Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 7-16-19

Local
Hit And Run Driver Kills Young Woman
NAACP Tampa Youth Seeking Support For Nine Competitors And Student Leaders
A 26-year-old woman died early Monday after being struck by a hit and run driver. The accident took place shortly after midnight at the intersection of 34th Av- enue, S. and MLK Street, in St. Petersburg.
According to police, the victim has been identified as Ms. Phelexis Jakara Robinson. Investigators believe that Ms. Robinson was driving an older m0del Lincoln when the vehicle be- came disabled.
It is believed that after Ms. Robinson exited the vehicle, she was struck by an Infiniti sedan, traveling at a high rate of speed. Ms. Robinson died at the scene.
The vehicle had been re- ported stolen out of Hillsbor-
ough County.
When police arrived, they
discovered the Infiniti aban- doned on MLK Street, South, at 37th Avenue, North, after it collided with another vehicle.
MS. PHELEXIS ROBINSON 3/15/1993 --- 7/15/2019
ACT-SO Competitors, from left, top: Amaya Kelly, Kennith Donaldson, Joslyn Smith, Britnee Blake, Grace Nobles, Jaylin Cole, Jordan Thomas, Ja'Nya Austin, and James C. Cole.
With less than ten days remaining before their departure, 14 Hillsborough County stu- dents are scrambling with parents and com- munity volunteers to secure funding for the 110th Annual NAACP National Convention and ACT-SO competition. The cost to attend this year’s convention in Detroit is estimated at $12,000 for the group, including trans- portation and hotel stay. An additional $3,000 is desired to cover meals that are not part of the convention registration.
Four chaperones will accompany the youth during the duration of the trip. Nine of the youth traveling will leave on Thursday, July 18th for competition. The remainder will join them on Saturday as convention partici- pants and voting delegates.
The NAACP Tampa Youth Council is a sep- arate 501c4 from the adult branch and has not received any financial support from the rev- enue raised during the Freedom Fund Dinner.
“We are grateful for the individual adult NAACP members who have chosen to give out of their personal pockets to support the youth council and ACT-SO,” said Jaylin Cole, Tampa YC President. There is still a chance the adult branch may show support. “We are also responsible for fundraising for the Youth Council’s annual activities, in addition to find- ing ways to support the ACT-SO competition,” said Jaylin.
Over the past year the Tampa YC hosted or participated in over 30 community-based events covering their own expenses.
In May, the Youth Council combined their officer installation with the annual ACT-SO showcase to raise just over $2,000.00.
ACT-SO is an acronym for Afro Academic Cultural Technological and Science Olympics. Students compete in up to 31 categories around the nation. Winners receive awards and cash prizes. This year’s team is competing in Poetry, Dance, Bio Med, Vocal Contempo- rary, Classic Instrumental, Drama and Pho- tography.
“Youth Council students are door knocking with candy sales and asking for help on social media,” said Dr. Ayer-Cole, ACT-SO Chair- person. Some parents have hosted fish fries to help generate the funds needed. “We count every cent and even provide an annual report to the national office just like the adult branch, so all funds collected are accounted for,” said Advisor Cole.
As of Monday, July 10th, only $6,100.00 has been raised. They have secured the flights, room deposits and registration for the conven- tion. “My family had to use our personal credit card for part of the initial payments to avoid higher prices due to late registrations and in- creasing airfares,” said Cole. “The balance of the rooms, meals and other competition ex- penses are our priority now.
“The youth believe in their community and hope to receive more community support.”
For those who want to give to ACT-SO and the NAACP Tampa Youth Council, they can send support Payable to: NAACP Tampa Youth Council at 5470 E. Busch Blvd., PMB 405, Temple Terrace, FL 33617. Or give with the Cash App ($NAACPTampaYouth). (All do- nations should be marked for NAACP Tampa Youth Council to eliminate any confusion of the giving intent.)
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