 Wells College News
Wells College student La'Ronica Craven ’21, a senior from Auburn, N.Y., was recently featured in the Citizen newspaper as one of several young women of color from the area who received support from the Beverly L. Smith Empowerment Initiative. In addition to financial support, she received mentoring and other resources from the initiative’s director, Melody Smith Johnson. Click HERE to read more from WELLS COLLEGE.
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 Article by David Wilcox
La'Ronica Craven doesn't even know how Melody Smith Johnson found her. But ever since, Johnson has been there for her. Craven, a senior at Wells College, is one of six young women of color who will graduate college this year with the support of the Beverly L. Smith Empowerment Initiative. Click HERE to read more from The Citizen - AuburnPub.Com  The Citizen Editorial Board
HIT: The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center reports that a recent hat and scarf giveaway did more than distribute warm clothing, it also warmed the hearts of the recipients and the artists who helped make it happen. A group of knitters connected to the Schweinfurth made more than 100 hats, scarves, shawls and gloves this fall, and Melody Johnson and LeeAnn Slomski recently added glittering extras to make the items even more special. People who received the clothes expressed appreciation for the effort of strangers, and the artists felt pretty good about the exchanges, as well. “I know that this one act of kindness could make a world of difference," Johnson said. "It's powerful.” Click HERE to read more from The Citizen - AuburnPub.com  Melody Johnson, organizer of My Hands Warm Your Heart – For Women by Women hat and scarf giveaway, arrived at the Rescue Mission shelter in Auburn Wednesday afternoon and started setting up tables with the knitted items she would be handing out.
As soon as she was done, women began showing up. Jennifer Baker came with her 10-year-old daughter and tried on a blue hat with spirals hanging off the top. Her daughter took one look at the hat and grabbed it from her mother’s head, saying. “That’s mine!” ... Click HERE to read more from LifeintheFingerLakes.Com  Video Interview by Mike Kuehner
Community is all about camaraderie and coming together to help one another. In Auburn, one woman's efforts are not only providing warmth to the less fortunate, but sharing a sense of pride. Our chief photographer Mike Kuehner introduces to today's everyday hero, Melody Johnson. Click HERE to watch video from Spectrum News  Article by Karen Macier
Melody Smith Johnson is working on a similar project to benefit the Auburn Rescue Mission. “My Hands Warm Your Heart — By Women for Women,” in partnership with the Schweinfurth Art Center, is working to collect handcrafted scarves and knitted outwear that will then be donated to the women served by the programs of the Rescue Mission. ... In addition to her retail business, Melody is the founder of the Beverly L. Smith Empowerment Initiative. Named in honor of her late mother, this program provides scholarships, mentoring and counseling to young women of color. In the past five years, it has granted some $70,000. Click HERE to read more from The Citizen - AuburnPub.Com  Review by Linda Lowen
Sometimes the conversations we have with strangers are the most revealing, allowing us to open up about worries, hurts, and fears without feeling judged. Suppose you spilled your heart out to one such person -- a wise older neighbor, let’s say -- and formed a casual acquaintance over the years, trusting in her to keep your secrets. And then, one day, you come home to your neighborhood where police cruisers and TV news vans cluster around an ambulance as paramedics shield a white-shrouded body from view. It’s your neighbor, but she’s not who you thought she was. She’s been living incognito with her own secret: she’s a revered, iconic, influential Black writer, up there with Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou. ... Click HERE to read more from Syracuse.com  Article by David Wilcox
For Melody Smith Johnson, celebrating the centennial of women's suffrage is about the future as much as it's about the past. Johnson, of Weedsport, will be one of several performers at a local live preshow to Women Take the Stage, a national virtual concert and rally taking place Wednesday, Aug. 26. Women March in Seneca Falls and partners organized the event to inspire voting by women and for women in November, and to celebrate this month's centennial of the 19th Amendment granting women that right. ... She's also the founder and CEO of the Beverly L. Smith Empowerment Initiative, an Auburn-based nonprofit that connects young women of color from inner cities across the country to resources that can remove barriers to them reaching their potential. It's from that perspective that she sees an opportunity to send an important message to youth at Women Take the Stage, she said. ... Click HERE to read more from The Citizen - AuburnPub.com  Article by David Wilcox
... Black is Beautiful is a worldwide collaboration led by Weathered Souls Brewing, of San Antonio. It provides the recipe for the beer, an imperial stout. And in return, the black-owned brewery is asking participants to donate all proceeds to local organizations that work toward equality and inclusion — and also to commit to that work themselves. ... The State Street brewpub is donating proceeds from the beer to two local programs led by Black women: The Beverly L. Smith Empowerment Initiative and "Behind the Woman." The first is a leadership organization founded by Melody R. Smith Johnson, of Auburn, and the brewery's donation will fund a scholarship for La'Ronica Craven, a student at Wells College. Click HERE to read more from The Citizen - AuburnPub.Com  Article by Monica Manney
With a rainbow heart, and Harriet Tubman greeting customers, Prison City Brewing is no stranger to taking a stand against hate in any form. ... “The guidelines were to use their recipe an imperial stout and they ask that everyone use the same label.” They were also required to donate a portion of the proceeds to a local Black-owned organization. Prison City Brewing chose to donate 100% of the proceeds to two Black female-run programs. They chose The Beverley L. Smith Empowerment initiative. “We work with inner-city young women of color specifically, and exclusively to help provide foundations for success,” said Melody Smith Johnson, founder of the initiative. Click HERE to read more from Spectrum News1 |
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