Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 11-11-22

HBCU News
The Walt Disney Company Gifts $1 Million Multi-Year Grant For The Disney Storytellers Fund To Florida A&M University
On last Friday, The Walt Disney Company announced a $1 million grant to Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism & Graphic Com- munication (SJGC) over the next five years with the establishment of the Disney Storytellers Fund at FAMU.
The grant is part of the Disney Fu- ture Storytellers program, an initiative aimed at increasing access to careers in storytelling and innovation for indi- viduals from historically underrepre- sented or marginalized communities.
The donation to SJGC will provide selected students with tuition and housing scholarships, a stipend, spe- cialized programming, mentoring, leadership development, and more.
“Across Disney’s iconic brands, we are committed to increasing represen- tation, inclusive storytelling, and op- portunity,” said Jennifer Cohen, executive vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company. “The Disney Storytellers
Announcement of the $1M gift was presented by FAMU alum, Kim Godwin who is the president of ABC News at the Convocation during FAMU’s homecoming. Tampa natives and FAMU alums, Tiffany Greene Berry and Aaron Berry are to the right. Tiffany, a sportscaster with ESPN was Convocation speaker. ABC is a subsidiary of The Disney Company.
The announcement was made by ABC News President and FAMU alumna Kim Godwin on behalf of Disney during the university’s Home- coming Convocation. Established in 1982, FAMU’s highly regarded SJGC has been celebrating its 40th anniver- sary throughout the year.
“Florida A&M University changed my life. I first set foot on campus as a shy 16-year-old girl, but graduated as a confident journalist prepared to tackle the biggest news stories,” said Godwin, who became the first Black executive to run a broadcast network news division when she joined ABC News in 2021. “FAMU gave me the tools I needed to get to where I am today, and I am truly grateful.”
She continued, “This gift brings me so much joy because I truly under- stand how much it’s going to change lives — and set the course for success for generations to come in some fami- lies.”
Fund at Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism and Communi- cation will help empower the next gen- eration of Black journalists, news and
media executives, while also building on the rich legacy of creativity and in- novation that the university has culti- vated for decades.”
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