide outcry to reopen the country and put people back to work. And yet, even as owners and employees alike long for life to get back to some semblance of normal, there's plenty of anxiety to go around. No employee wants to get sick. Certainly, no company owner wants to put their people at risk—nor do they want to be held liable if an employee does get sick.
The Hidden Pre-Existing Condition
With over 750,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States, state and local officials are beginning to acknowledge who is most impacted by the virus. For those of us who work to promote affordable housing and energy efficiency, it came as no surprise to learn that African-Americans are the hardest hit in this pandemic.
AAMBC Literary Awards premieres April 22 digitally on YouTube Live hosted by Tamika Newhouse and Chanel Hudson
On April 22, 2020, Founder and Creator of the AAMBC Literary Awards, Tamika Newhouse will host the annual celebration digitally alongside Chanel Hudson, a prominent media personality. The virtual event is slated to take place on April 22, 2020, at 7 pm and will stream from the AAMBC Awards “YouTube” channel. Since it’s inception in 2009, the AAMBC Awards is one of the few award shows that celebrates and honors African American literary writers, screenwriters and those in the publishing industry.
Communities Foundation of Texas receives $1 Million donation from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas to aid COVID-19 Relief Efforts across Texas
Funding will help pay for personal protective equipment and childcare costs for first responders and assist with services for senior adults
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of Texas community foundations and nonprofits, Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) today announced a $1 million donation from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) to help with COVID-19 relief efforts through their newly created Collaborative Grant Fund.
Congressman Al Green Introduced H.R. 6475 and H.R. 6476 to Speed the Delivery of Relief Funds to Small Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus
On Friday, April 10, 2020, Congressman Al Green introduced two bills – H.R. 6475 and H.R. 6476 – to help speed the delivery of emergency funds to small businesses, their employees, and the self-employed. He released the following statement:
METRO Bus Operator, METROLift Contract Driver Test Positive for COVID-19
METRO has received confirmation a bus operator and a Yellow Cab contractor who drove for METROLift have tested positive for COVID-19. This brings the total number of cases to 11 METRO employees and two contractors. The Authority continues to track positive test results among its workforce of more than 4200. We are also conducting temperature checks of all employees before they begin their workday.
Congressman Al Green and Fort Bend County’s Ninth Congressional District Elected Officials Hosted PPE Donation Drive
On Thursday, April 16, 2020, Congressman Al Green, Fort Bend County Judge KP George, Missouri City Mayor Yolanda Ford, and Stafford Mayor Leonard Scarcella hosted a personal protective equipment (PPE) donation drive. They released the following statement:
MCTX Call to Action: Residents Encouraged to Serve On Boards, Committees and Commissions; Apply Online @ www.missouricitytx.gov
City Council and staff value input and feedback from citizens and are seeking applicants for all boards, committees and commissions. When serving, residents will have a unique opportunity to participate in the governing process and to provide ideas and suggestions on public policy.
