HL 011: Fundraising Party Ideas for HBCU Alumni with Christopher Cathcart

In this episode of the HBCU Lifestyle Podcast, I’m excited to share with you a thought-provoking interview with communications pro Christopher Cathcart. Chris is a graduate of Howard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations. His early career experience includes working with CNN, Motown Records, and Hidden Beach Records, to name a few. Today, Chris is the President of the OneDiaspora Group, where he spends much of his time as a PR and branding expert, volunteer activist, inspirational speaker, and media trainer.

In this episode, you will hear about how Chris’ support system of family, extended family, a community group (Upward Bound), and the sports community was instrumental in getting him to consider attending an HBCU. He also credits early exposure from an HBCU college tour as a key factor in making his decision. Chris goes on to describe how he received the blessing of attending Howard on a full ride scholarship. Later in the interview, Chris relates his most memorable HBCU experience and how it has made a tremendous impact on his life whose influence extends to this day.

Throughout the show, Chris provides several key pieces of advice for college-bound students and incoming college freshmen based on his own adjustments to college life. One of my favorites is his insight on responsibility and accountability and creating structure for yourself so you don’t wind up flunking out of school but still hanging around campus. Chris also makes some strong cases for considering an HBCU, while at the same time making sure the school you choose is best suited for you personally, academically, and geographically.

Before we closed out the show, Chris shared a couple of big projects he’s currently working on.

Fundraising Party Ideas for HBCU Alumni

• Chris talks about fundraising party ideas for HBCU alumni groups with the Soul Train Cruise 2014. Ten percent of the proceeds from cabin purchases go to support your organization when the purchaser uses your group’s promo code. In addition to fundraising, you get to sail aboard a luxury cruise liner for seven days in the Caribbean to St. Barths, St. Maarten, and Half Moon Cay, not to mention attending performances from over 30 R&B and Soul artists, such as the Isley Brothers, Charlie Wilson, Roberta Flack, and Jeffrey Osborne, to name a few.

HBCU Experience — The Book

• Due to be released in February, 2014, HBCU Experience – The Book will celebrate the HBCU legacy and the experiences of those who attend HBCUs. Furthermore, with the debate still raging over the relevance and need for HBCUs in the new millennium, this collection of essays will help showcase the unique experiences of HBCU graduates, highlight the important need for these institutions, and accentuate the overall benefits of having an HBCU education.

Links to resources mention in this episode:

If you’re interested in promoting this year’s Soul Train Cruise to raise money for your HBCU club or organization, contact HBCU alum Chris Cathcart by email for more info at Chris@OneDG.com or on the phone at (213) 840-8740.

Here at HBCU Lifestyle, we’re taking advantage of this opportunity to generate some revenue; if you would like to help support HBCU Lifestyle’s mission, please use the promo code HBCULIFE when booking your Soul Train Cruise 2014.

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