From Thursday, May 11 to Sunday, May 14, the DL Handy Foundation will host a fundraising event at Kendra Scott to support mental health awareness in Athens. The fundraiser will take place through Kendra Scott’s online store throughout the weekend and at the jewelry boutique’s Beechwood Shopping Center location on Alps Road on Saturday from 2-4 p.m. for a Giveback Party.
The DL Handy Foundation was founded in September 2022 by Lamar Handy. The Athens native said he always enjoyed giving back and wanted to establish a nonprofit to fulfill his passion for philanthropy.
“Our mission is to provide vital resources for those in need in the community, whether that may be volunteering or fundraising efforts, giving back to the community through college scholarships and also through youth empowerment,” Handy said.
Christelle Anani, Sarah Park and Lamar Handy at the 2023 Miss Black UGA Pageant in Athens, Georgia on April 30, 2023. (Courtesy/ DL Handy Foundation)
Handy’s foundation centers on community and youth empowerment, scholarship and philanthropy. As the philanthropy focus of the organization, Handy hopes to donate towards health initiatives, and chose mental health awareness this year.
“There’s a huge, huge, huge stigma that we have in our community, especially when it comes to African American males. It’s something a lot of people deal with and they’re afraid to talk about it,” Handy said.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the topic is central to the platform of Sarah Park, the 2023 Miss University of Georgia winner and a junior studying public relations. Park was a judge at the Miss Black UGA pageant last month alongside Handy, and the two found common ground in their mission to raise awareness for mental health.
“For Miss UGA, my whole mental health platform is about humanizing it,” Park said. “Vulnerability is not a sign of weakness, especially within males.”
As Park prepares to compete on this platform for Miss Georgia in June, she supports Handy’s local efforts for this cause.
“[Mental health] is an issue that is in the minds of a lot of students, and we can cover it up really well,” Park said. “I think it starts with people like Lamar and supporting forerunners and leaders that are actually willing to use resources and use their voice to call out an issue that is kind of tucked under the rug sometimes.”
During next weekend’s fundraiser, 20% of sales will go to the DL Handy Foundation to be donated to a local organization that supports mental health awareness in the community, according to Handy. Online shoppers can use code GIVEBACK-DXHGP throughout the weekend to support the cause.
Kendra Scott sells customizable jewelry, marketing gifts for moms and graduates. Mara Wheat, the store’s event manager, said the boutique will have sips, sweets and flowers at Saturday’s in-person event.
“We’re really focused on philanthropy, I feel like that’s the heart of our business,” Wheat said. “We wanted to work with the DL Handy Foundation because May is Mental Health Awareness Month… I really hope that [the event] brings awareness to [Handy’s] foundation.”
The DL Handy Foundation is less than a year old, but Handy’s charity work has always been a passion of his. In 2019, Handy hosted the charity event, Christmas in Paris, in Gwinnett County to raise money for The Sparrow’s Nest in Athens and Rainbow Village in Duluth, Georgia. The organizations provide food and shelter to those in need in their respective communities.
According to Handy, between 150 and 200 people attended the event, which he funded with his own savings and with help from a few sponsors.
In 2022, Handy formally established his foundation and held the second annual Christmas in Paris event, raising $10,000 for the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research based in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
This year, Handy’s goal for the fundraising event with Kendra Scott is to raise upwards of $5,000 towards mental health awareness in Athens, and is meeting with local organizations to explore potential partnerships.
The DL Handy Foundation’s work will continue after the event, with a panel discussion this summer and their annual December fundraising event, which will also raise money for mental health awareness.
Credit:Source link
