The Promise gets large donations, Vinegar pushes boundaries, Birmingham Bowl returns

This month in City Beat, the Birmingham Promise enjoys a big boost from corporate dollars.

More than 20 people have been picked to serve on the city’s Small Business Council.

An art gallery in the Magic City continues to push the boundaries.

And the Birmingham Bowl will be back this December after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keeping the Promise

Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin and Birmingham Promise Inc. Executive Director Rachel Harmon announced May 25 that the Promise had received about $7 million in corporate gifts to support college scholarships and other services.

The gifts include the largest private donation to Birmingham Promise to date: a $5 million commitment from Vulcan Value Partners in Birmingham.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and Protective Life Corporation each committed $1 million.

“These investments represent a commitment not only to the students who benefit directly from Birmingham Promise but to the future of our city,” Woodfin said in a news release. “Birmingham Promise is laying a foundation that will create economic opportunity and prosperity here for generations to come.”

The city of Birmingham has committed $10 million over five years to the program.

“Our goal is to clear pathways to opportunity for our students in Birmingham,” Harmon said.

The “objective is to unleash potential and open doors,” she said.

To date, Birmingham Promise has partnered with businesses to offer 150 paid apprenticeships to juniors and seniors in Birmingham city schools.

In its first year — 2019-20 — Birmingham Promise supported 396 students.

Among the Class of 2021, 618 students have completed the application and are on track to provide all required documentation by June 1.

For more information, 205-843-5967 or go to birminghampromise.org.

Sculpture and couches

Vinegar — an artist-run, women-led nonprofit visual arts organization located near Avondale and Forest Park — champions artists whose work pushed the boundaries of such emerging, experimental forms as installation, video, new media, performance and ephemeral objects.

In its latest offering, Vinegar presents “Couched,” an exhibition by sculptor Britny Wainwright, through July 17.

Fascinated with domestic objects, Wainwright combines vinyl and ceramic to defamiliarize the common and familiar.

For example, the artist invites the viewer to take a new look at the old-fashioned couch, which we use for a variety of purposes.

“Couched” will feature an interactive couch where viewers can feel their body sink and sag.

Wainwright also makes sculptures that blend painting and ornament and advocates for the inclusion of assertive decorative language in the gallery.

She earned an MFA in ceramics from Ohio State University in 2017, and a BFA from Alfred University in 2012.

From upstate New York, Britny now maintains a studio practice in Columbus, Ohio, and is a lecturer at Ohio State.

Vinegar is open on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and by appointment. Face coverings are required inside the gallery.

For details, call 205-201-4489 or go to vinegarprojects.org.

‘Unleashing potential’

Twenty-three individuals who own or support small businesses have been selected to serve for the next two years on the Small Business Council at the city of Birmingham.

“Our goal is to make Birmingham a hub for minority and women entrepreneurs,” said Cornell Wesley, director of the Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, in a news release. “By expanding opportunity for all, we’re really unleashing the economic potential of our city and our whole region.”

The council advises Woodfin and the Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity on ways to support small businesses, particularly those owned by minorities and women.

The Woodfin administration launched the first Small Business Council in February 2019.

The next term, the council will focus on filling needs in the small business ecosystem, improving government operations and finding purpose in place.

Small businesses “are the backbone of our city and the lifeblood of our economy, generating more than half of the jobs,” Woodfin said.

The new members will serve through April 30, 2023. There are also some reappointments, indicated in the following list by a asterisk:

► Danielle Baskin, The Image Events & Consulting

► Lawrence Broom, Brooms Auto Detail

► Damian Carson,* Operation HOPE Inc.

► Lisa Carter, Innovate Green

► Brandon Cleveland, BBVA

► Isaac Cooper,* IMC Financial Consulting, LLC

► Selena Rodgers Dickerson,* SARCOR, LLC

► Jeremy Ervin, ErvinPR LLC

► Autumn Foster, Quire Consulting

► Danielle Hines, CREED63

► Delpha Bartley-Jones, Valley National Bank

► Kim Lee, Forge

► Varian May, Tailored Fitness, LLC

► Vaneatria McKinnon, Advantage Administration, LLC

► Mona Lisa Morris, Birmingham Business Resource Center

► Rhegees Perry, Trim Grooming Lounge

► Elliott Potter, Linq

► Danielle Ridgeway, Covering Your Assets, LLC

► Krystal Rumph, Eklectic Jane LLC Fitness Studio

► Leonard Stephens, Step By Step Sports Training

► Tanesha Sims-Summer,* Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn

► Theresa Thomas, Thomas HR Firm

► Darlene Wilson,* Relay Accounting Management, a division of DC Finance Management, LLC

The bowl is back

The 15th TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl is back after a year’s absence. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 28, at the soon-to-be-completed Protective Stadium at the BJCC.

Featuring teams from the Southeastern Conference and the American Athletic Conference, the bowl will kick off at 11 a.m. and will air on ESPN.

“We know that everyone attending the game will enjoy the premium seating options and other amenities that are available at Protective Stadium,” said Mark Meadows, the game’s executive director.

Since the game’s inception in 2006, the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl has generated over $156 million in economic impact for the community, according to the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Tickets go on sale to the public Sept. 1, but fans can sign up to become eligible for a pre-sale ticket discount that begins Aug. 1 at ticketsmarterbirminghambowl.com/tickets.