D2
The Afro-American, November 7, 2015 - November 13, 2015
Black-Owned Business
Parties Are Serious Business for D.C. Marketing Entrepreneur By Christina Sturdivant Special to the AFRO While D.C. has its fair share of party promotion companies, the Urbane Lifestyle and Entertainment Group does more than promote. “We offer marketing services to a lot of corporate organizations and non-profit organizations,” Mitchel Brooks IV, told the AFRO. So it’s not just about getting people into a club and packing them in like sardines, he continued, “We look to direct the event and advocate for our clients whether they’re
“We look to direct the event and advocate for our clients whether they’re more social or social justice [driven].” – Mitchel Brooks
more social or social justice [driven]. “Organizations such as the National Bar Association, for example, have come to us to curate a [Congressional Black Caucus] event. They came to us for campaign marketing, collateral, graphic design, website creation and outreach.” Courtesy photo Not only does Mitchel Brooks IV is cothe Urbane Group founder of the Urbane Group. focus on producing events for clients, but creating a memorable environment for guests. “Oftentimes, folks in Washington, D.C. – especially these highly educated, upwardly mobile professionals – go out to stand around. They get too
concerned or caught up in who’s there and who will see them,” he said. “But I strongly believe you get a vibe and overall feeling when you walk into one of our projects compared to when you walk into any random happy hour or night life event on a Thursday night. We’ve had customers and brands that tell us they feel a difference. They’re able to let loose and have fun.” Brooks co-founded the entertainment and marketing company while studying to receive his MBA at Florida A&M University. “I really wanted to create unique experiences that were missing from the marketplace in Tallahassee,” he said. The company’s first event took place at FAMU’s homecoming in 2009. After graduation, he relocated to D.C. With a team of 26 people, the company expanded to Houston, Chicago, Charlotte, St. Louis, and Miami. “Folks know that when we’re producing a project, it’s going to be as one of a kind and authentic as humanly possible, and I think that’s what folks have come to appreciate about our brand in D.C.” For more information, visit urbaneworldwide.com.
Veterans’ Day Continued from D1
and their families by helping them make a seamless transition from military to civilian life. The organization is focused on meeting women veteran’s personal needs through advocacy, empowerment, interaction, outreach, and unification. “As women veterans, a lot of time we don’t always put our veteran status on our arms, we always put our family before ourselves,” said Ginger Miller, president and founder of the organization. Women Veterans Interactive grew from Miller’s personal experience as a U.S. Navy veteran
who served from 19891992. Miller describes her transition from the military into civilian life as an “arduous feat.” According to Miller, in the early ‘90s there weren’t many resources for military families transitioning to the civilian life which, unfortunately, resulted in families becoming homeless. Forced to become the sole-breadwinner for her two sons and a mentally-disabled husband, suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Syndrome, Miller said her family was homeless as well. “When we were homeless, I worked three jobs, I went to school full-time to pull my family
Budgeting Continued from D1
According to the Junior Achievement of Greater Washington website, another finance park is scheduled to open on the fourth floor of the new Thomas Edison High School of Technology building in Wheaton, Maryland
out of that homeless state,” Miller said. Miller’s personal woes highlighted the lack of resources for veteran families at the time. This led to her creation of a nonprofit organization called John 14:2, which is also a reference to a verse in the King James Bible that speaks of sheltering the homeless. Indicative of the verse, John 14:2 is dedicated to supporting homeless veterans. The organization provides veteran families with information on affordable housing options, and was instrumental in starting the first Prince
Georges County homeless veteran “Stand Down” initiative. Miller said she felt the organization was still missing an important component. She didn’t feel there was a support system for women. Female veterans, like men, often need mental and psychological support, but their role in the family takes precedence over those needs. “My post-traumatic stress disorder, my [mental] disability, and my life weren’t as important as the things that were going on in my family life,” she said. Historically, homeless veteran services were geared
towards men. However women veterans sustain the same types of injuries as their male counterparts, both mental and physical. The American Legion reports that one in every 10 homeless veterans under the age of 45 is now a woman. According to the Legion, there were 1.8 million women veterans in the nation in 2008. Now, the Department of Veterans Affairs reports there are more than 2 million female veterans in the United States, Puerto Rico, and foreign territories. Miller said women veterans can look to the Women Veterans Initiative
Halloween
Open Enrollment
trailer that had been turned into a haunted house. They took tours through a Halloween Metro bus decorated with spider webs and skeletons and climbed atop a huge yellow steamroller to blow the horn.
