Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc. Receives TJX Foundation Grant

Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc. Receives TJX Foundation Grant

Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc has received a $5,000 grant from the TJX Foundation, Inc. and the TJX Companies, Inc.

Dallas (PRWEB) October 14, 2005

As part of its Foundation mission to invest within the communities they serve, the TJX Foundation recently awarded Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc. a $5,000 grant to support the organization’s mentoring, tutoring and youth leadership programs that target disenfranchised African American male youth between the ages of six and eighteen within the South Dallas and surrounding communities.

Mentoring Brother 2 Brother programs are designed with the mission and vision to support the social, emotional and cultural well being of youth who are often targets of peer pressures toward behavior that is risky, and sometimes life-threatening. All MB2B programs (mentoring, tutoring, community service, leadership, spirituality, etc.) are designed to be strong in discipline, prevention and intervention components dealing both with the youth and their parent and/or guardian. One of the primary goals of Mentoring Brother 2 Brother program is to develop strong leadership skills in these young men in the areas of peer influence, character and integrity.

Ray Schufford, Vice-President of Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, states, “Our mentoring program specifically teaches and empowers our Mentees to develop tolerant and inclusive behaviors without compromising the uniqueness of the individual whether African-American or another race, we also teach and mentor program participants to embrace diversity, to speak out against acts of hate or discrimination of any type.” Thus, the primary goal of the TJX Foundation is to provide grants in local communities who provide services focused on programs designed to strengthen the education, empowerment and economic development of children, women and families within the communities in which they reside.

The TJX Foundation’s funding contributions are targeted to programs that help disadvantaged families, women and children, and the Foundation primarily supports organizations in communities where one or more of their retail divisions operate a store and whose programs are designed to help in one of the following areas: promotion of sound mental and physical health, provide shelter, enhance education/job readiness; and build community ties.

In early June, Ned Jones, TJMaxx Regional Vice President and Jerome Smalls, Assistant Vice President, Manager of Community Relations of The TJX Companies were able to make a site visit to one of the organization’s Saturday morning mentoring sessions in which they were able to interact with the mentees in the program as well as observe the mentoring and leadership curriculum taught during these sessions. “We were very pleased that Mr. Jones and Mr. Smalls took the time out of their very busy schedules to not only visit with us, but also interact with our mentees,” stated, Ray Schufford, Vice-President of Mentoring Brother 2 Brother. “It is very rare that a foundation would not only take the time to make a site visit on a weekend, but also spend time getting to know the people within the organization,” stated Terrence Chase, who serves as the organization’s president.

The TJX Foundation, sponsored solely by The TJX Companies, Inc., was established in 1989 to carry out the social responsibility of the Company, by providing assistance to the communities in which it operates. The overriding concern of The TJX Foundation is to support qualified, tax exempt, 501(c)(3), nonprofit organizations that provide services which promote and improve the quality of life for children, women and families in need.

In addition to the recent grant, from the TJX Foundation, Inc. and the TJX Companies, Inc. Mentoring Brother 2 Brother also recently partnered with several Dallas/Forth Worth area TJ Maxx stores to provide over 1,000 pieces of clothing, shoes and toys to displaced Hurricane Katrina evacuees that are currently displaced within the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area. “We are looking forward to a long partnership between the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother organization and the TJX Foundation and Companies to further impact the lives of not only our mentees in the program, but other disadvantaged, low-income and racially and ethically diverse populations within the metroplex area as well,” stated Tamara Johnson, Mentoring Brother 2 Brother board member.

About The TJX Foundation, Inc.

The TJX Foundation, Inc. has a primary mission of contributing to programs that help disadvantaged women, children and families in communities in which they do business. The Foundation’s mission is to promote sound mental and physical health, provide shelter, enhance education and job readiness, and build community ties. For more information about The TJX Foundation, please contact, Christine A. Strickland, TJX Foundation Manager, The TJX Foundation, c/o The TJX Companies, Inc., 770 Cochituate Road, Route X5N, Framingham, MA 01701.

About The TJX Companies, Inc.

The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the United States and worldwide. As of January 31, 2004, the Company operates 745 T. J. Maxx, 673 Marshalls, 182 HomeGoods, 99 A. J. Wright, and 31 Bob’s Stores in the United States. In Canada, the company operates 185 Winners and HomeSense stores, and in Europe, 147 T. K. Maxx stores. To learn more about The TJX Companies visit http://www. tjx. com (http://www. tjx. com).

About Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc.

Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc. is a Dallas, Texas area based 501c3 non-profit organization, created in 1999 to provide mentoring, leadership, character and life development skills to disenfranchised and low-income African American youth within the South Dallas and surrounding metroplex communities. To find out more information about the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother programs and organization, visit http://MB2B. org (http://MB2B. org)

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