Thurgood Marshall College Fund Gala Raises Nearly $5M

By Angela Jones

The highly anticipated Thurgood Marshall College Fund Awards Gala took place in Washington, DC last month. The sold-out gala, attended by more than 1500 people, raised over $4.8 million. A $75,000 donation was given by the National Hockey League and UPS, while MillerCoors stroked a check for $1.2 million.
Fox News Anchor and Political Analyst Juan Williams graciously stepped in for would-be host Robin Roberts, co-Anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Roberts was reported to be on 24-hour alert after the terror attacks in Paris and was unable to attend the charity event.
During the evening, a North Carolina A&T business student was surprised with a scholarship from Daymond John, founder of FUBU and Shark on ABC’s series, Shark Tank. John received an award at the gala, as did John O. Brennan, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Brennan attended the event to accept the TMCF National Hero Award, which he received for his interest in increasing diversity at the CIA.
Dr. David Hall, President of the University of the Virgin Islands; Thomas A. Cole, Partner and Former Chair of the Executive Committee of Sidley Austin LLP; and Samuel R. Allen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Deere & Company also received awards.
The Awards Gala took place on the final day of the TMCF Leadership Institute, which was attended by more than 300 HBCU students. During the Leadership Institute, Apple awarded 32 HBCU students $25,000 college scholarships for their senior year and internship opportunities at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.
“To me, being an Apple Scholar means the difference between a person walking in someone else’s footsteps and the person making the footsteps,” remarked Zanetta Tyler. Tyler, majoring in computer science, is an Apple Scholar and a junior at North Carolina A&T State University.
Apple has made a $40 million dollar multi-year commitment to students and faculty of four-year HBCUs.