On January 14th The Minnesota Sigmas will be hosting the 2012 Founders Day Celebration commemorating 98 years of dedication to uplifting community through service offering an opportunity to see and recognize the successes of 2011 as well as the vision for 2012. For members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated the principles of Brotherhood, Scholarship and Service set the framework for positive impact. While recent news of violence among youth has grasped the attention of the Twin Cities community this is an opportunity to look toward the assets of our community and what existing initiatives have been effective to address new and recursive issues in innovative ways.

This will be an entertaining and informative event. Attendees will enjoy a keynote address from Sondra Samuels an accomplished community activist and the CEO of Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) as well as dinner, and a live musical performance.

Awards will be distributed to community partners and Minnesota Sigmas will be showcasing what Phi Beta Sigma has accomplished in the state of Minnesota over the past year as well as acknowledging members who have made great strides in the fraternity.

Event Details

January 14th 2012

6:00pm – 9:00pm

2800 Greenhaven Rd, Anoka, MN, 55303.

Amos Haynes Scholarship

The Amos Haynes scholarship will be distributed to a local high school junior or senior that demonstrates an outstanding entrepreneurial ability through submitting a most innovative and impressive business plan to address a community issue.

Tickets are $40 per guest and may be purchased from any local Phi Beta Sigma member or at www.minnesotasigmas.com

About Sondra Samuels

As the PEACE Foundation DBA Northside Achievement Zone CEO and NAZ co-founder, I provide leadership, vision, oversight and direction for the overall organization and collaborative strategies. I have a direct role in managing and overseeing resource development, school-based strategies and the systems-change, policy-level work of NAZ.

Under my leadership, the PEACE Foundation founded and led initiatives such as the Northside Policy Action Coalition (NPAC), a group which in 2009 helped pass a law classifying youth violence as a public health issue; the Northside Allies, a group of suburban churches committed to lending its resources to empowering North Minneapolis leadership; and the Hope Collaborative, an education reform movement that convened forums bringing to Minneapolis successful school leaders who provided examples of effective strategies for educating low-income minority students. I also serve on the board of KIPP Stand Academy, an innovative charter school in Minneapolis, and Catalyst Community Partners, a cutting edge community and real estate development organization focused on North Minneapolis. I am most recently working with a high-level team to establish MinnCAN, (Minnesota's Campaign for Achievement Now), the first statewide Education Policy advocacy group in MN, and will serve on the first MinnCAN board.

I bring my experiences as a marketing manager, an entrepreneur and Northside community activist to my leadership at the PEACE Foundation. Ultimately, my best quality as a leader is my relentless pursuit of a vision for my neighborhood, city and state that poverty and isolation will no longer determine the fate of our most vulnerable children, but by forging good will, trusting relationships and a shared agenda focused on results, the odds will be changed for all children and they will succeed!

More about Phi Beta Sigma:

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The Founders sought to organize a Greek letter fraternity that would truly exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.

Minnesota Sigmas have been instrumental in efforts to positively affect the state of Minnesota and Twin Cities community. Having been recognized for coordinating major events this fraternity prides itself in providing service. Well known projects include: "Hoops for Haiti" which raised hundreds of dollars and pounds of food to be donated to the disaster relief efforts in Haiti, and "Sleep Out for the Homeless" featured on WCCO Channel 4 News which collected dozens of blankets and food for homeless people in Minnesota. With projects such as these and an unyielding persistence our cause speeds on its way with the greatest expedience and efficiency.