News

During the second week of April, two Achievers embarked on a civil rights trip down south. The small travel group, led by retired Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell spent seven days traveling throughout the following cities: Jackson, MS; Little Rock, AK; Memphis, TN; Birmingham, AL; Selma, AL; and Montgomery, AL.

As you can imagine, the trip was insightful and full of emotions. We are grateful for this new partnership that was initiated during our 10th Anniversary Gala in 2018. The Commonwealth Club of California (also a non profit) was founded in 1903 by San Francisco Chronicle editorial writer Edward F. Adams, founded the club with these words in mind: we only propose to find truth and turn it loose in the world. These words still hold true for more than 100 years after the Commonwealth Club founder spoke them.

On April 30, 2019, the Commonwealth Club held an event where the two Achievers and Judge Cordell sat on a panel and shared their experiences from the trip. Watch the On The Road to Freedom and Home Again video here:

We enjoy reading stories from our college scholars and sharing these stories with you all. With that, please enjoy this piece from college senior, Chris Emelife, who is currently attending the University of San Francisco.

I cannot believe it. I am entering my final semester of college. It is crazy to think that four years have passed this quickly. I am going to miss college. It has been some of the best years of my life.

This semester has been by far the best throughout my four years of college. I had the opportunity to study abroad in Greece and it was an adventurous, unconventional, and eye-opening experience. In addition to having the opportunity to travel to other countries nearby, spending time abroad has helped me discover aspects of myself that I would never have discovered otherwise.

One highlight from my time abroad was my trip to Santorini. Santorini has always been on my bucket list. How can you not obsess over the white-washed houses and cathedrals topped off with light blue domes? It looks like heaven on Earth! The photos you see of Santorini are accurate! In my opinion,

Looking forward, I have been thinking about my future. I plan on studying for the GMAT when I return from my study abroad trip. After that, I plan on applying to graduate school to knock out two birds with one stone: obtaining the 150-credits required to sit for the CPA Exam and earning an MBA with a concentration in Accounting or a Masters’ in Accountancy. Some of the schools that I am thinking about applying to are San Diego State University, UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine. While doing all of this, I plan on continuing my part-time work at the FDIC. Other than that, I am really excited for the future!

Thank you for supporting San Francisco Achievers’ Black Community Engagement Night!

We recently hosted our annual Black Community Engagement Night to introduce the San Francisco Achievers organization to the wider community, and to celebrate the accomplishments of our scholars. We’re so thankful for everyone who turned out to support our organization, our goals around closing the achievement gap, and most importantly, our scholars like Dexter and Reyhan.

We’re thrilled we were able to bring additional folks from the community into the fold and share the positive work we’ve been doing (along with some great food, dancing and inspiring stories). The bigger picture here, though, is how we’ve created an environment based on mentorship and peer-to-peer engagement that will ultimately create greater opportunities for one of our country’s most at-risk groups, young African American males.

Scholars like Dexter and Reyhan who got up and told us of their stories is what it’s really all about. Dexter graduated from Gateway High School and is now attending UC Berkeley to pursue a degree in criminal justice. Reyhan graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, is working towards a degree in business from San Jose State University, and is pursuing his goal of walking onto the golf team.

Each reminded us what it looks like to pursue your passions knowing that you have a network of fellow students and mentors there to support you; something that’s not equally accessible. Thank you again to everyone who came out to support San Francisco Achievers and our scholars. With each new connection made, we’re closer to closing the gap and making students like Dexter and Reyhan the norm, not the exception.

If you’d like to make a difference in the lives of young students and support San Francisco Achievers, please visit our page and consider making a donation.

Steph Curry is known for his generosity and ongoing philanthropic efforts throughout the Bay Area. This is why after the Golden State Warriors became the 2016 NBA champions, he publicly donated to San Francisco Achievers.

In an effort to never lose sight of why we’re doing this in the first place, and the individuals that help us make it happen, we wanted to revisit the impact Steph Curry has made on our organization.

The donation went directly to our Mentoring Program, which is the cornerstone of our entire organization, and since then we’ve been able to improve:

• Mentorship to increase positive life outcomes for young African American men
• Introduce a structured onboarding process for mentors
• Increased our volunteer recruiting efforts and overall retention
• Grow mentor program to 153 members who meet with Scholars at least twice a month
• Tripled the rate at which prospective volunteers become successful mentors

What this means is that scholars like Chinedu Anigbogu, who is the youngest of three brothers and the son of Nigerian immigrants, have been given additional opportunities to succeed. Chinedu graduated from Gateway High School in 2017, and began classes at University of California at Berkeley just a few months ago. “[San Francisco] Achievers to me means a brotherhood. We all support each other no matter age or how anybody looks. The true focus is about helping us all grow as brothers and men,” said Chinedu when describing the value of SF Achievers.

Donations like the one from Steph Curry not only help fund our program, but they help build confidence among our Scholars that they are supported, and that a successful future isn’t a “maybe” but a “guarantee.” This is an important example of how one individual can make an outsized impact in the lives of many.

If you’d like to make a difference in the lives of young students, please visit our page and consider making a donation