ADVISORY, May 21, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) --
THE POSSE FOUNDATION HONORS
RICO BLANCAFLOR, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY POSSE ALUMNUS
GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO., Award accepted by LLOYD BLANKFEIN, CHAIRMAN AND
CEO
DEVAL PATRICK, GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSSETTS, and
DIANE PATRICK, FIRST LADY OF MASSACHUSSETTS; PARTNER, ROPES & GRAY
LLP
NANCY J. VICKERS, PRESIDENT, BRYN MAWR COLLEGE
AT THE 2007 POSSE FOUNDATION GALA,
EMCEED BY LESLEY STAHL of "60 MINUTES"
SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY STEPHEN COLBERT of THE COLBERT REPORT
WHAT: The annual Posse Foundation Gala: An Evening of Stars. Each
year the Posse Gala honors individuals and organizations that have
made an extraordinary difference in the field of education or have
been incredible role models for young people.
Posse is a youth leadership development and college access program.
Posse finds young leaders from urban public schools and sends them in
teams (Posses) to some of the top colleges and universities in the
nation. Since 1989, over 1800 young people have won more than $175
million in leadership scholarships from 26 elite colleges and
universities. Today Posse recruits students from Boston, Chicago,
Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C. and just launched its
Atlanta office in April.
WHY: Posse exists to help address persistent issues of inequity in
access to higher education. Posse focuses on helping top colleges to
expand their definition of merit by including leadership and extra-
curricular achievement as part of the admissions process. Posse
develops teams of young people (Posses) to act as both traveling
support systems for each other and also as catalysts for positive
change on university campuses.
* The Posse Foundation has achieved phenomenal success with
a 90 percent college graduation rate-far higher than the
national average.
* Goldman, Sachs & Co. has been a major supporter of Posse
for many years. The Goldman Sachs Foundation helped to
launch Posse Los Angeles with a $1 million grant. In
addition to their generous donations, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
has hired 31 Posse Scholars as interns over the past three
years and four Posse Alumni full time.
* Bryn Mawr College is an extraordinary Posse partner
institution, and under President Vickers' leadership has
awarded more than 60 full tuition scholarships to Posse
Scholars from Boston.
* First Lady Diane and Governor Deval Patrick have been
strong advocates for Posse. Mrs. Patrick sits on Posse's
national board of directors. Both have been involved with
the program for several years. As the First Lady and
Governor of Massachusetts, they have made the promotion of
equity in education a top priority statewide.
WHO:
* Lesley Stahl, Correspondent, 60 Minutes
* Stephen Colbert , The Colbert Report
* Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
* Nancy J. Vickers, President, Bryn Mawr College
* Michael Ainslie, Chair, The Posse Foundation National
Board of Directors
* Deborah Bial, Founder and President, The Posse Foundation
* Posse Foundation Alumni
WHEN: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 WHERE: Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers
6:30-7:30 p.m. cocktails 23rd St. and West Side
7:30-10 p.m. dinner and Highway
program New York, NY 10011