Black students interested in career and technical education through Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC) will now be able to receive financial support from funds raised by former West-MEC Career Coach and current City of Buckeye Economic Development Business Manager Brian Wright.
Funds were raised during a breakfast at Summit Church in Buckeye, hosted by Wright, on the Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The cost of the breakfast was $20 per person and raised roughly $3,700 to sponsor Black students attending West-MEC. The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc West Valley Chapter helped to put on the event and donated another $3,000, for $6,700 in total money raised at this breakfast event.
“Dr. King was about serving, helping, and furthering the futures of others so we decided to do this,” said Wright. “We started planning only about seven or eight weeks beforehand. We would’ve been happy if 50 people showed up, instead, we got almost 200 people to come.”
While at West-MEC from 2018-2022, in addition to his main role as a Career Coach, Wright worked to increase the number of Black students who attended West-MEC, as only about 4% of its students are Black.
“West-MEC is a great opportunity for kids in the West Valley. This breakfast allowed me the opportunity to continue to help,” said Wright.
But Wright was adamant this was something that couldn’t happen without the help from the community and sponsors that aided in putting on this event.
“We had about ten sponsors and they were all great. From Summit Church allowing us to use their facility, to Fresh Fitness Kitchen supplying the food, we had great sponsors,” said Wright.
Wright, who also serves as senior pastor at the Citadel of Praise Christian Church, was supported by Tedy Burton, a fellow pastor at the Citadel of Praise Christian Church, who contributed to hosting the breakfast.
