St. Louis Resident Leonard Johnson, III Is One of Four Individuals Honored Nationwide for His Exemplary Volunteer Efforts to Give Back to the African-American Community
Allstate Insurance Company, the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, recently named Leonard Johnson, III, a Harris-Stowe State University graduate, as one of its 2011 Allstate “Give Back Day” Heroes. The program, a tribute to the heroic community service of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., recognizes those who have helped create positive, sustainable change in their communities by volunteering to address important causes such as domestic violence, elementary education and mentoring at-risk youth. Johnson will be honored at The King Center’s “Salute to Greatness” awards program on January 15, 2011, in Atlanta, GA. He is one of only four 2011 award recipients nationwide.
Johnson, 24, spearheaded a collaborative with Saint Louis University’s Student Government Association to form a St. Louis chapter of Dream Keepers, a coalition of students and young professionals working for racial harmony and economic justice. Through Johnson’s leadership, more than $12,000 was raised for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project. He credits his experiences at Harris-Stowe State University for developing his leadership skills.
“While at HSSU, I had the opportunity to become president of the Student Government Association, the Welcome Week Committee and Kappa Alpha Psi simultaneously,” Johnson said. “I was also appointed by Governor Jay Nixon as the student representative to the Board of Regents. This exposure helped foster my leadership abilities and played a crucial role in my quest to co-found and establish St. Louis Dream Keepers.”
Johnson also founded a mentoring program called the Young Man Achievement Academy and Project Youth Impact, a nonprofit organization for low-income students living in urban areas.
Johnson graduated from HSSU in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Professional Interdisciplinary Studies, with emphasis areas in education, history and sociology. He is currently pursuing a master’s in public policy administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Johnson aspires to obtain a J.D. or Ph.D. by the age of 30.
“We are so proud to count Leonard Johnson among our graduates,” said Dr. Henry Givens, Jr., president of Harris-Stowe State University. “The positive impact he has created in the St. Louis community through Dream Keepers and its Project Youth program truly embodies the leadership and values we strive to instill in each of our students here every day at the University.”
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Tuesday, December 21st 2010 at 2:54PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
