nonprofit

Get Ready Fest - Brings 800 Camden families wellness resources, food and essentials.

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Since 2014, Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins has brought Get Ready Fest, his foundation’s signature charity event, to cities across the country. In Camden, New Jersey, 35 percent of households live below the poverty level and far too many children go to bed hungry. This is why The Malcom Jenkins Foundation and PepsiCo partnered with Feed the Children to kick off “Get Ready Fest: Helping Feed Camden” providing 800 Camden-area families with wellness resources, food and essentials.The event kicked off at 12 noon at Antioch Baptist Church, 690 Ferry Ave, Camden, NJ.“The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation (TMJF) is proud to team up and partner for this important event in the Camden area,” said Malcolm Jenkins, a New Jersey native.  Thursday's event was its first in Camden.

"We thought it was very important (to come to Camden)," he said. "It's that city that's right there on the other side of the bridge that you forget about, but me being from Jersey, we wanted to do something in New Jersey specifically and Camden just made sense to us.  Despite the rain, which Antioch pastor John Parker joked "baptized us all," about 800 families turned out for boxes of food, toiletries, books, school uniforms and supplies, and help with an array of social services.

Each family identified by Antioch Baptist Church received:

  • One 25-pound box of nonperishable food items
  • One 15-pound box of personal-care items
  • One box of AVON products
  • Books from Disney Publishing Worldwide
  • Frito-Lay snacks
  • PepsiCo beverages
  • Life Original Cereal
  • Quaker Standard Oats
  • Chewy Granola Bars
  • Variety of Campbell Soup products

In addition to providing enough food and daily essentials, the Get Ready Fest TM event offers an array of health-related services and information through the support of various community resource partners. These services include health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., education and social service information relating to GED, job training, and senior and veteran support services. Additionally, the event includes a children’s resource area that provides services, children’s books, school supplies, haircuts, face painting, and snacks.

 

Super Bowl Party For The Homeless

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On Sunday Feb.4, 2018 at 5:00 PM, Chosen 300 Ministries, Inc. hosted its Annual Super Bowl Party For The Homeless. While Malcolm Jenkins was tackling the Patriots on the field he was defending the needs of others by making sure they had a enjoyable experience at the Chosen 300 Super Bowl Party.  This year Chosen 300's Annual Super Bowl Party was sponsored solely by The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation.  
 
The day started with a Sunday Morning Worship at 10:00 AM and all who attended received a wrist band to re-enter for the party at 5PM.  
 
Event Schedule: 
  • 5:00 PM - Doors Open for Homeless Guest
  • 5:30 PM  - Pre-Game Lunch
  • 6:30 PM - Super Bowl Kick Off
  • Half-Time - A Full Course BBQ Chicken Dinner. 10:00 PM or End of Super Bowl - Homeless Guest Depart
Executive Director Brian Jenkins (no relation) states "many of us have the opportunity to gather together with friends to watch the game, but for those who live in the streets and shelters, they do not share this same pleasure. Chosen 300 uses this day as an avenue to provide hope and help to those in need." 
 
Chosen 300 Ministries is a inter-denominational ministry that is well known for its work in Center City Philadelphia, West Philadelphia & Pottstown; distributing more than 150,000 meals a year to the homeless of our region.   The organization also provides hunger relief in Guyana, Jamaica, India, Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda & South Africa.  For more Information on Chosen 300 log on to www.chosen300.org 

