Darlene Pantophlet, chair of the Higher Education Committee at Fenimore Street United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, has expressed satisfaction about the community’s support, despite the inclement weather, for the committee’s recent Art & Fashion fundraiser to provide scholarships for graduating high school seniors.
The event, held in collaboration with Moshood Creations, took place at the store’s location on Fulton Street in Brooklyn.
“The event was well received by the community,” Pantophlet, who hails from St. Maarten, told Caribbean Life. “Moshood offered a 10 percent discount on apparel, if the attendee purchased a piece of artwork.
“Due to the inclement weather, a lot of people were unable to attend,” she added. “However, those in attendance had a lovely time, and there were also ‘teachable moments,’ as stated by one of the attendees.”
Pantophlet said among the 100-plus patrons, throughout the course of the event, were Brooklyn’s Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke and her trailblazing, Jamaican-born mother, former Council Member Dr. Una S.T. Clarke, the first Caribbean-born woman to be elected to New York City Council.
Patrons were entertained by Pena Verde Capoeira, and poets Ras Osagyefo and Empress Poetry, Pantophlet said.
“We featured original oil paintings by Senegalese artist Babacar Faye and Nigerian artist Caleb, who currently resides in South Africa, and Pyrography Marquetry work by multidisciplinary artist Haji R. Chamng’anda of Tanzanian,” she said.
Pantophlet said oil paintings by Jada and Shanelle Pringle, members of Fenimore Street United Methodist Church, were also featured. Shanelle, a 2021 high school graduate, will be attending Delaware State College in the fall,
“The mission of the Higher Education Committee is to instruct the youth; inspire them to be their best and do their best; and collectively invest in our youth, so they have the support they need to forge ahead confidently into the future,” said Pantophlet, who migrated to New York with her mother in 197 and is a New York State employee, with 29 years of service in marketing, advertising and event planning.
Pantophlet said Fenimore Street United Methodist Church’s Higher Education Committee “invests in the youth by raising scholarship funds through events such as the Art & Fashion for Scholarships Fundraiser, the Young Queens and Kings Rising, Open Mic Night Fundraisers and Kwanzaa events.”
She said Moshood has been “a staple in the Brooklyn community for 27 years,” at that, from the inception, “Moshood has supported the Higher Education Committee in all their fundraising efforts.”
“My motivation for doing what I do stems from my mother, grandmother and other women in my family,” said Pantophlet, who was appointed chair of Higher Education Committee in 2017. “They served in the community and, as a result, service is embedded in my DNA.
“It is in this spirit that we have programs that will uplift the youth and inspire them to be the best that they can be,” she added.
