Paving Great Futures to honor graduates
Paving Great Futures, a mentoring and leadership nonprofit, will honor more than 50 graduates of its programs during its sixth annual gala graduation and fundraiser on Saturday.
The nonprofit, which serves at-risk communities in San Diego, will livestream the celebration on its Facebook page instead of hosting an in-person event. Local speakers also will discuss racial and criminal justice reform.
Paving Great Futures operates seven programs that help young adults, formerly incarcerated individuals and Black and Latino women to develop business, civic engagement, leadership and culinary skills.
Graduate Maria Muhammad of southeastern San Diego recently launched a social enterprise nonprofit to help community members adopt eco-friendly lifestyles by making small changes to their routines and homes.
It has been a dream of hers for years, she said, but it finally came to fruition with support from mentors with the Paving Great Futures’ women entrepreneurs program.
In addition to being honored at the gala, Muhammad will receive a $5,000 business grant from the nonprofit.
Armand King, chief operating officer of Paving Great Futures, said he admires every single graduate, because each could have done something else but they chose to stay in the programs to improve themselves.
The nonprofit also will honor former participants who have gone on to start their own businesses.
Oscar Lee Black III graduated from its culinary program in 2012. He has since launched a catering company, Black Vibez, in Tucson, Ariz., where he lives with his wife and six children.
The online graduation and gala will also feature panelists Chef Jeff Henderson, who served nearly a decade in prison and is now an award-winning chef; former rapper Amir “Loon” Muhadith; and local activists Khalid Alexander, Edward Little, Aaron Harvey and Barry Washington.
Tony Gwyn Jr, former baseball player and broadcast journalist, and Fox 5 Broadcast Journalist Maria Arcega-Dunn will host the panel.
The gala will be posted at 5 p.m. Saturday at facebook.com/pavinggreatfutures.