Supporting Minority Owned Businesses

Dear friend,

This week I spoke at the Minority Business Development Agency National Training Conference in Memphis.  The training conference brought together all of the MBDA business center operators in the MBDA network for two days of training and workshops to enhance the service offered to minority-owned firms.
 
MBDA National Training Conference
Porter-Leath AmeriCorps
Le Bonheur
St. Jude
Olympics
Veterans
MLGW Scam
Free Photo Identification
Grant Announcements
 
MBDA National Training Conference

On Wednesday I spoke at the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) National Training Conference in Memphis.  The training conference brought together all of the MBDA business center operators in the MBDA network for two days of training and workshops to enhance the service offered to minority-owned firms.  Rev. Jesse Jackson was also there to speak at the conference.
 
Last month I participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for Tennessee’s first ever Minority Development Business Center, located in downtown Memphis.  The Memphis Minority Business Development Center will provide a hand up—not a hand out—to women and minority businesses.  It’s been a continuing three year effort to bring this center to Memphis, the first ever in Tennessee, and I’m pleased to see it open here.  
 
The Memphis Minority Business Development Center will help to expand opportunities for contracting, workforce development and counseling.  African American communities have been disproportionally hurt by the recession and sub-prime loans.  This center will help minorities by providing them the resources they need to help grow our economy and will be one of the keys to Memphis’s economic future.
 
Porter-Leath AmeriCorps

This week I spoke at the Porter-Leath AmeriCorps volunteers Swearing-In. Before 1850, widows and orphans in Shelby County had nowhere to turn for food, shelter, clothing and care. That meant willing and compassionate citizens had to fill the gap. Sarah Leath was one of those citizens, and as a widow and mother herself, she took the lead to organize such a place—the home that would become Porter-Leath. Since its founding, Porter-Leath has remained passionately committed to serving at-risk children and families in Memphis. While both its name and mission have evolved with changing times and events, the focus has always been to serve Memphis’ most vulnerable citizens.

Today Porter-Leath helps more than 10,000 low-income children and families annually with programs designed to meet their developmental, health and social needs at the earliest opportunity. At the Swearing-In I spoke about former President John F. Kennedy and how he inspired me to get into government and politics.  I also discussed my former colleagues U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Patrick Kennedy and the Kennedy’s influence on American politics and how President Kennedy established the Peace Corps and how Sen. Kennedy helped establish AmeriCorps.  Click here to learn more about Porter-Leath and click here to learn more about AmeriCorps.
 
Le Bonheur

Yesterday I announced that Le Bonheur Community Health and Well-Being will receive $500,000 in new federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Ryan White Title IV Women, Infants, Children, Youth and Affected Family Members AIDS Healthcare project.  Le Bonheur provides Memphis and Shelby County with top quality health care.  These new federal funds will help the hospital deliver critical services to patients living with HIV and AIDS.  Unfortunately, the HIV epidemic continues to afflict the 9th District.  I applaud HHS for recognizing the necessity for increased funding to combat this deadly disease in Memphis.
 
St. Jude

On Wednesday I announced that the National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded $336,875 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for pharmacology, physiology and biological chemistry research.  St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is one of the top research hospitals in the country.  Thanks to these new federal funds, St. Jude doctors and scientists will continue to be able to provide our children with the best medical care possible.

Olympics

Americans are performing incredibly well in the Olympic Games in London.  Former Ole Miss Rebel Brittney Reese won a Gold Medal in the long jump, swimmer Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals, the men’s and women’s basketball teams are performing well, the women’s soccer team won a Gold Medal under the leadership of Abby Wambach, and the men’s and women’s track and field teams have also won quite a few Gold Medals.  I’m proud to be an American and am happy to see so many Americans doing well in the Olympics and hope you are enjoying the games as much as I am.
 
Veterans
I wanted to share with you some of the recent National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) programs that support our men and women serving in the military. The latest issue of the NEA’s magazine, The Soul of America: The Arts and the Military, highlights two new NEA initiatives for our troops:
 
Operation Homecoming: the groundbreaking inclusion of creative writing and visual arts therapies in the clinical treatment of troops at Walter Reed’s National Intrepid Center for Excellence (NICoE). This is a landmark partnership between the NEA and the Department of Defense to help troops cope with a range of physical and psychological ailments, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
 
Blue Star Museums: a program that grants free museum admission to our active duty service members and their families during the summer. Your active duty military constituents can still take advantage of this program at over 1,800 participating museums through Labor Day, September 2, 2012.
 
The publication also takes a look at several historic intersections of the arts and the military: combat visual artists programs of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, the men and women who serve in the 158 U.S. military bands, and the work that the USO -- a 2011 recipient of the National Medal of the Arts -- does to bring great artists to our troops since 1941.  I hope you enjoy reading about the shared history of the military and the arts, as well as the latest innovations in bringing arts therapy into the ongoing care of our troops.
 
MLGW Scam

MLGW is receiving renewed reports from customers who appear to have fallen victim to a nationwide utility bill scam. As part of the scam, customers are being told that President Obama has approved special funding through the Federal Reserve Bank for utility bill assistance. There is no such funding.  The most recent reports involve scammers giving victims a toll-free number to call for utility assistance. The customer is then prompted to enter his or her social security number and additional information, and is then provided with a fraudulent bank routing number. The routing number is not valid and the payments will not be applied to MLGW customer bills. The scams have also been reported in several other states. Customers who believe they have been victimized by a scam should contact MLGW at 901.544.MLGW (6549).  
 
Free Photo Identification
Shelby County driver service centers are no longer open on Saturdays but if you or someone you know still needs a photo ID for voting purposes you don’t have to wait in line. If you only need to get an ID for voting purposes, you can still visit any driver’s license renewal station in Shelby County during regular business hours and there is a special line to serve your needs.  And if you are a Veteran who needs ID you can get free government-issued photo IDs at the Veterans Administration.  To learn more about the new voter ID laws, visit my website here.
 
Grant Announcements
Each week I release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others.  These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the 9th district. The announcements are updated regularly on my website.

Wishing you a happy and safe weekend,

As always, I remain,

Most sincerely,

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress