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NEW YORK —Harlem luminaries will shine on Thursday,
September 22, when West Harlem Group Assistance (WHGA), one
of Harlem’s first community development corporations,
celebrates its 40th anniversary at Aaron Davis Hall. Hosted
by broadcaster Dyana Williams, the event celebrates WHGA’s
four decades of housing development and neighborhood
preservation efforts in West and Central Harlem. The
fundraiser, which will include a performance by Ray, Goodman
& Brown, is being sponsored by The Phipps Houses Group, BNY
Mellon, Capital One Bank, Citi, Columbia University and TMA
Contracting Corp.
The honorees will include Len Burnett, CEO and group
publisher of Uptown Media and Vibe Lifestyle Network; NYC
Comptroller John C. Liu; actress-director-philanthropist
Tamara Tunie; jazz vocalist and community activist Gregory
Generet; and Capital One Bank. Accepting for Capital One
will be Vice President and Bank Manager Marlon March. The
Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, senior pastor of Abyssinian
Baptist Church and founder and chair of Abyssinian
Development Corporation and Maurice Coleman, senior vice
president of Bank of America, will serve as Honorary Chair
and Event Chair respectively.
Since its founding in 1971, WHGA has developed more than
1,200 units of affordable housing, created approximately 325
units of home ownership opportunities and moved more than
3,000 families from transitional to permanent housing. By
leveraging partnerships with the community-at-large, elected
officials as well as private and public supporters, WHGA has
become a leading affordable housing community development
corporation (CDC).
“We could not have contributed to the
metamorphosis of Harlem and positively impacted so many
lives over 40 years had we not been inspired by community
business people like Len Burnett; enjoyed the support of
government leaders like John Liu; worked hand-in-hand with
Harlem-based artist-activists like Tamara Tunie and Gregory
Generet; and forged strong partnerships with committed
financial institutions like Capital One,” said Donald C.
Notice, Executive Director of WHGA. “And, so, we are
extremely proud that they will be accepting our awards at
this year’s celebration.”
The WHGA 40th Anniversary Celebration begins at 6:00 pm with
a cocktail reception and silent auction and continues at
7:00 pm with dinner and an awards presentation. Tickets to
the benefit start at $200. Aaron Davis Hall, City College of
New York, is located at
135th Street and Convent Avenue.
For tickets or details, call 212-862-1399 or visit
www.whgainc.org .
About WEST HARLEM GROUP ASSISTANCE
West Harlem Group Assistance (WHGA) is a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit community-based development corporation
established in 1971 to revitalize the under-invested West
and Central Harlem communities—then riddled with dilapidated
and abandoned buildings. Ironically, as its preservation
efforts have taken hold and Harlem experiences a rapid
influx of new businesses and investments, WHGA’s primary
function has become to quell the negative impacts of rapid
gentrification on its low to moderate-income constituency,
with a renewed focus on preservation of homes and
businesses.
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