Dare to Dream: Annual NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner set for Oct. 19; educator Gretchen A. Haynes Woods to give keynote speech

With a theme of “Dare to Dream,” Cape Girardeau NAACP president Pat Thompson-McBride said this year’s Freedom Fund Dinner will “bridge the gap between NAACP and the community.”

The event is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 19 at Drury Plaza Hotel Conference Center in Cape Girardeau. NAACP branches hold the annual dinner nationwide.

Thompson-McBride said, “Without a dream, there is no vision. We think back on Martin Luther King Jr.,” and just as King had a “huge dream” for America, “we have dreams for the Cape Girardeau area,” she said.

She said there’s a misconception NAACP is for African Americans only, “which is not true.” Cape Girardeau native Gretchen A. Haynes Woods was chosen to be this year’s keynote speaker because she’s someone “individuals can relate to,” Thompson-McBride said.

“I’m a firm believer that we should use people in the community,” she said. “[Woods] taught school here and she has worked exclusively with young people in this community who are now adults and have their own children.”

Funded by donations, the Cape Girardeau NAACP branch provides annual scholarships to Southeast Missouri State University students and scholarships dedicated to firefighter training. The organization also works with the Salvation Army’s Meals with Friends program.

“This is a people organization, although seven years back, black and white activists started it so that African Americans could have a voice,” she said. “We invite any and everyone to come be a part of the organization.”

Thompson-McBride said this year she hopes to raise $12,000; last year’s event garnered roughly $10,000.

She said if the NAACP can become more visible in the community, “We can do more things and raise more money.”

Woods is a graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School, has a Bachelor of Arts from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, and a Master of Arts from Southeast. While at Drake University, Woods received Iowa State Educational Consultants Licensure. She also worked as a special education consultant in Iowa.

Tickets for the dinner may be purchased by calling (573) 353-7334.

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