A better day lies ahead for the thousands of children left orphaned by Haiti's deadly earthquake on January 12, 2010.  (for more on this, click Child Sponsorship)   2011: A Memorable Year!!! White House Invitation - December 11, 2011 G&E Hill Foundation Co-founder and Chair, Gloria Hill, received a wonderful surprise this year -- an invitation to attend the 2011 Holiday Reception at the White House. The holiday decorations were breathtakingly beautiful. Also, extremely captivating was the splendid décor, abounding with historical memorabilia in every room. During the tour, guests were greeted by portrait after portrait of every United States President gracing the hallowed walls. White House officials, staff and other invited guests were extremely cordial and friendly. The food was plentiful and, of course, delicious. .   Finally, getting to meet and pose for a picture (along with her son, a United States Secret Service Agent, and Assistant Director of Homeland Security, Human Resources and Training), with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, was a real treat. The White House Holiday Reception held on Sunday, December 11, 2011, was an enjoyable and most memorable experience for Gloria and all the other invited guests. A truly great day it was!  (to see White House photos, click Gallery) 2nd Annual Hope & Happiness Benefit Gala - November 26, 2011 A great time was had at the 2nd Annual Hope & Happiness Benefit Gala held by the G&E Hill Foundation, on November 26, 2011, at the Pikesville Community Hall. This event was helped raise much-needed funds to support its efforts on behalf of young orphans in Haiti, who became unfortunate victims of the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010. The annual event also helps support the Foundation in its mission to bring hope and happiness to children in need here at home through its Annual Bicycle Giveaway and Scholarship Awards Program. Many thanks to all who attended, as well as to those who made contributions in support of the Foundation’s ongoing efforts on behalf of children in need. (to see Benefit Gala 2011 photos, click Gallery)   1st Annual Hope & Happiness Benefit Gala - October 29, 2010 A Huge Success!   Thanks to the success of its 1st Annual Hope & Happiness Benefit Gala, the G&E Hill Foundation raised much-needed funds to support its efforts on behalf of the young orphans in Haiti, who became unfortunate victims of the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010. Our ongoing mission is to bring hope and happiness to children in need here at home, as well as children in need beyond our borders.   Everyone had a blast on October 29, 2010 at The Forum in Baltimore, Maryland, as the Foundation kicked off its First Annual Hope & Happiness Benefit Gala to aid children in need.  Ernestine Jones, host of Gospel Grace that airs on 88.9 FM radio (WEAA) every Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., did a fantastic job presiding over the festivities. All in attendance had a great time, from Baltimore City Comptroller, Joan M. Pratt, the event Co-chairperson, to the planning committee, to the gifted performers – the Damon Antonio Singers and Dancers, the EBC Mime Group and Praise Dancers, Comedian, Robert Richardson, DJ, Jerry Stamper and Travis Winkey Company Models. (to see Benefit Gala 2010 photos, click Gallery)   The piece de resistance proved to be the wonderful group of people, who came out to support the Foundation's mission of bringing hope and happiness to children in need.  Many of them stepped up and agreeing to sponsor some of the over 700,000 children left orphaned by the tragic earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.  We, at the G&E Hill Foundation, are deeply grateful to everyone who showed up that night to lend their support on behalf of the impoverished, repressed and disadvantaged children that we are committed to helping.     Bicycle Giveaway 2008 and Scholarship Awards 2008   Congratulations to Andraea Camble!!!   This fall the G&E Hill Foundation presented its first Thoroughbred Spirit Scholarship Award to Andraea Camble. In 2005, this very bright young lady and her family lost their home in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Hurricane Katrina. After her displaced family was relocated to Angel Lane in Houston, Texas (thanks to Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network intervention -- building brand new homes for hundreds of displaced Hurricane Katrina families), Andraea was enrolled in a new school in Houston, Texas. In spite of the many hardships she and her family experienced, she continued to maintain high grades. We are proud of the accomplishments of this young honor student, the first of over 100 G&E Hill Foundation bicycle recipients living on Angel Lane to receive this scholarship award. We look forward to awarding more scholarships in the future to many of our young bicycle recipients who follow the example set by Andraea Camble.    