Malcolm Jenkins Showcases Sports Science To Local Students

For the second year, The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation teamed up with Drexel University's ExCITe Center to host elementary and middle school students from the Philadelphia Promise Zone to provide them with the ability to learn using the S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts, athletics, and math) method. After a successful one-week pilot program in 2016, the Young Dragons Summer S.T.E.A.M. day camp was expanded to six weeks with two weeks focused on S.T.E.A.M.-based curriculum."Our school system is forced to think about budgets and performance, and what happens is it just becomes a pipeline instead of a true educational institution. As long as they're pushing kids through, that's all that matters. They're missing a bunch of talent, especially in these underserved communities," Jenkins said. "There are talented and bright minds that need to be cultivated or given an opportunity to grow. This is an opportunity for us to spark some of those minds and let the kids go where they may."On Friday, Jenkins hosted over 40 of the students at the NovaCare Complex to show how the Eagles' Sports Science program incorporates all of the elements of S.T.E.A.M. Jenkins had a lightbulb moment while working out one day at the team's practice facility this offseason. He saw the monitor which displays a player’s power output while lifting weights and the students came to mind.
  "I thought this would be an awesome experience to bring the kids here and talk to them about sports science and what goes into practice, training, recovery, and rest," Jenkins said.Head strength coach Josh Hingst and director of high performance Shaun Huls embraced the idea and they did a similar presentation to the one that they give the players.The students spent time in the indoor bubble learning how to stretch properly before running through an obstacle course. They received healthy eating tips and grasped the importance of getting the proper amount of sleep every night. Jenkins admitted though that his favorite part of the day, however, was seeing the kids' faces light up with the technology that is used in the weight room."Coming to Philly, we realized that there is a jewel of resources right in the heart of the city that many kids don't have access to," said Gwendolyn Jenkins, Malcolm's mother and the president of The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation. "A part of the goal with the S.T.E.A.M. program is to provide them access to resources right there in their neighborhoods and to expose them to a way of learning that would introduce them to the industry of S.T.E.A.M."It can help them make choices and deal with challenges in everyday life that they learn through S.T.E.A.M., but also make good education choices and hopefully will inspire them to spark something of interest like maybe a career in science or math because they didn't have the knowledge or the understanding of how it plays with everything else they do in life. That's the goal."The Philadelphia Promise Zone is a two-mile section of West Philadelphia that was designated by the Obama administration because of an extremely high poverty rate of 51 percent, nearly double that of the rest of the city. The initiative helps connect local residents with organizations that work to provide better education, jobs, housing, and health services."The biggest thing we want to do with the foundation is give underserved children experiences. Personally, I know how all of these experiences I've had as an adult have made me who I am. I know how much a difference it has made in my life. I really want to give kids the opportunities that they otherwise wouldn't have," Malcolm Jenkins said.Jenkins was the recipient of the Byron “Whizzer” White Award in 2017, which is the "highest honor" given by the NFLPA to "the player who is just as dedicated off the field as he is on the field through community service in their team cities and hometowns." Since launching The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation in 2010, Jenkins has created special programs and events in his hometown of Piscataway, New Jersey and the three places where he's played football at the college and professional levels: Columbus, Ohio; New Orleans, and Philadelphia."I think we all have an obligation to use our platform, whatever it is, to make a difference to others and in the lives of others and to make this place we're living in a better place," Gwendolyn Jenkins said. "He has a large platform and he's using it to the fullest. That's all you can ask for, really. Making a difference. That's what life is about. How many lives did you impact? I think he's doing a great job. As a mom, I'm proud of that moreso than the football."Original article by Chris McPherson: http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Malcolm-Jenkins-Showcases-Sports-Science-To-Local-Students/2f2d77a9-732f-47ba-b4b4-1d4f3c1c2b8e

OPINION: “I was awarded $2.00 for TOPS, a dollar a semester”

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Karriem Bennet, senior at Warren Easton High School in New Orleans, reads her letter at a campaign rally protesting cuts to Louisiana’s merit scholarship program, TOPS, on April 4, 2017, at the Peoples Health New Orleans Jazz Market.
 

House Education ChairRep. Nancy Landry109 S. College RoadLafayette, LA 70503.Dear Rep. Nancy Landry,

I support one of the Cowen Institute’s recommendations of Instituting a Sliding Scale. If legislators want to ensure all students can remain eligible for the program, regardless of income, I recommend that the state create a means-tested sliding scale that offers students scholarship support based on their family income. All students, regardless of family income, could still qualify for TOPS, but the amount of the award would vary — students coming from families with lower incomes would receive larger rewards than students from families with higher incomes.When Mr. Patrick Taylor conceived the plan in 1988 and the state implemented it as Act 789, TOPS guaranteed access to college for low- and moderate-income students based on their academic achievements, and not on their ability to pay. In 1997, the governor enacted Act 1375 and Act 287 — removing the income cap. I personally believe the income cap was removed to assist the wealthier citizens of Louisiana. The wealthier citizens did not qualify for Pell Grant assistance, so their friends in the legislature gave them some assistance.According to a U.S. News & World Report “Best States” list in February 2017, Louisiana is the worst state in the country according to a new analysis based on health care, education, infrastructure, crime and other quality-of-life measures. The TOPS program afforded college-age students the ability to stay home or at least in the state to attend college. The state should be thrilled that we are staying home and attending state schools. If TOPS is going to give us $2.00 a semester, then we can go to schools out of the state. If we have to take out loans to attend college we might as well leave the worst-rated state and experience one of the better 49 states.I consider myself to be a fair person; this is why I prefer the instituting of a sliding scale for TOPS. Yes, TOPS started with an income cap, I would qualify under the income cap. I just believe that if we want to make the state a better place for ALL to live, we need to allow financial assistance to ALL that meet the academic criteria. We have to keep our brightest and driven commodities, the youth, in the state. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” — Nelson Mandela. Let’s use TOPS to help us to change Louisiana’s ranking from worst state to best state.Sincerely,Karriem A. BennettWarren Easton Charter High School

