Why Dallas Is Diversifying its Blood Supply
Even though 38 percent of the population in the U.S. are eligible to donate blood, less than 10 percent do so each year. Moreover, these donors are disproportionately White. People of color have historically donated blood at lower levels. But a partnership between The Potter’s House Church, the American Red Cross, and United MegaCare is looking to change that.
A study from the National Institutes of Health found that among nearly 400,000 blood donations reported by donors aged 16-69 years old, 77 percent of the collections were from White people. Black people donated at a rate of 16.3 percent, Hispanic people at 2.3 percent, and Asians at 2.2 percent. The country is only 59 percent White.
Why is a diverse blood supply important? Because blood type is inherited, a patient that needs blood is more likely to find a blood match from their own ethnic group. Sickle cell patients are especially likely to benefit. In the United States, Sickle Cell patients are overwhelmingly Black and may need a transfusion of as many as 100 units of blood a year to prevent the disease’s symptoms, like anemia and organ damage. The disease impacts one in 365 Black Americans, according to the CDC. If more people of color donate, the patients’ chances of having enough blood for their transfusions increases.
In Dallas, the United MegaCare Sickle Cell Blood Drives began in May with the goal of educating the Black community about sickle cell disease.
“Partnering with United MegaCare and The Potter’s House helps educate Black communities about the need for blood and encourages them to become active blood donors. It also ensures that blood donation opportunities are reflective of the diverse communities the Red Cross serves and held at convenient locations that help bring donation opportunities closer to home,” said American Red Cross communications representative Doyle Rader.
There have been five drives in North Texas, including Dallas, Frisco, the Fort Worth Potter’s House, and the Dallas Potter’s House campus, incentivizing donors with Amazon gift cards. The partnership also offers courses on sickle cell disease to increase engagement and motivate the Black community to donate blood.
“Education for sickle cell is focused on the background of the disease, the populations it affects, how the sickle cell affects the body, why donors of African descent are needed, the impact it has on the individuals and families, treatment through blood transfusion and impact donors can have by donating blood, as well as, how organizations can help by encouraging the communities they serve to get involved,” Rader said.
Sickle cell disease is a red blood cell disorder where they have abnormal hemoglobins that cause the red blood cells to become sticky and hard, killing those cells creating a red cell deficit in the body, and even blocking blood flow leading to an array of other health problems such as strokes, infections, and brief episodes of pain.
The drives are hosted as welcoming events in a familiar venue to lower the stigma surrounding giving blood by gathering experts and people living with the disease so the community can see firsthand what their efforts are contributing.
“Again, education is the cornerstone,” Doyle said. “Simply put, the Black community has not been made aware of just how important their blood donation is to patients with sickle cell disease. The education component is coupled with an actual blood drive. Typically, the blood drive is in conjunction with some other event; for example, for our first blood drive on May 1, 2022, Lady Serita Jakes hosted a Coffee & Conversations virtual live event that featured a sickle cell warrior.”
Rader says the partnership has been a success, and the partners have plans to expand the locations it offers these blood drives and establish more community partnerships.
“Building effective partnerships with major community stakeholders helps to better address the health, emergency, and social needs of communities,” Rader said. “Through the American Red Cross/United MegaCare, Inc and The Potter’s House partnership, we aim to build healthier communities.”
DALLAS (KDAF) — We love shouting out organizations across North Texas when they help out the community.
T.D. Jakes Foundation is a team dedicated to building bridges to opportunities across the nation.
It recently partners with the Dallas Mavericks and Goldman Sachs to reward winners of the “Hack-A-Thon” S.T.E.A.M. camp. They also treated the winners to a night of food, drinks and box seats at a Dallas Mavericks home game.
“The Hack-A-Thon competition engaged students from DFW to around the world since it was also virtual and was a unique way to teach kids outside the classroom,” Hattie Hill, President and CEO of T.D. Jakes Foundation, said in a news release. “The looks on the winner’s faces was worth the work– for many of them it was their first time to attend an NBA game.”
The winners also got to meet Cynt Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks and the first African American woman to lead an NBA Team.
