The Urban League of Greater Atlanta – Young Professionals (ULGA-YP) honored community heroes and donated scholarships to college-bound Atlanta Public Schools (APS) students during its eighth annual Dream Catcher Scholarship and Community Awards Reception on Friday, April 20, at The Gathering Spot.

Urban League of Greater Atlanta Board Chair Juliet Hall

The annual fundraising gala doubles as a platform for the ULGA-YP to recognize local visionaries while celebrating remarkable APS students. Visionaries honored at this year’s event included Education Honoree Marcus Blackwell, CEO and founder of Make Music Count; Community Honoree Jasmine Crowe, CEO and founder of Goodr; Business Honoree Quincy Spring, owner of Vine City’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant; and Advocacy Honoree Nikema Williams, senator from Georgia’s 39th District.  Former ULGA-YP President Travis Townsend, a founding partner of Townsend & Lockett LLC, hosted the evening’s ceremony.

In addition to celebrating honorees, ULGA-YP also bestowed $10,000 in scholarships thanks to financial contributions from the Southern Company, The Gathering Spot and the Roger Center for Oral and Facial Surgery. Five APS students, which included students from Project Ready, a National Urban League college-readiness program, received $2,000 scholarships to help fund their academic ambitions.

ULGA-YP President Shalondan Hollingshed and Education Honoree Marcus Blackwell, CEO and founder of Make Music Count

Scholarship funding also came from numerous individual donors and a silent auction, which featured in-kind donations from the Atlanta Hawks, Doubletree Northlake, Ruth Chris’s Steakhouse, and General Assembly. Donations also came from small businesses such as iwi fresh, Reimaging Innovation in Sports and Entertainment (RIISE) and Atlanta Hot Shave. The remaining funds raised through the event will go toward future scholarships and educational programs.

“Urban League is incredibly proud to recognize emerging icons in our community and support students’ academic ambitions,” says ULGA-YP President Shalondan Hollingshed. “These individuals are doing such amazing work while also being catalysts of change for our community, and we want to celebrate them while showing our scholarship recipients what they could be.”

Congratulations to this year’s honorees and scholarship recipients and thanks to everyone who attended and supported this year’s event.

Dream Catchers Scholarship Awardee Christian T.