Dara Harper

Since inception, the Kilian Memorial Scholarship has awarded over $320,000 in total scholarship dollars to 39 local students.

For Black History Month, we chose to highlight two of our Black Equity & Excellence Fund grantees that were named after historical figures: The William Herbert Johnson Bar Association of CNY and the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company.

Through their work in the fields of medicine and education, Jef Sneider and Gwen Kay have spent their lives teaching and caring for adults. When the couple began giving charitably together, they both agreed on one thing: they wanted to advocate for children.

Thorna leads one class each week, teaching attendees the “how-tos” of reading and interacting with their children and the importance of engaging in their education.

“We work on educating young people, from learning how to read food labels to going on bus trips to farms and the regional market.”

The 100 Black Men of Syracuse, a group of professional men who volunteer to improve the local community in the areas of mentoring, education, economic development and health, is a fairly new organization with ambitious plans.