“Goldman Sachs is thrilled to celebrate these students who worked so hard applying a software engineering mindset to design an app and program to support teenagers’ mental health,” Goldman Sachs Managing Director Ramanathan Narayanan said in a news release. “Seeing them cast a vision and implement what they learned from our engineers to impact their generation is very rewarding and exactly why we are committed to this partnership with the T.D. Jakes Foundation and Dallas Mavericks. We look forward to the 2023 STEAM Academy Hackathon and continuing to help foster the talent of the future.”
Learn more about the foundation by clicking here.
Bishop T.D. Jakes is leading a new effort to help the growing housing crisis in the nation. He joins Symone D. Sanders-Townsend to discuss his plans for more affordable housing, food security and building generational wealth in underserved communities.
One of the country’s foremost faith leaders is teaming up with a titan in music.
Per a news release, Bishop T.D. Jakes has struck a distribution deal with Roc Nation whereby his record label Dexterity Sounds.
“The team at Roc Nation have been a global force in shaping the music industry and telling stories through life music,” said T.D. Jakes, CEO of T.D. Jakes Enterprises in a news release. “Finally Loosed is an album meant to provide hope, encouragement, and inspiration to people who need to be lifted up. The distribution of our album by Roc Nation helps expand the popularity of inspirational music backed by the global reach of streaming and digital media.”
The album is the accompaniment to Jakes’ wildly popular long-running women’s conference Woman Thou Art Loosed (WTAL) founded in 1992.
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“Through the years, Bishop Jakes has “loosed” multitudes of women from the shackles of abandonment, low self-esteem, addiction, and more to become victorious, secure women,” the conference’s website says. “Woman, Thou Art Loosed! held its first conference in 1996 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. Now, a quarter-century later, WTAL comes home to that original location for its triumphant grand finale.” Over time, the conference has housed millions of attendees and has grown into one of the foremost faith-based events in the country.
MegaFest, an amalgamation of WTAL and three other conferences, has featured Oprah Winfrey, Joel Osteen and other notable figures over the years.
The latest conference was held September 22-24, 2022, in Atlanta and was recently taken over by T.D. Jakes’ daughter and fellow paster Sarah Jakes Roberts.
The album gospel album will include contributions from Timbaland, Sheila E., Tamar Braxton, Isreal Houghton, Fred Jerkins, Maranda Curtis and others. It will also be available in retail stores, a Collector’s Edition Vinyl for pre-order, and on all streaming and digital platforms.
Bishop T.D. Jakes has announced that for the first-time ever his inspiring messages will be available to audiences worldwide to stream through Amazon services.
Jakes is the first faith leader to have a dedicated space on the streaming app that will make his ministry and his teachings available free-of-charge to viewers.
The T.D. Jakes FAST Channel will be available for customers in the U.S. to stream on the Freevee app and within Prime Video starting in early 2023.
The two-year deal will also make Jakes’ content available in both the United Kingdom and Germany and it will allow viewers access to 300 hours of content.
“The launch of our channel with Amazon Freevee signals a major step forward in providing a protected and trusted space for audiences’ emotional and spiritual fortitude,” added Jakes. “As Amazon continues to innovate and offer audiences meaningful content, I’m proud to illustrate to the world how ministry and philanthropy can be done in an ever-evolving culture.”
“Though what we’ve been able to achieve with this launch is unprecedented, our mission to positively affect lives by reducing limitations on how people can be ministered to remains our North Star,” he continued. “I look forward to taking more big, meaningful leaps with Amazon.”
Jakes is the founder and has served as the lead pastor over The Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas for more than 40 years. He is known worldwide for his animated preaching style and in 2001 he was named “America’s Best Preacher” by TIME magazine.
Freevee customers will not only have access to some of Jakes’ timeless sermons, but will be able to view content that addresses subjects like emotional well-being, leadership, and business.
“Through his powerful and dynamic sermons and wide-ranging community outreach, Bishop Jakes has been a source of wisdom and guidance to millions around the world,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD Original content and programming at Amazon Studios. “At Freevee, our steadfast mission is to deliver our broad audience a diverse selection of compelling, personally resonant content.
