2017 INTERNATIONAL LIFE CHANGERS AWARD HONOREES

LEDI Honors Distinguished Philanthropists

The Liberia Economic Development Initiative (LEDI) awarded its prestigious International Life Changers Awards to five (5) distinguished philanthropists within the Cleveland, Ohio area.

The awards were bestowed upon these distinguished individuals on Friday, September 22, 2017 at the Cleveland State University Glasscock Family Ballroom. Those honored are:

  • Dr. Ellen Burts-Cooper, Sr. Managing Partner, Improve Consulting
  • Ms. Kelly Falcone-Hall, CEO, Western Reserve Historical Society
  • Mr. Brian Hall, SVP, Greater Cleveland Partnership
  • Ms. Radhika Reddy, Partner, Ariel Ventures
  • Mr. Chris Ronayne, President, University Circle Inc.

 

The prestigious International Life Changers Award is awarded annually to individuals who exemplify leadership, community service and a commitment to LEDI’s mission to support youth scholarship, literacy, and the social and economic empowerment of less fortunate individuals.

LEDI is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt nonprofit organization founded in 2007. “Reducing poverty, changing lives” is not just our motto – it is the heart of our mission. Whether we are empowering youth, providing small business grants, or building infrastructure such as libraries, our central focus remains to reduce poverty, thereby positively changing the lives of the nearly two-thirds of Liberian people living in abject poverty.

LEDI HOSTS SUCCESSFUL 2018 ANNUAL AWARDS AND FUNDRAISING DINNER

The Liberia Economic Development Initiative (LEDI) hosted a successful International Life Changers Awards and Fundraising Dinner. The event was LEDI’s 4th annual fundraiser was intended to honor the great philanthropic and community work being done by its honorees, while at the same time raising needed funds to support the construction of its modern state of the art public library that is currently being constructed in Gbarnga, Bong County, the Republic of Liberia, West Africa.

The event was highly attended and amazingly structured to the extent that the guests at the event were so excited about attending the next event. The event was held within the Glasscock Family Ballroom at the Student Center of the Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.

At the event, Ms. Nichelle McCall Browne, CEO of Bold Startups; Mr. Joe Cimperman, President of Global Cleveland; Mr. Kenneth J. Kovach, President of the Kenneth J. Kovach Company; and Dr. Valarie J. McCall, Chief of Government and International Affairs for Mayor Frank G. Jackson, Cleveland, Ohio, were awarded the 2018 LEDI International Life Changers Awards. This honor is the highest award that is presented by LEDI to individuals that have demonstrated a commitment to community empowerment to benefit disadvantage individuals.

This event brought together a host of community leaders and other professional leaders within Ohio, Texas, Minnesota, and Indiana. At the end of the event, some funds were raised to carry on the next phase of the LEDI ongoing library construction, which takes place in December 2018.

THE ENTIRE GROUND FLOOR OF LEDI MODERN PUBLIC LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION REACHES WINDOW LEVEL ON JANUARY 19, 2019

Atlanta, Georgia – January 19, 2019 — The Liberia Economic Development Initiative (LEDI) continue to make significant progress on its ongoing modern library construction project.

From December 20, 2018 to January 19, 2019, LEDI made incredible progress on the library construction when it built the entire ground floor of the library to window level. Click here to watch the drone video of the construction. During this period, a small team of LEDI leadership comprising Rufus Darkortey, President of LEDI and Joan Curran Darkortey, Co-founder of LEDI traveled to Liberia to supervise the construction. 7 years old Rufus N. Darkortey, Jr., was also a part of the mission trip where he donated 10 bags of cement valued at $100 to the project, while mobilizing his peers in the community to help has well for the construction

After a successful fundraiser on October 26, 2018, LEDI deplored the funds it raised to embark upon the latest construction efforts.

LEDI is an international nonprofit organization that is currently building this very large modern state of the arts public library as a self-help community-based project in Gbarnga, Bong County, Liberia as a way of helping to reduce poverty and changing lives in those countries.

This phase of the construction process builds on the first two phases of the construction process, which took place from 2017 to 2018. In 2017, LEDI broke grounds and completed the construction of the foundation of the first segment of the library building. Then in 2018, the organization embarked upon the construction of the second phase by raising the walls of the first.

segment to window height level. Between December 20, 2018 and January 19, 2019, LEDI constructed the foundation of the second segment and brought the walls of the entire ground floor of the library to windows height level.

With this impressive progress that has been made in just three years of community-based fundraising and about three months of active construction in just two years, LEDI and its committed team of compassionate donors were able to reach this level of success. We want to thank all of our amazing and incredible sponsors, donors, and supporters for their remarkable contributions to the success of LEDI and this project. There is more work to be done and we are praying and counting on all of you to continue to walk with us on this journey as we walk to complete what we have started together.