The Philanthropic Arm of Servicon Shares the Visions of Three Black-Led Organizations
Culver City, California, February 12, 2024 – In keeping with its mission to support local communities and take action where Servicon employees work and live—and in honor of Black History Month—ServiconCares is sharing insights into some of its ongoing partnerships with historically Black and Black-led organizations. These include Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU), Brotherhood Crusade, and Fly Compton Aero Club.
ServiconCares is the philanthropic arm of Servicon, a leading environmental services (EVS) and commercial cleaning services provider within the life sciences, aerospace, healthcare, and municipal sectors. The partners below were selected based on their significant contributions to the communities where they operate and their alignment with Servicon’s culture, values, and vision to create healthy environments for a better working future.
Charles R. Drew University
Founded in 1966, CDU seeks to address the health inequities in Los Angeles, providing exceptional medical education and healthcare resources to underrepresented students and communities. CDU is one of only four historically Black medical colleges in the country and one of the most diverse universities in the nation in terms of both students and faculty. CDU offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs across various health and medical professions. The university is also committed to community engagement through public-facing programs, clinics, and services and is a leader in health disparities research. Dr. David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD, has led the university as president and CEO since 2011. He is a board-certified internal medicine specialist whose clinical work has always revolved around caring for the underserved.
Since the 2021-22 academic year, ServiconCares has sponsored five $15,000 CDU scholarships annually. The scholarships are chosen by the university based on need and provide recipients with the financial means to get a quality education at CDU. In addition to the scholarships, members of the ServiconCares management team meet the students to foster relationships with them and provide additional support as needed.
“We are extremely grateful to partner with CDU,” says ServiconCares Director Gabby Mahdesian. “One of my favorite things about CDU is how our direct support of individual students also becomes a much-needed investment into underrepresented and underserved communities of Los Angeles. The fact that most of CDU’s scholars come from under-resourced communities and that more than 85% intend to practice and provide medical care in those same communities after graduation is refreshing and worthy of admiration. Instead of taking their degree to an area where they could potentially earn more income, they choose to stay local to focus on their professional careers, using their education and expertise to help elevate their communities. CDU cultivates leaders in medicine dedicated to social justice and health equity, areas we, too, are passionate about, which is why ServiconCares is proud to partner in this wonderful organization’s efforts.”
For more information about CDU, visit www.cdrewu.edu.
Brotherhood Crusade
A grassroots organization created more than 50 years ago, Brotherhood Crusade services over 100,000 South Los Angeles residents annually following its vision to develop solutions for issues affecting the Black community. The organization provides many programs and services to improve the quality of life and address the unmet needs of underserved, under-represented, and disenfranchised South Los Angeles residents.
The Brotherhood Crusade team seeks to remove and help individuals overcome barriers that deter their pursuit of success in life and facilitate opportunities for a better quality of life. Specifically, the organization aims to effectuate improved health and wellness; facilitate academic success; promote personal, social, and economic growth; provide access to artistic excellence and cultural awareness; increase financial literacy; and create and strengthen community agencies and institutions. The nonprofit also uses resources to help other community organizations working for a more equitable Los Angeles.
The organization’s causes are spearheaded by its first female president, CEO, and daughter of one of the founders, Charisse Bremond Weaver, who has served as leader of the organization for almost 20 years, and many other dedicated workers, such as Executive Vice President Stacy Hill-Williams.
“We have created a wonderful relationship with Stacy and Charisse,” says Mahdesian. “Their warmth and devotion to helping their communities is inspirational. Brotherhood Crusade offers an impressive variety of programs that provide opportunities to support underserved youth and empower the community of South LA, priorities our two organizations share. Brotherhood Crusade offers too many programs to list; I strongly recommend checking out its website for more details.”
ServiconCares’ ongoing partnership with Brotherhood Crusade includes monetary contributions and time and supply donations. For example. ServiconCares helped fill bags with donated supplies for Brotherhood Crusade’s P.L.U.S. (Preserving Legacies and Uniting Sisterhood) retreat to help young women build academic and life skills and backpacks with school supplies for Brotherhood Crusade’s Back to School Health Fair. The two organizations are planning additional joint activities in 2024.
For more information on Brotherhood Crusade, visit brotherhoodcrusade.org.
Fly Compton Aero Club
Fly Compton Aero Club was founded in 2020 by a group of African American professional pilots and aircraft mechanics seeking to invest in the youth of their community while diversifying the aerospace industry. One founder and president of Fly Compton, Demetrius D. Harris, didn’t become a pilot until the age of 40 after being inspired seeing two Black pilots on a commercial flight. He and his fellow founders wanted better for future generations.
With a mission to provide opportunities for underprivileged youth in the Compton, California, community to explore and pursue their passion for aviation, Fly Compton helps break down barriers in the aerospace industry and in life. Fly Compton aims to empower future generations to dream big through mentorship, educational programs, and access to resources. By encouraging youth and young adults to focus on education and providing a path and motivation for an aviation career, Fly Compton impacts the lives of its students and their community.
“Given our strong ties with aerospace, we are extremely excited about our partnership with Fly Compton and can’t wait to see how the organization’s initiatives grow and impact the lives of future pilots and aviation specialists,” Mahdesian says. “With how underrepresented the Black community is in the world of aviation, Demetrius and his team of instructors work to help make it a more equitable industry, providing incredible, yet uncommon, opportunities for youth in Compton to achieve success many of them never thought possible. By training students as young as eight, the Fly Compton team encourages often overlooked and underprivileged kids to study, practice, and excel in an exciting career. By teaching their students how to fly, these pilots are literally showing them how to reach new heights. Studies show representation matters. Younger people seeing others who look like them provides role models and encourages them that they, too, can succeed in these areas.
“ServiconCares just made its first contribution to Fly Compton, but we plan on continuing to do so as we build our relationship with the team. We visited the Compton/Woodley airport in December, where we met Demetrius and some of Fly Compton’s instructors and students enrolled in their training programs. It was nothing short of inspiring.”
For more information about Fly Compton Aero Club, visit flycompton.com.
About ServiconCares
The philanthropic arm of Servicon, ServiconCares, was born in 2021 through a desire and initiative to invest in our people and the underserved communities where Servicon employees and their families work and live. We look to inspire systemic change and foster community development through skill-building, volunteering/participation, and funding. We align with organizations focused on education, civic engagement, and social justice. We aim to stabilize and elevate these communities while encouraging other community leaders to join us to create a better, more just environment for all. For more information, please contact Servicon.
