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Black Tie International:
Jackie Robinson
Foundation Hosts Annual Awards Dinner |
Jackie Robinson Foundation Hosts
Annual Awards Dinner
Honoring Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Joseph R. Perella and Ingrid Saunders Jones,
Raising Over $ 1.4 Million
Entertainment Icon Bill Cosby Hosted
Star-Studded Gala for Nation's Premiere
Minority Scholarship and Mentoring Program,
Drawing 1,000 Attendees at the
Waldorf=Astoria
Photos by: Margot Jordon
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Bill Cosby and Honoree Sean Combs
share a special moment on stage |
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Russell Simmons |
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Jackie Robinson
Foundation ROBIE Honorees
Ingrid Saunders Jones and Sean Combs |
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Honoree Joseph Perella and presenter Ray McGuire |
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Sharon Robinson honoree Sean Combs and Andre Harrell greet
backstage |
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Al Roscoe & Colonel Diane Reya Colonel & Mrs. Irving Smith,
Colonel Mike Endress, Hon. David N. Dinkins, Archie Elam
and Major & Mrs. Michael
Burns |
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Wendy Lewis and Leonard S. Coleman |
NEW YORK, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jackie Robinson
Foundation (JRF) celebrated its 38th year with a
star-studded gala at the Waldorf=Astoria on March 7, 2011.
Attracting more than 1,000 supporters and over $1.4
million in donations, the Annual Awards Dinner paid tribute
to those who embody the humanitarian ideals of Jackie
Robinson and who helped raise money for the Foundation's
premiere minority scholarship and mentoring program. Once
again hosted by legendary entertainer Bill Cosby, the gala
bestowed its prestigious ROBIE Awards on Sean "Diddy"
Combs (Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bad Boy
Entertainment Group), Ingrid Saunders Jones (Senior Vice
President, The Coca-Cola Company), and Joseph R. Perella (Founding
Partner, Chairman and CEO of Perella Weinberg Partners), who
were honored for their contributions and innovation in the
entertainment and fashion, consumer product and financial
arenas, respectively. Grammy Award® winning singer, Chrisette
Michele dazzled the audience and New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg gave a stirring speech on a new education
initiative to support young men in the public school system.
Mar 15, 2011 5:00:00 AM
"We were proud to
salute three transformational figures whose
professional achievements and philanthropic
initiatives lend credence toJackie Robinson's often
quoted dictum, "A life is not important except in
the impact it has on other lives," said JRF
President and CEODella Britton Baeza.
The evening raised
funds for the Foundation, which provides generous
four year college scholarships, graduate school
grants, extensive mentoring and leadership training
to academically distinguished minority students who
otherwise would not have the financial resources to
attend college. More than 200 of the JRF Scholars
were present for the event and in accepting her
award, ROBIE Humanitarian Award recipient Ingrid
Saunders Jones spoke to them directly, saying, "I
want you to know that our expectations of you are
very large. I want you to know that my path to this
job, to this place, required making choices that
were at the time filled with risk…Each of these
moves gave me the skills I needed to reach this
place so that I could work with purpose."
Mr. Perella, recipient
of the ROBIE Award for Achievement in Industry, said
that in preparing remarks for the ceremony, he found
a quote from Mrs. Robinson in which she noted Jackie
Robinson's involvement in the Civil Rights movement.
This led him to really study the award's name sake.
He concluded that, "Jackie was more than a baseball
player." And that, "It is no wonder to me
that Martin Luther King Jr. referred to Jackie as a
freedom rider before there were freedom rides."
"This is the best award
I've ever gotten in my life," noted Mr. Combs, who
received the Foundation's Achievement
in Industry Award. "What Jackie Robinson has done
for culture is more powerful than just changing the
face of sports and breaking down the color barrier.
He changed all of our lives. To be mentioned in the
same sentence as Jackie Robinson, I had to ask
myself if I was ready for it and if I was worthy of
it."
Also contributing to
the unforgettable evening were Russell
Simmons (Founder, Def Jam Records), Reverend
Dr. Calvin Butts III(Pastor, Abyssinian Baptist
Church), and Ray McGuire (Head of Global
Investment Banking, Citi) and who presented the
ROBIE Awards to Combs, Jones, and Perella,
respectively.
The evening also
showcased the achievements of Jackie Robinson
Foundation Scholars, including four students who
recounted their experience of JRF. JRF/Unilever
Scholar Ebenezer Asare, a senior at Harvard
University and JRF/Sheila C. Johnson Foundation
Scholar Pamela Champ, a senior at Hampton
University's School of Business served as the events
co-hosts with entertainer Bill Cosby.
The Annual Awards
Dinner has recognized some of the most decorated
names in business, politics, education, media,
sports and the arts, including Bishop Desmond Tutu,
J. W. Marriott, Jr., Dr. Benjamin Carson, Sr., Clive
Davis, Spike Lee, Ruth J. Simmons, Allan H. (Bud)
Selig, Henry L. "Hank" Aaron, John Welch Jr., Ella
Fitzgerald, George Lucas, Marian Wright
Edelman, Arthur Ashe, Michael Jordan, Tom Brokaw,
Dr. Sheila C. Johnson, Robert Redford, Robin
Roberts and Katharine Graham.
Established in 1973,
the Jackie Robinson Foundation is the nation's
premier education and leadership development
program. Transcending financial assistance, the
Foundation equips its scholarship recipients with a
comprehensive set of support services including
mentoring, career guidance and practical life
skills, resulting in a nearly 100% graduation rate,
more than twice the national average for minority
students. The over 1,400 JRF alumni are both leaders
in their professional fields and consummate
ambassadors ofJackie Robinson's legacy of community
service.
This 2010-2011 academic
year, JRF provided generous financial aid and
program support to 220 Jackie Robinson Foundation
Scholars representing 31 states and the District of
Columbia and enrolled in
92 different colleges and universities across the
country.
www.jackierobinson.org
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