On Saturday, November 18th, we proudly celebrated our 10th anniversary with an inspiring event that brought together our founders, leaders, partners, and, most importantly, the community. The event, held at the Ramada Hotel and Suites, featured a series of speeches, laughs, memories, and awards that highlighted the organization's many accomplishments and honored our notable partners over the past decade.
As many know, BUILD is a non-profit organization founded to empower Black men and boys in Seattle by providing them with the guidance, support, and resources they need to succeed. Throughout the past ten years, we’ve grown to serve our community as intended and expanded to offer mentorship, leadership training, capacity-building funding, wealth-focused learning, educational initiatives, operational support for community protests, events, and families, safe spaces for discussions around systemic and institutionalized racism impacts in our city, and most importantly, Black-joy-focused community events.
The event began with an opening and recognition from BUILD founders and leadership team members André Franklin and Isiah Anderson Jr. They spoke about the challenges the Black community faced, focusing on young Black men in our community and how BUILD remained focused on making a difference in their lives. Attendees were treated to an award presentation and thanked the many supporters and volunteers who helped make the organization successful. One of the event's highlights was the BUILD’s Founder Awards presentation to the brothers who came together 10 years ago to make an idea a reality. These brothers (André Franklin, Isiah Anderson Jr., George Yasutake, Ramon Franklin, and Kendrick Glover) took time out of their lives to impact the next generation's lives. Their significant contributions then helped lead us to what we have in BUILD as an organization today.
Photo Credit: SP Photography, Wrightmind Designs, and Converge Media (Jordan Somers)
In addition to the speeches and awards, the event featured our host and brother of BUILD, Deaunté Damper, and the music from our favorite DJ and brother of BUILD, Guy Davis, aka Mr. Nyice Guy. Our event was made possible through our partnerships. A big thank you to Lizzie Lou’s for catering our event, Converge Media for providing media coverage and photography support, Stanley Parker of SP Photography, Adrien Wright of Wrightmind Designs, Jae Awards, and the Nyice Guy Entertainment Team for assisting with our guest services and event décor. Our partners and guests helped make this an extremely memorable event.
Overall, the BUILD 10-Year Celebration was a powerful reminder of the importance of community organizations like BUILD in creating positive change. As we continue to grow and expand, it is clear that it will continue to have a meaningful impact on the Black community in and around South Seattle.
If you missed this special moment, please check out our BUILD 10-Year Anniversary Celebration Recap Video (Credit: Adrien Wright - Wrightmind Designs) and our coverage on Fox 13 News courtesy of Converge Media (Credit: Jordan Somers/Converge Media)