individuals and families eligible for Medicaid—can enroll through DCHealthLink.com at any point. Burwell said that because of the Affordable Care Act “a young person graduating from college can stay on their parents health care plan until they are 26-years-old, a young Mom will be cancer-free because she could afford a checkup, and many Americans don’t have to worry about falling into debt because of health care costs.” The secretary said the open enrollment period ends on Jan. 31, 2016. She said the federal health care program had some problems in the past but they have been addressed. “We have fewer people
Continued from D1 during the fall of 2017. The first finance park in the area opened in Fairfax, Virginia in October 2010. Washington D.C. Editor LaTrina Antoine contributed to this article.
for financial literacy, homelessness prevention, emergency food, health, and wellness, and more. Miller was recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama as a White House Champion of Change for Women Veterans. Recently, actor and director Tyler Perry made a donation of $20,000 to the organization. The upcoming event is designed to reach women veterans through an educational expo featuring a career fair and information on support services, financial literacy, housing options, and more. For more information, go to eventbrite.com.
Continued from D1
“There are 17.6 million Americans [who] have coverage because of the Affordable Care Act.” – U.S. HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell
Howard University News Service
Mayor Muriel Bowser and Ward 8 Councilwoman LaRuby May take in the festivities.
starts friday, NOVEMBEr 6
CHECK LOCaL ListiNGs fOr tHEatErs aNd sHOWtiMEs
“I thought it was a great concept and a great idea to have everyone together and there’s a real sense of community here,” said Nicole Luke, who blogs about community events using the name D.C. Thrifty Mom. Luke said she came to hand out candy and allow her two daughters to trick or treat. Dorothy Wortham and her son and daughter traveled from Clinton, Maryland to participate in the event. Wortham’s son was dressed as a Star Wars character. “LaRuby May is a member of my church at Allen Chapel AME Church,” she explained. “We did it last year on a smaller scale on our church parking lot. So, Ms. May wanted to make it bigger and invite more people so they moved it out here. I love it and I think it’s a great idea. “My son is having a ball. We’re trying to get him to leave, and he doesn’t want to. We’re having a great time.” For many, the key element was that the event was a safe space for children to enjoy Halloween. “This is a safe way to do things,” said Denise Monroe who came with her husband and three grandchildren. “I heard about it and here we are.” Ro Zebina, president of the Deuces Wild Motorcycle Club, and his members, dressed in emblem-covered hoodies and vests, brought along about 20 motorcycles. They handed out candy and posed with children for pictures. “I hope that there are more events like this for the kids to come out and see that there’s positivity and different things going for them,” Zebina said.
that are uninsured and that is a good problem to have,” Burwell said. “We are working to get out the word to people who are not insured that there is financial assistance available and that 7 out of 10 Americans have plans that cost $75 or less.” She said the federal web site has been improved and access to the site’s financial tools is available to consumers via the Internet and social media. The secretary said that Americans should be able to enroll easily by computer and smartphone or with the people who have been trained as navigators or in-person assisters. Norton agrees with Burwell, noting that the District’s health exchange program has a powerful constituency. “Members of Congress and their staffs are customers of the D.C. Health Link,” the delegate said. “A lot of my colleagues on the Hill complain about the District but I have yet to have one member of Congress complain about D.C. Health Link.” Mila Kofman, the executive director of the city’s health exchange, said that another powerful District resident uses her agency’s plans. “President Obama enrolled in 2013 and re-enrolled in 2014,” she said. Todd said that his ward has the second largest number of senior citizens in the city and the Affordable Care Act has served them well. “Those senior citizens, as well as business owners and young people, are getting the type of affordable health care they need,” he said.