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Additionally, the theme of the 2016 Ford Freedom Award, which celebrated and recognized achievements of lasting and positive impact for African Americans, highlights the pivotal work of the Men of Courage program. With nearly 200 community leaders serving as mentors and engaging in hours of storytelling, vision boarding and solution mapping with young men in the community, the work has resulted in more than 2,000 toolkits downloaded in 34 cities around the country. Over the past three years, curated forums have been held in Detroit, Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles with national stakeholders such as activist Shaka Senghor, former Detroit mayor and NBA Hall of Famer Dave Bing, and NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis participating. The MOC initiative has included several activations that include community outreach, education programs and toolkits for conversation starters. Its intent is to build communities by advancing the narrative of black men through storytelling. The Men of Courage Barbershop Challenge is an expansion of the Men of Courage (MOC) grassroots program that launched in 2015. “We are excited to bring this program and the associated barbershop challenge to Tacoma.” “The Men of Courage program is designed to uplift and celebrate the many contributions of African American men to our world,” said Pamela Alexander, director of Community Development, Ford Motor Company Fund. Additionally, the runner up in the challenge is eligible to select a local non-profit to receive a $5,000 grant.
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The Men of Courage Barbershop Challenge invites community-focused barbershops to submit innovative community program proposals for nominations as a Men of Courage barbershopįord Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, is joining forces with the City of Tacoma and the Washington State History Museum (WSHM) to offer motivated barbershops in Tacoma an opportunity to compete for a $10,000 grant to support programs they create to educate and empower African American men in their community.