Dear Barrier Breakers® Community,

Today is Give 8/28 — a national day of giving dedicated to celebrating Black philanthropy and investing in Black-led and Black-benefiting organizations transforming our communities.

The date itself carries a powerful history. On August 28, 1963, hundreds of thousands gathered for the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream for a more just and equitable future.

At Barrier Breakers®, we believe education is one of the most powerful ways to help make that future possible.

We work alongside first-generation students and students facing barriers to ensure that talent and potential — not a family’s income, connections, or familiarity with the education system — determine how far a student can go.

And today, your gift can go even further.

🎓 Meet Yonathan 🎓

From First-Gen Student to GEM Fellow

Yonathan Solomon started working with Barrier Breakers as a junior in 2021. As the son of immigrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea, he had his parents' full support — but they weren't familiar with the American college process, so Barrier Breakers walked alongside him for every step: choosing schools, building his essays, and refining his applications.

Along the way, Yonathan conducted pro bono research into generating electricity from footsteps using piezoelectric discs, work that strengthened his engineering applications. Then, weeks before graduation, he was nominated for a $120,000 scholarship. He and Sydney worked day and night to perfect the essay — and he won, covering full tuition and room and board for four years at Penn State.

Barrier Breakers didn't stop there. Through the program, Yonathan got involved with NSBE and IEEE, spoke at the Global Mining Conference about the first-gen student experience, and learned about the GEM Fellowship — which he won, sponsored by Intel, to fund his master's degree. He's now headed to Georgia Tech for grad school.

"I think this program has definitely changed my life. Without it, I wouldn't be where I am today."

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Yonathan's journey is one of hundreds we get to be part of — but it's only possible because people like you believe that a student's zip code, or their parents' familiarity with a college application, should never decide their future.

Every gift this week doesn't just fund a program; it becomes the phone call a scholar makes when they've won, the late night spent perfecting an essay together, the first in a family to walk across a stage. As Black Philanthropy Month comes to a close, thank you for being part of that story — and for the ones still being written. 💜

With Gratitude,

Sydney

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