“As we build our faith-based offerings alongside our entertainment selection, we are honored to be the exclusive video streaming home for Bishop Jakes’ decades-long ministry, and proud to be a destination for viewers to find an ongoing source of spiritual inspiration,” she continued.
Jakes announced the launch of his channel during the final “Women Thou Art Loosed’ conference Friday in Atlanta, Ga.
As CBN News has reported, this year’s meeting will be the final gathering of the premiere Christian women’s conference that launched in 1996.
“Woman Thou Art Loosed has been a global movement of empowerment for women for over two whole decades. Our vision for this conference in particular, like others, is to create a platform for women to feel seen, heard and to free themselves of whatever’s holding them back,” Frank Dyer, Chief Operating Officer of T.D. Jakes Ministries told CBN News.
The lineup of speakers includes Bishop T.D. Jakes, First Lady Serita Jakes, Pastor Cora Jakes, Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts, Carolyn D. Showell, and Priscilla Shirer. Roughly 20,000 women are expected to attend this weekend’s event.
Bishop T.D. Jakes is expanding his faith-based media empire into streaming television.
According to Variety, the noted preacher, inspirational speaker and author has signed a deal with Amazon Freevee to launch a free, ad-supported, streaming channel (FAST) and on-demand service that features 300 hours of his content.
Beginning Thursday, Dec. 1, sermons, interviews and unscripted programming will be available on-demand, while the streaming channel is scheduled to launch in early 2023. The deal exposes Jakes to an international audience, with rights in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, as well as T.D. Jakes on The Road episodes from Australia, London, and Africa.
“It’s unprecedented for both of us,” Jakes told Variety. “It’s the first time that [Amazon has] ever gone into that type of content before. And while we do scripted shows, and I’ve done things for Sony and other people, they initially are not asking for anything like that. They’re wanting purely faith-based content, preaching sermons, messages, inspiration, to be available to stream on a dedicated FAST channel and free to watch. That’s a new thing for them and for us.”
The deal isn’t exclusive, so programming from The Potter’s House ministry leader could be available on other platforms. Many of the church’s events, along with live streams of weekly services are currently available on YouTube.
While we’ve seen major media deals for faith leaders before, it usually revolves around a white male preacher and is on a smaller, niche station. For a Black religious leader like T.D. Jakes to cement a deal with a platform like Amazon is a very big step. The tech and retail giant is directly acknowledging the power and importance of the Black church.
“This is where the first time a company like Amazon has treated us without discriminating about faith and be open to providing this type of content for a certain base of their constituency who find that type of content enjoyable,” Jakes said. “To me that is a very good thing. It won’t be for everybody. But for those people who really enjoy that type of ministry, which our numbers verify that there are millions of people who do, we can now provide those services through Amazon.”
The Crushing author has produced several films and TV series, including Lifetime’s Seven Deadly Sins anthology. While the initial Amazon Freevee plans only feature unscripted content, Jakes is open to working on scripted programming with the streamer.
“We’re also talking about the possibility of, down the road, doing scripted television shows and other types of content through Amazon, beyond preaching messages,” he said. “So, this this is just ground level zero of a relationship that is emerging between our organization and them.”
In case you’ve never heard of Amazon Freevee, it’s a free channel available on Prime Video. It has a lot of TV shows from the ‘80s and ‘90s, but also includes new series Leverage: Redemption, Bosch: Legacy and the British comedy Timemasters.
Amazon Freevee is getting into business with Bishop T.D. Jakes, signing a two-year deal with the spiritual figure to launch a FAST (free, ad-supported streaming) channel and provide on-demand access to 300 hours of Jakes’ content.
The deal, which launches Dec. 1 and covers rights in the U.S., UK and Germany, will include sermons, interviews and other unscripted, faith-based programming from Jakes’ library — which has been amassed over 45 years. While the programming will be available on demand at that time, the FAST channel will launch in early 2023 on Amazon Freevee and within Prime Video.
Michael Phillips, the chief operating officer of T.D. Jakes Enterprises, will oversee the programming output.
