Preparing Future Leaders

Posted on 28. Jul, 2010 by admin in Community Focus, Global News

Throughout the years, the Q.B.G. Foundation has helped create leaders who have gone on to work in both the corporate and private sectors. Many of them are making a positive impact in their respective communities where they are trailblazers in their own right. By providing financial assistance to deserving Black youths who want to further their education, Q.B.G. has given students a chance to shine, an opportunity to give back and for eighteen years, the foundation has awarded college scholarships to deserving Black youth totaling over $1 million.

My passion is to help young kids. I spend a lot of time helping them find employment both through the foundation and through the Chatham Business Association (CBA) where I am also Chairman. The young people there range in age from 14 to 24. My focus has also been to train young people to become entrepreneurs and two Saturdays out of the month, I meet with them at the QBG Foundation where we participate in activities that stress the importance of creating jobs. This is my passion, this is my focus…but it’s important for everyone to give back, each one to the best of his or her ability.

Giving back, changes the world. It changes generations and it does make a difference. Some may use poverty as an excuse for not giving of their time, resources, knowledge and/or skills. But it’s no excuse. As one of eleven children from Alabama, I was poor but was able to build a successful business in spite of the odds. Most people who are successful today, were born poor but when you give back, you create a cycle of help and a cycle of hope. By helping somebody else, they will in turn help the other person and the cycle repeats itself. Just like the change agents including Dr. King and other civil rights leaders whom I marched with fought for change, that’s what we should do.

When you come into the foundation, you will see an oil-painting of my son, Quentis, to the left and right across from it, a picture of myself. These pictures represent two generations of Garths. It was the loss of my son, Quentis, in 1989 which inspired me to start the foundation which is named after him.

Since its inception, we have been stressing the importance of education and using it as a tool to help facilitate change. At Q.B.G, we believe that what we do can change our youth, our communities and future generational leaders. We do this by giving inner city youth who may not have been able to go to college, a chance to succeed, awarding them up to $10,000 per student.

Our recipients have graduated from institutions like Clark Atlanta University; Tennessee State University; Florida A&M University; Chicago State University, Howard University; Tuskegee University; Spelman College; and Alabama A&M University. We are proud of them all. The QBG Foundation also boasts of a stellar list of past and present contributors, which without their help, none of this would have been possible. These partners have included Dominick’s, Jewel, ComEd, and Coca-Co, to name a few. We have also hosted other fund raising and community events, including the Q.B.G. Annual Rodeo and a Back to School and Wellness Fair, as well as a job fair sponsored by Target.

In keeping with the tradition of assisting aspiring Black students, Change Through Education: “Preparing Future Generational Leaders” the theme of this year’s gala, the Q.B.G. Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner and Fundraiser promises to be an exciting and powerful display of our mission and our purpose. We hope you will join us as we recognize both past and future recipients on Saturday, July 31st, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, located on 151 E. Wacker Drive. We will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner promptly at 7 p.m. Our host will be V103’s Herb Kent featuring Chicago’s very own The Chi-Lites. We look forward to seeing you there