Andraea Says: "The G&E Hill Foundation has helped me in a lot of ways. After all the things that we’ve been through after (Hurricane) Katrina, this scholarship really helped our financial situation, as far as paying off tuition, buying equipment for school, software and books. It made things much easier. I was able to get a laptop. With this type of program, you need, like, a lot of equipment and software, and the scholarship helped pay for these things. That really helped to lift my spirits.”  (for more from Andraea, click Feedback)   In order to seed a special relief aid to victims of last year’s Hurricane Ike, the Foundation suspended its 2008 Bicycle Giveaway. Our outreach efforts were facilitated by partnerships with compassionate church leaders -- Pastor Rick Erwin in Beaumont, Texas, Pastor Emmett Burns, Baltimore, Maryland, Pastor Diana Lanier in Crosby, Texas, and community leaders.       Bicycle Giveaway 2007   Once again, bicycles donated by G&E Hill Foundation to children in need in the Greater Baltimore Area, put big smiles on hundreds of young faces. On Saturday, December 15, 2007, the Foundation reached five targeted areas in Baltimore City and County. Bicycles were also donated by the Foundation to the U.S. Marine Toys for Tots Organization.   The Foundation looks forward to presenting in 2008 its first scholarship awards to bicycle recipients (2006) who, upon graduating from high school, have earned a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher.    Giving to children in need, to any degree, is a wonderful thing because the need is so great. The goal of the Foundation is to donate 10,000 bicycles to less fortunate children by the end of 2008. With continued support from individuals, similarly committed organizations and corporations, this goal can be met.      Bicycle Giveaway 2006   Hundreds of underprivileged children received brand new bicycles for Christmas on December 16, 2006, from the G&E Hill Foundation through Thoroughbred Spirit Bicycle Giveaway Program. A full-circle moment came for the organization's co-founder, Gloria Hill, after returning to the neighborhood where she grew up too  poor as a child to get a bicycle of her own, to present over 100 bicycles to children between the ages of 4 and 16 years. The G&E Hill Foundation also donated bicycles to the U.S. Marine Toys for Tots that day.   A week later, on December 23, 2006, the Foundation, in partnership with Oprah ‘s Angel Network, presented the young survivors of Hurricane Katrina (and Rita) -- the children of displaced families now living on Angel Lane in Houston, Texas -- with brand new bicycles & Treasure Boxes of gifts and toys. Elves & More, a similarly-committed children’s charity based in Houston, joined in helping with the donations, delivery and distribution. Santa was there, too.   Cheers went up from the Angel Lane families upon receiving an unexpected surprise -- the announcement that the G&E Hill Foundation is planning to award its first college scholarships in 2008 to deserving Angel Lane students who, upon graduating from high school, have earned a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher. (to view photos, click Gallery)                                                                        Bike-A-Tyke!   Make a donation of just $50 and you will be paying for the purchase and delivery of a bicycle for one underprivileged child, 4 to 16 years of age. You then become a member of the Bike-A-Tyke Team and your name will be added to the Bike-A-Tyke list (for more on this go to Fundraisers). If you cannot give $50, then give what you can -- $10, $25. Whatever amount you are able to contribute will go towards making sure that some child in need receives a brand new bicycle for Christmas.   Note: Each bicycle recipient who, upon graduating from high school, has earned a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher, will receive a college scholarship award from the G&E Hill Foundation.     "Thank you for continuing to support our efforts to bring hope and happiness to children living in poverty!"

Have you ever really wanted some- thing, but no matter how hard you work, you can’t afford to buy it -- a car, a house? With hopes high, still you imagine yourself  owning that special something. You save your money and steadfastly hold onto your dream of someday being able to own it.  But what if you think you’ll never be able to save enough money to afford that special something you so covet? It’s a sinking feeling. Now you have an idea of what poverty feels like for a child wishing futilely for a bicycle -- the one thing he/she wants most in the world but his/her parents cannot afford to buy.   A bicycle may seem like just another toy, but to a child a bicycle means so much more than that. Besides a fun thing to have, it means freedom and mobility, a way to get around and extend their boundaries (within set limits). With increased mobility, comes the chance to meet and bond with other children. In addition to its annual Bicycle Giveaway to children in need, The G&E Hill Foundation follows the academic progress of each of its bicycle recipients and provides them an opportunity for upward mobility through its annual Scholarship Awards Program. (for more on this, click The Foundation) Poor children spend their young lifetimes wishing and hoping for things that they often never get. It is a sad fact of their lives.         [More info...]   Bicycle Giveaway 2011 November / December 2011 Although, the struggling economy tremendously slowed the amount of contributions that the Foundation received this year, still its Annual Bicycle Giveaway was held. Only a small number of bicycles, relative to previous years, were distributed to children in need during this Christmas season. The need remains so great, and the resources are so limited. The Foundation plans to push even harder to reach its lofty goal of 10,000 bicycles to be donated next year. You can help us meet this goal by donating generously, from the heart, to this worthy cause.  (to see Bicycle Giveaway 2011 photos, click Gallery) College Scholarship Awards 2011  August 2011: Proud Scholarship Award Recipient:  Congratulations to Jaleesa Johnson!!!   Jaleesa Johnson, formerly of Houston, Texas (now living in San Diego, CA), is another young survivor of Hurricane Katrina, who received a brand new bicycle from G&E Hill Foundation during its 2006 Bicycle Giveaway.  This year, she became another proud recipient of the Foundation’s Thoroughbred Spirit Scholarship Award.    Jaleesa has this to say about the Foundation and its follow-up scholarship awards program:  I am very grateful to the G&E Hill Foundation for this scholarship award. It has helped me to pay the remainder of my first semester tuition.  It relieved my financial burden in many ways.  I feel very good now about my chances of becoming a fashion designer someday, because of the opportunity that this award has given me. My major is fashion design.  I feel great about what the G&E Hill Foundation has done for me and what it is doing to help its other bicycle recipients go to college.  Thanks so much!!!  (to see pictures of Jaleesa and her father, click Gallery)     Outreach 2010: Bicycle Giveaway, College Scholarship Awards and Disaster Relief Aid to Children in Need   2010 turned out to be a good year for many of our children in need. Still we fell short of meeting the goals that were set for this year.  Our operating budget was meager in comparison to previous years.  Yet, our Bicycle Giveaway, Follow-up College Scholarship Awards and Disaster Relief Aid provided welcome assistance to many children (and their families) in need.    Many thanks to Felecia Diggs and St. Johns Transformation Baptist Church for helping to facilitate our Bicycle Giveaway to children in need at Franklin Square Elementary School during this Christmas season.  The G&E Foundation also donated brand new bicycles to the United States Marine Toys for Tots program.  Many of the underprivileged Toys for Tots children that wanted a bicycle for Christmas, but their parents could not afford to buy them one, got one with our help.   This year, the smiling faces were far fewer than we had hoped. Our lofty goal of 10, 000 bicycles was not achieved, but that did not deter our outreach mission from helping as many children in need as we could. We depend on the generosity of others and are grateful for the support and assistance we receive from all of our supporters, including our church partners listed below:  Our Local Church Partners: Rev. Dorothy Boulware, St. Johns Transformation B. Ch. Rev. Bertha Borum, St. Johns Transformation B. Ch. Rev. Emmett C. Burns, Jr., Rising Sun First B. Ch. Dr. Jamal A. Bryant, Empowerment Temple AME Ch. Dr. Harold A. Carter, New Shiloh B. Ch. Dr. J. L. Carter, Ark Missionary B. Ch. Dr. Michael A. Chambers, Fountain B. Ch. Rev. Roosevelt Davenport, New Pilgrim B. Ch. Rev. David Erickson, Watersedge B. Ch.,         Dundalk, MD Rev. Bruce Foster, New Life Missionary B. Ch. Rev. Charles M. Franklin, Jr., Ray of Hope B. Ch. Rev. William E. Hayman, Jr., St. Timothy’s Evangelical         Lutheran Ch., Dundalk, MD Rev. Alphonso Tucker, First Christian Community B. Ch. Rev. Clifford M. Johnson, Jr., Mt. Pleasant Ministries Bishop Clifford M. Johnson, Sr., Mt. Pleasant Ministries Rev. Harold Knight, New Shiloh B. Ch.         Turner Station, MD Rev. Gregory Maddox, Faith B. Ch. Rev. Gregory Perkins, St. Paul B. Ch. Rev. Franklin Peterson, Faith United B. Ch. Dr. Frank M. Reid, III, Bethel AME Ch. Dr. P.M. Smith, Huber Memorial Church Rev. Donald Sterling, Eucharistic Ministers -         All Saints Catholic Ch. Bishop Walter S. Thomas, Sr., New Psalmist B. Ch. Rev. Larry Thompson, Jr., The Upper Room Worship         Center Dr. H. Waldon Wilson, II, Israel B. Ch.   Our Out-of-town Church Partners: Rev. T. A. Arguelles, Nativity BVM Cathedral, Biloxi, MS Dr. Rick Erwin, Procter B. Ch., Port Arthur, TX Bishop Larry Frazier, Sr., Word of Faith Ch. Rev. Denis J. Harlow, St. Johns Catholic Ch., Biloxi, MS Bishop J. Neaul Haynes, Saintsville Sanctuary COGIC,         Dallas TX Bishop Alfred Jackson, Tabernacle of Praise FGBC, Rock Hill, SC Rev. Corey Jackson, Upper Hope Station B. Ch., Chester, SC Rev. Patrick Mockler, Our Lady of Fatima, Biloxi, MS Rev. Norris Turner, Gethsemane B. Ch., Blair, SC     Congratulations to Ariel McFarland and Ashley Flot!!!   