Make a Difference
Hello, We are James Gray and Julia Battle Co-Chairs of the NAACP ACT-SO New Orleans Committee.
The NAACP ACT-SO (Afro-Academic Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) is an enrichment program, grounded in Social Justice, and dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by providing opportunities for 9th – 12th graders who are guided to engage in critical, evaluative dialog with community members in their areas of expertise. Through competition and enrichment programs, our New Orleans ACT-SO encourages high academic and cultural achievement among high school students.
For the 2022-2023 school year, over 150 of our youth in the City of New Orleans registered to participate in one or more of the 33 ACT-SO competition categories. 44 Schools in the Greater New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Mississippi areas were represented. Students registered for 26/33 categories
Categories include the Performing Arts (classical and contemporary music, dance, dramatics), Visual Arts (painting, drawing, photography, sculpture), Humanities (writing poetry/short stories), Entrepreneurship, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). This year, the categories were expanded to include Culinary Arts.
Over 70 professionals from the greater New Orleans Area are and have donated their time as mentors and judges for the local ACT-SO competition. Their in-kind donations alone totaled over 30 thousand dollars.
On April 22, 2023 of the 150 students registered 100 competitors showed up and showed out for our local competition! Thirty of those students competed in multiple categories. The 2023 NAACP New Orleans ACT-SO competition, was the most extensive and inclusive ACT-SO competition/collaboration in the city’s history.
The final results yielded 18 Gold, 15 Silver, and 14 Bronze Medalists. Our 18 Gold Medalists will go to the NAACP National Convention in Boston Mass (July 25 through July 29, 2023), to compete for ACT-SO scholarships and national recognition.
And here is where you, the community, at large, can help. While our parents and community members continue to contribute financially to supporting our talented youth, the NAACP New Orleans ACT SO also needs your support. As deadlines for the national competition approach, we find ourselves short of our financial goals.
It costs 2500.00 to sponsor the travel, lodging and food for a student to the national competition. We want all of our students regardless of socio-economic status to be able to go. We know that you, our extended community believe in supporting our children, Your donation could be that one integral part of ensuring that our students are given the opportunity, to be the best they can be by representing New Orleans nationwide!
We, thank you in advance for your generous donations. We are grateful for whatever you can give. All funds donated will be used for student expenses. Funds donated over expenditures will be shared with the New Orleans NAACP Youth Council to fund our recruiting, social justice and educational projects beginning in August 2023.