“It’s unprecedented for both of us,” Jakes said of the deal. “It’s the first time that [Amazon has] ever gone into that type of content before. And while we do scripted shows, and I’ve done things for Sony and other people, they initially are not asking for anything like that. They’re wanting purely faith-based content, preaching sermons, messages, inspiration, to be available to stream on a dedicated FAST channel and free to watch. That’s a new thing for them and for us.”
Other programming in the mix includes “T.D. Jakes on The Road” editions including Australia, London, and Africa, leadership and business talks and conversations with celebrities and political leaders.
“This is where the first time a company like Amazon has treated us without discriminating about faith and be open to providing this type of content for a certain base of their constituency who find that type of content enjoyable,” Jakes said. “To me that is a very good thing. It won’t be for everybody. But for those people who really enjoy that type of ministry, which our numbers verify that there are millions of people who do, we can now provide those services through Amazon.”
Jakes said the deal with Amazon isn’t exclusive, which means T.D. Jakes programming and channels would very well pop up on other AVOD distributors as well.
“We’re also talking about the possibility of, down the road, doing scripted television shows and other types of content through Amazon, beyond preaching messages,” said Jakes, whose producing credits include the films “Sparkle,” “Heaven Is for Real” and “A Dog’s Way Home.” “So, this this is just ground level zero of a relationship that is emerging between our organization and them.”
Said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD original content and programming at Amazon Studios: “As we build our faith-based offerings alongside our entertainment selection, we are honored to be the exclusive video streaming home for Bishop Jakes’ decades-long ministry, and proud to be a destination for viewers to find an ongoing source of spiritual inspiration.”
WASHINGTON, June 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — T.D. Jakes was honored at the Museum of the Bible’s Blessing of The Elders event on June 23 to celebrate his accomplishments as both a revered communicator, pastor and global humanitarian. The event honored the Black church’s impact in America and how it has pioneered the way for many Americans to hear the message of the Bible.
John Hope Bryant, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE, led the tribute of Jakes with these words:
“[T.D. Jakes] is the ultimate translator and can communicate to all people, from business to ministry to global philanthropy. On Sunday, his message of hope and love is reaching millions around this globe, and by Monday he’s in his director’s chair producing some of the most compelling faith-based films and stories. On Tuesday, he’s overseeing real estate development that will bring affording housing and economic opportunities to thousands, and by Wednesday he’s helping the formerly incarcerated through his [Texas] offender reentry program. Now through his foundation, he’s preparing people for the 21st-century workforce. T.D. Jakes is a man who understands the Scripture’s charge to ‘go into all the world and preach the gospel.’ It’s an honor to know him and call him friend.”
As the senior pastor of The Potter’s House, a non-denominational, multicultural church and global humanitarian organization based in Dallas, Jakes has built more than a church. He has built a multi-faceted, faith-based organization whose impact reaches well beyond the pulpit by using business and community outreach as a force for good. Jakes believes that faith is what connects us all – be it faith in a higher power, faith in ourselves, or faith in the goodness of humanity. Jakes’ ability to transcend cultural, racial, gender and socioeconomic barriers has transformed him into a guide and global leader for presidents and paupers alike around the world.
John Sharp, chief relations officer at Museum of the Bible, has long said that spiritual renewal in America could come through the Black church. The Blessing of the Elders initiative is intended to honor Black pastors across the U.S. who have been committed to the call of preaching and caring for others. It acknowledges their exceptional contribution as vitally important to the development of America’s biblical values.
Along with Jakes, Pastor Shirley Caesar, Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr., Dr. John M. Perkins, Rev. Dr. A. R. Bernard Sr., Dr. Tony Evans, and Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie were also honored.
B-roll footage and photos of the event are available.
Jakes will look to make an impact on thousands of women next during his Woman, Thou Art Loosed! conference in Atlanta, Sept. 22-24. The conference brings inspirational and motivational speakers to the stage to help women around the world be loosed from a myriad of strongholds, transforming them into revelations that help women to change the world.
About The Potter’s House
Located in Dallas, The Potter’s House is a 30,000-member nondenominational, multicultural church and humanitarian organization led by Bishop T. D. Jakes, twice featured on the cover of Time magazine as America’s Best Preacher and as one of the nation’s 25 Most Influential Evangelicals. The Potter’s House has four locations: The Potter’s House of Dallas, The Potter’s House of Fort Worth, The Potter’s House of North Dallas and The Potter’s House OneLA.
