The 100 Black Men of Austin kicked off the 2021 year by volunteering at the Central Texas Food Bank Warehouse. Members worked the assembly line to box up pallets of food to be distributed. 5 hour later, 15 pallets, 630 boxes of food to provide a total of 15,000 meals.
Due to COVID-19, The 100 Black Men of Austin, Inc. had to pivot their voter registration efforts. To keep our members safe, we partnered with Defend Our Future to create a contactless effort to increase voter registration across the state of Texas and created a voter registration PSA that ran on local tv stations. A direct mailer of 61,000 pre-printed voter registration forms were mailed in July in hopes of a 5% (3,000+) return. As of December 1st, we safely registered over 5,500 voters. Of the 61,000 voter registration forms, 21% (12,810) registered and voted in the 2020 elections.
13 of our members were also registered Voter Deputy Registrars (VDRs) and volunteered in Travis County to increase in-person voter registration.
Voter PSA
Due to Travis County going to Stage 4 COVID restrictions, the 100 Black Men of Austin made a $2,000 donation to the Central Texas Food Bank in lieu of volunteering for the holidays. Central Texas Food Bank partnered with PIMCO to triple donations during the holidays. Because of their generous match, the 100 BMOA donation will provide 24,000 meals.
The 100 Black Men of Austin partnered with Knot Standard to introduce 9 high school seniors to dress etiquette. John Ballay (CEO) of Knot Standard and his team of experts shared their experiences in the clothing world as well as networking opportunities. Sessions included tying a tie, knowing what color suit to wear for every occasion, understanding the ABC model (Attention to detail, Be yourself, Confidence), and testimonials from the Knot Standard team. At the end of the sessions, Matthew Mueller (Founder & President) of Knot Standard surprised the students by awarding them a custom suit and shirt.
Special thanks to Allison Hand, Dion Lattimore, Fabrizio Lauri, Marvin Gilmore (pictured), Brooke Semenza, Texas Empowerment Academy, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Ladders for Leaders.
