Former Presidents Bush and Clinton Honored for Post-Katrina Word

Former Presidents William J. Clinton and George Herbert Walker Bush were honored Friday night, for their philanthropic work at the 63rd Annual Anniversary Dinner for the United Negro College Fund. The pair were given the Frederick D. Patterson Award, the highest honor the UNCF bestows. The award was given for the work the pair did after Hurricane Katrina for the UNCF's Wave of Hope campaign.

"If you hear somebody worrying about the future of young African Americans," said President Clinton in his speech, "tell them to help someone go to college." President Clinton accepted the award on behalf of himself and President Bush, who was unable to attend, and accepted his award via a pre-recorded video.

After the disaster along the Gulf Coast states, Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton raised $3.8 million, which went to support the rebuilding efforts of numerous historically black colleges and universities. "There are UNCF schools all across America that shouldn't have to get hit by a hurricane to get the help they need," Clinton said in his speech.

In addition to the money raised for historically black colleges and universities through the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, the pair raised over $100 million in the four months following Hurricane Katrina. Over all, $30 million in grants were given to 34 Gulf Coast colleges (including $8 million more for historically black colleges and universities), $20 million was given to a coalition of southern ministers to go to churches heavily involved in the Katrina relief and recovery efforts. $40 million more was to be divided among three nonprofit entities created by the governors of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana after the storm.

Roughly 1,600 people were in attendance at Friday night's event, which brought in more than $2.5 million in support. In addition to the two recent presidents, several other UNCF supporters were recognized at the sold-out event.

Sources:

www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl
www.nytimes.com/2005/12/08/national/nationalspecial/08fund.html