Upon graduation from high school, Ariel McFarland and Ashley Flot, of Houston, Texas, two young survivors of Hurricane Katrina that received bicycles from G&E Hill Foundation’s 2006 Bicycle Giveaway, became two more of the Foundation’s follow-up Thoroughbred Spirit Scholarship Award recipients in September of 2010.  Ariel and Ashley were very happy to learn that they were going to be receiving this award.  Once in college, they let us know how they are doing and how much this award has helped them.   Ashley Flot, who is majoring in Fashion Design, expressed her thanks below: "The G&E Hill Foundation scholarship award has helped me in so many ways.  It relieved my financial burdens by paying some of my college expenses.  I was able to pay for books and the remainder of my first semester tuition.  I feel great about what the G&E Hill Foundation has done for me and what they are doing to help other children on Angel Lane, who received bicycles from them years ago, go to college.”   We are working feverishly to provide relief assistance to Haitian orphans, the youngest survivors of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010.   The Foundation’s 2010 Bicycle Giveaway was down-sized in order to seed its Haiti earthquake orphan relief mission.  We have taken on the challenge of providing relief aid for 80 orphans in Haiti that lost mothers, fathers and, in some cases, entire families.  We are currently seeking Child Sponsors for these precious orphans.  Although, a few people have agreed to sponsor a child, the number of sponsors needed still remains high.  Before the earthquake, there were 300,000 orphans in Haiti.  In the aftermath, there are now over 700.000 orphans.  The need for compassion and aid is urgent.    Many thanks to Bessie Black and the Eucharistic Ministers - All Saints Catholic Church for donating a full-year in advance sponsorship of one of our young orphan in need in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  We are also grateful to all of our Child Sponsors, whose names are listed on the Family Tree found on the Child Sponsorship page.  You can help by adding your name to the list of sponsors and begin providing your much-needed support for at least one orphan in Haiti.  (for details about the program and how you can become a sponsor, click Child Sponsorship.   The need is greater than the generosity extended. So your contnued support is much needed. For ways you can help, click Relief Fund, and go to How You Can Help.       Bicycle Giveaway and Scholarship Awards 2009   This year, the smiling faces of many children in need, happy to receive brand new bicycles of their own for Christmas, greeted the G&E Hill Foundation volunteers. It was a great day on December 3, 2009, when the Foundation also presented bicycles to the United States Toys for Tots Program. We are ever reaching higher.    Congratulations to Earl Ray Hurst, III!!!   Entering college in the fall of 2009, Earl Ray Hurst III was thrilled to be a most deserving recipient of the G&E Hill Foundation's Thoroughbred Spirit Scholarship Award.  In 2005, this very bright young man and his family lost their home in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Hurricane Katrina. After his family was relocated to Angel Lane in Houston, Texas (thanks to Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network intervention -- building brand new homes for hundreds of displaced Hurricane Katrina families), Earl was enrolled in a new school in Houston, Texas.   Sadly, shortly after the family moved into their new home in Houston, Earl’s mother was struck by a car and killed.  Yet, in spite of this unfathomable tragedy, the difficulties that it brought and the many hardships he and his family have endured, Earl was able to recover and, in time, he was back to earning high grades in school.   We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of this bright young honor student, another one of the over 100 G&E Hill Foundation bicycle recipients living on Angel Lane to receive this special scholarship award. We look forward to awarding more scholarships in the future to our young bicycle recipients, who follow the example set by Earl Ray Hurst, III.   Earl Says: "The G&E Hill Foundation has helped me so much. It helped me pay for tuition, and it is a big help to me in buying books and other school equipment. The refund checks that I receive from this award keeps me from having to worry about money to pay for these things. Whenever I need anything for school, I can draw from it. My mother would have been very proud of me. She always wanted to see me go to college. Without this scholarship, I would not have been able to enroll at Grambling State University, where I made the Dean's List in my first semester.”  (for more from Earl, click Feedback)