Malcolm Jenkins returns to give back to Columbus

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Get Ready Fest CollageFormer Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins remembers the thrill of being the 14th overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft. But seven years since, and a day after the 2016 first round that saw five Buckeyes taken, Jenkins was gaining satisfaction of a different sort.This morning he was at the Columbus Urban League parking lot off Mount Vernon Avenue helping coordinate the second Get Ready Fest, a collaboration of his Malcolm Jenkins Foundation, Feed the Children and Teleperformance. With its mission to distribute a 25-pound box of food and a 10-pound box of personal hygiene products to 1,200 pre-identified families who can use the help, the orderly line stretched down the block.“We’re feeding and helping over 4,500 people,” Jenkins said. “They get not only the food, but they get resources, they get haircuts, help services -- everything that they need to really get a kick start.“Everything that we do we focus on youth, and families, and under-served communities because, you know, I’ve been blessed. There are people in need that look up to me as an athlete, that look up to everybody (including the hundreds of volunteers involved), and this is an opportunity for us to give back.” Ironically, it was his being drafted in 2009 that helped set him on this path. He was taken by the New Orleans Saints, thrusting him into a city still in the early years of its recovery from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.“Seven years ago I was getting drafted to a city that had a lot of need,” Jenkins said. “I got to look around the community and could see there were people that needed help. So I did what little part that I could.“And through the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation we just started to give back to all the communities that have affected me.”That list includes New Orleans; his hometown area in and around Piscataway, N.J.,; Philadelphia, where he now plays for the Eagles; and Columbus, where he was a star for the Buckeyes. The program is in its fourth year overall.Asked whether he’d recommend becoming involved in such endeavors to those drafted on Thursday night, Jenkins said, “I think it’s all personal, and it all depends on what you want to invest your money in.“For me, I like to invest not only my money but my time into other people. I know that some people, whether it be (his former OSU coach and now Youngstown State University president) Jim Tressel, be it my high school coaches, my parents, they invested time in me, and I know the impact that it’s had on my life. So that’s what I like to give back to other people.”His friend and former New Orleans teammate Will Smith, who played at Ohio State before him, had been involved in several chartitable endeavors during his playing days and since his career ended after the 2013 season. But Smith, 34, was shot to death on a New Orleans street several weeks ago after a late-night traffic accident escalated into a confrontation with the driver who had hit him from behind.“Unfortunately I don’t know what the lesson is from this tragedy beside the fact life is short and you’ve got to enjoy the time you have with your friends and family,” Jenkins said. “It’s a tragic situation, and it brings to light to a bigger narrative about violence and some senseless acts.“That’s because it’s one thing to read a news clip about Will Smith’s passing, but it’s a different thing to go to his funeral and see his three kids and his wife who will never have him again. That’s something that I think we’ve become numb to. ... Will Smiths happen across this country every single day, and it’s unfortunate.”Jenkins, meanwhile, is an NFL veteran and Pro Bowl performer who has persevered for two teams during the past seven years, so he had some advice for those being drafted this week.“One, enjoy the ride,” he said. “There’s a lot of things, a lot of pressure, a lot of tugging and pulling -- everything is really set up for you to fail, basically. But you’ve got to enjoy it. And then, just be smart. Have a plan, because football is very, very short.“The law of averages say you’re only going to play for three years; if you play any more than that you’re lucky. But you’ll most likely be done playing when you’re 35. There’s a lot of life to live after that.  We get kind of brainwashed to think that football is all we can do. Enjoy it while you have it, take advantage of it while you have it, but also prepare for a life afterwards.”Original article taken from Columbus Dispatch | Ohio State Buckeyextra: http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2016/04/30/0430-malcolm-jenkins.htmltmay@dispatch.com@TIM_MAYsports

Malcolm Jenkins Foundation Awards Scholarships to NOLA Youth

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The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation recognized high school seniors for their commitment to academic excellence, leadership and community through its Project R.E.W.A.R.D.S. program that teams up with the Nationally acclaimed  College Track Program. Twelve (12) students each received $1,000 scholarships, ($12,000) to start them on their way toward financing their college education.The 2015 Project R.E.W.A.R.D.S scholarship winners marks the fourth year that The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation has helped deserving youth pursue their higher educational aspirations at an accredited college or university of their choice.

Click here to view photos by KatRamPhotography 

2015 Malcolm Jenkins Scholars:

High Academic AchievementYolanda AndradeDiamond LandryDewey SampsonBianca AncarAlonzo BoothJeremiah WallaceMost ImprovedImani PittmanJordan FlemingOvercoming the OddsTia CageRobert BurnsideLauren BaumanOlivia Douglas