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Daily Breeze – 1/07/2012
Ray Charles Foundation to present LAPD with $1M grant at Gardena church
01/07/2012 03:18:42 PM
A charitable foundation established by singer Ray Charles will present the Los Angeles Police Department’s Cadet Program with a $1 million grant at a Gardena church on Sunday, it was announced Saturday.
The presentation of the grant will be made at 11 a.m. at the City of Refuge Church, 14527 S. San Pedro St., where LAPD Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger is expected to receive it. The $1 million grant is expected to support the Cadet Program for three years.
Ray Charles, born Ray Charles Robinson, died in 2004 at the age of 73. Starting in the 1950s, he fused music from the worlds of rhythm and blues and gospel into crossover country and pop hits and used his talents to become one of the first black artists to break into formerly whites-only Top 40 station playlists.
“Ray Charles loved and supported the LAPD,” said Valerie Ervin, president of the Ray Charles Foundation. “Their high level of success with the Cadet Program in reaching young people as well as their parents, who come from underserved communities and at-risk environments, is exactly the type of program he supported.”
According to the Police Department, in the past four years more than 6,000 students have graduated from the Cadet Academy, all under the age of 21.
“We are pleased to count the Ray Charles Foundation as a principal partner in our mission to provide youth with opportunities for learning and leadership,” Paysinger said. “The foundation has a strong record of supporting and leading education programs that strive to deliver a better future for young people by helping them channel their energies into community service, quality learning and leadership development.”