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08-13-2008, 11:37 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2001
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MLK Phase I Site Preparation Begins
VERIZON BEGINS PHASE I SITE PREPARATION FOR
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. NATIONAL MEMORIAL ON EVE OF
MARCH ON WASHINGTON 45TH ANNIVERSARY (Washington, D.C., August 12, 2008) – In celebration of the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, Harry E. Johnson, Sr. President and CEO of the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc., announced Monday that Verizon has begun Phase I Site Preparation of the Memorial. Verizon will relocate several of its communication lines that run directly through the center of what will become the memorial core. Additionally, joining a community of foundations, including The W.K. Kellogg Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts who are working to support the memorial and honor the legacy of Dr. King, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation have contributed
$3 million and $1 million respectively.
“Today, we are proud to announce that Phase I Site Preparation has commenced on the first major memorial to honor a man of peace and person of color on the National Mall, twenty five years since a group of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity members originated the idea of building a national memorial honoring Dr. King,” said Johnson. “I am also honored to recognize that today’s contributions have lifted our fundraising total to $98.8 million.”
Verizon’s site prep work is part of $1 million in-kind contribution from Verizon to provide preparatory and infrastructure work needed at the planned national memorial’s site. In addition to the in-kind donation, the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, previously announced a $1 million contribution to fund the preparation and installation of a permanent, educational component, also available online that will bring to life King’s vision and contribution to the civil rights struggle.
Memorial Foundation executives who participated in the Monday photo opportunity on the National Mall included: Harry E. Johnson, Sr., President of the Memorial Foundation; Dr. Ed Jackson, Jr., Executive Architect, and Richard Marshall, Chief Financial Officer. They were joined by several Verizon executives including: William R. Roberts, President, Verizon Maryland and Washington, D.C.; B. Keith Fulton, President, Verizon West Virginia; Emilio Gonzalez, Vice President, Public Policy & Strategic Alliances; Howard Woolley, Senior Vice President, Verizon; Eric Reed, Executive Director, Government Relations, Public Policy; Debra Speed, Executive Director, Public Policy & Strategic Alliances; and Helen Hall, Director Government Relations; John M. Salazar , Director , Operations; B. Keith Fulton – President, Verizon West Virginia; and Aaron Dom, Manager , Construction.
Johnson also announced today that the fundraising campaign goal has increased from $100 million to $120 million due to a number of variables which have impacted the project since 2000. To make a donation, please visit www.buildthedream.org.
Some of the factors behind the increased cost are the need for enhanced security as a result of new Homeland Security initiatives following September 11; on-going structural changes and pre-construction enhancements; and the addition of a bookstore, comfort station, and ranger kiosk. Additionally, there have been shifts in cost escalations and contingencies such as inflation, the rising cost of fuel, steel, granite and other key building materials.
Major donors to date include: General Motors, Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, NBA/WNBA, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Walt Disney Company Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation, The Ford Motor Fund, Toyota, AARP, AFLAC, BP America, Inc., CIGNA, Credit Unions of the United States, DuPont, ExxonMobil Foundation, Fannie Mae Corporation, FedEx Corporation, GE, Ann and Joel HorowitzFamily Foundation, Sheila C. Johnson-Newman, Lehman Brothers, George Lucas, MacFarlane Partners, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, McDonald’s Corporation, MetLife Foundation, National Association of Realtors (NAR), National Education Association (NEA), Nationwide Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Pfizer Foundation, Prudential Financial, Inc., Shell Oil Company, State Farm Insurance, Verizon Foundation, Viacom, Wal-Mart, Morehouse College, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Knight Foundation among others.
About the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
A Memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be built on the National Mall, situated adjacent to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Congress passed Joint Resolutions in 1996 authorizing Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to establish a Memorial honoring Dr. King to be built in Washington, D.C. The ceremonial groundbreaking took place on November 13, 2006 and the Memorial will be completed in 2010. McKissack & McKissack / Turner Construction Company/ Gilford Corporation / Tompkins Builders, Inc. Joint Venture will serve as the Design-Build Team. McKissack & McKissack is the oldest minority-owned architectural firm in the United States. For more information or to make a donation, please visit www.buildthedream.org.
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. For more information, please visit www.gatesfoundation.org.
About the Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the communities where the Knight brothers ran newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on ideas and projects that create transformational change. For more information, visit www.knightfoundation.org.
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08-13-2008, 12:21 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2000
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i was going to post this - lol
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