Boulé Foundation Donates $50,000 Dollars for Voter Education

Grand Sire Archon Applauds

In one of its largest donations ever, The Boulé Foundation of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity last week (September 25) donated $50,000 to the non-partisan National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP), a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization dedicated to increasing Black civic engagement and voter participation.

Grand Sire Archon Robert L. Harris applauded this “insightful step by the Boulé Foundation to ensure voters understand the historical sacrifices made by our ancestors who fought and died for the precious right to vote. We cannot sit on the sideline” continued Harris “as numerous voters fail to comprehend the seriousness of the age in which we live and the importance of participating in the electoral process to select people who will govern in the interests of all people, especially those who are often voiceless.”

NCBCP is a Coalition of 80 national organizations founded in 1976. Its two major programs this year are “Unity ’08 Black Civic Engagement and Empowerment Campaign” and “Operation Big Vote Training Academy.”

Eddie N. Williams, a Past Grand Sire Archon of Sigma Pi Phi and member of the Boulé Foundation board, presented the $50,000 check to Ms. Melanie Campbell, CEO and Executive Director of the Coalition, and Richard Womack, Interim Chair.

Ms. Campbell expressed great appreciation to Sigma Pi Phi and said: “I hope that our unique partnership will encourage other organizations in our community to assume greater responsibility for funding civic education. Our mission is to encourage full participation in a barrier free democratic process for all Americans. Through educational programs and leadership training, the Coalition works to expand, strengthen and empower our communities to make voting and civic participation a cultural responsibility and tradition.”

The presentation ceremony was hosted by Dr. Dorothy I. Height, legendary Chair and President Emerita of the National Council of Negro Women. She noted the extraordinary influence of the Fraternity and commended its Foundation’s decision to support civic education. Mr. Williams, who led the effort to secure the donation, said it is entirely appropriate for the nation’s oldest black fraternity to take a leadership role in this effort to strengthen America by strengthening our community. He said, “the future of our children, and their children, depends on whether we can successfully engage our people in the civic process which is tied to our destiny as a people.