I truly believe that the best opportunities happen when you least expect them & sometimes with the best timing. I recently partnered with The Rise Initiative, an Ottawa based organization that is fundraising to send 200 Ottawa youth to see The Black Panther Movie for free on February 17th, in Ottawa.
I met Tasia Brown and Aquilas Kapend Dapaah, the two ladies behind the Rise Initiative at a Black History Month Night Market put on by The Cultural Arts Studio. I was intrigued by their sign and obvious good humour that I went over to chat and they explained how they became involved with the #blackpantherchallenge. Within a few minutes of chatting, I knew this was a cause I wanted to support.
As you know, part of M+E's principles is to give back. So far, we have done that through the Haiti Tree Project but I have always wanted to do some good in my own neighbourhood... literally, the movie will be shown a few blocks from M+E Headquarters.
I'm sure you have all heard about the Black Panther Movie by Marvel. Well, The Black Panther Challenge is a community-led movement to send youth across North America to see the Marvel film Black Panther for free. The Rise's goal is to raise $3,600 to send 200 youth in Ottawa to see the film on February 17 at The Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre. As of now they have raise $3,820 and are still going strong. This means that they will be able to open the doors to more than 200 young people. Congratulations ladies!!!
This is so important because ...
ON SCREEN TALENT... This is the first superhero movie released by Marvel Studios where 90% of the cast is either African or African-American and their first in 14 years with a Black lead character. The list includes Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan, Forest Whitaker, Angela Basset and Sterling K. Brown
REPRESENTATION & EMPOWERMENT ... This movie empowers women, it features strong, intelligent female characters who lead an army, engineer ground-breaking technology and are leaders in their communities; thus celebrating the power of representation and shying away from the usual stereotypes.
About The Rise Initiative:
Both ladies are activists, Tasia (right) is also a Communications Specialist and Aquilas (left) is a lawyer. You can find out more about these ladies in a recent article in Ottawa Life Magazine.
"Our aim is to inspire members of our community to become agents of change. We encourage individuals to bring us a project that will have a positive impact in their neighborhoods, we empower them to reach their goal, and then we motivate them to raise more leaders in their communities." - The Rise Initiative
Fundraising is still on for this event, click here to make your donation.
I hope you all go out to see this groundbreaking movie, I know I can't wait.
À bientôt!
D.