Media contacts:
Jordan Hora, 214.608.2006
Christine Cape, 404.545.0085
SOURCE The Potter’s House
DALLAS — Hundreds of students from across the Dallas-Fort Worth area are already busy while leaping into summer break.
Many are hard at work in summer camp.
“We have something big happening! We are so excited,” said Hattie Hill, executive director and CEO of the T.D. Jakes Foundation.
About 325 teens gathered at the Potter’s House of Dallas on Monday to kick-off the start of “Hack-A-Thon.” It’s a two-week summer intensive STEAM camp.
“I feel like it’s a good experience, especially for kids my age,” said Kyla Thomas, a student at Duncanville High School.
The “Hack-A-Thon” is exposing students from a variety of communities to science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
“It’s new opportunities to find out new things, new innovations, teamwork, and networking,” explained Gregory Williams of Red Oak High School.
The T.D. Jakes Foundation is partnering with Dallas Mavericks and Goldman Sachs to offer the camp in person and virtually to hundreds of students locally and globally.
“Our goal is really to create that spark, that exposure, that says there may be something there that’s interesting to me, and I want to do it,” Hill explained.
The students are guided by mentors. They work in small groups with engineers from Goldman Sachs. The teens also get one-on-one access to professionals helping them navigate questions, experiments and building prototypes.
“We first start by coming up with an idea. Then we brainstorm all of that. We draw out our idea. Then we start, actually, executing our idea,” student Josiah Thorpe explained.
Organizers said the “Hack-A-Thon” camp is about building bridges and exposing the teens to potential career opportunities.
“We want to build a bridge for our young people between opportunity and their exposure to know it actually exists,” Hill added.
ATLANTA, Oct. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — On October 21, 2021, the Fort Mac LRA Board of Directors approved the Initial Interim Master Development Plan from T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures, LLC (TDJREV), for the redevelopment of a portion of the former Fort McPherson Army Base in accordance with the terms of the previously approved Purchase and Sale Agreement.
“We are pleased to release this plan today to provide the community a glimpse of what is likely to be incorporated into the final plan,” T.D. Jakes said. “While this is a major step forward, the plan is a work in progress as we continue our dialogue with local stakeholders and residents. We remain focused on strengthening communities through affordable housing and by helping people live the American dream through homeownership and the creation of multi-generational wealth.”
As the next step in the planning process, the interim layout provides a general overview of the uses that will likely be incorporated into a final master plan and calls for a mixed-use development with mixed-income housing and an array of living choices including single-family homes, townhomes and apartments nestled in well-designed neighborhoods. In addition, the plan envisions ample amenities aimed at enhancing the quality of life for both residents in the new development and existing residents in the surrounding communities. These include a variety of retail goods and services, healthy food choices, and healthcare options. The plan also anticipates ample green space and a bike path.
As the first step in a longer master planning process, the Initial Interim Master Development Plan outlines uses on the proposed site that may be a part of the final master plan. The Fort Mac LRA Board looks forward to continued updates on the planning process as T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures, LLC, continues its due diligence activities and discussions with the communities surrounding the former Fort McPherson Army Base.
TDJREV/EDT will be holding another community engagement meeting on Saturday, October 30th, from 4-6pm at the MILRA offices before a free to the community drive-in movie night, which takes place at 7pm.
ABOUT TDJREV
TDJREV is a Dallas-based real estate company dedicated to implementing T.D. Jakes’ vision of creating attainable and sustainable communities in a global marketplace and developing 21st Century solutions to address rudimentary needs in targeted communities with a focus on economic development, job training, financial literacy and education enrichment. Its real estate portfolio includes Capella Park, a 400-plus acre community in south Dallas that includes single-family homes, live-work space and a prek-8 school.
CONTACT:
Mark Hayes
Media Liaison
(404) 510-6674 Cell
Info@markhayesconsulting.com
Lekan Oguntoyinbo
T.D. Jakes
469-475-9414
ooguntoyinbo@tdjakes.org
SOURCE T.D. Jakes Real Estate Ventures, LLC
