Brother Grant D. Bennett (Spring 2018) Gives Back To Hometown Youth With Launch Of Two-Six Project
The Covid-19 pandemic may have put a pause to Brother Grant Donte Bennett's 2020 graduation ceremony at Morehouse College, but it didn't prevent him from fulfilling a personal commitment made to empower young people in his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina once his undergrad was complete. Bennett was able to launch the non-profit Two-Six Project in the weeks just prior to his relocation to California to begin his post-undergraduate career with Google LLC.
The Two-Six Project is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that serves as an incubator for initiatives including, but not limited to scholarships, educational programs, sports, among other mediums. The mission is to develop leaders from marginalized communities through intentional programming and scholarship. By approaching initiatives to impact from a justice-oriented core, they strive to influence the community and to cultivate culture while emphasizing intentional programming through creative mediums to to maximize impact.
The Two-Six Project explores leadership and character development through a variety of interactive activities, clinics, programming, and scholarships. They place particular emphasis on social impact, creativity, and culture. Their programming is their own way of authentically engaging the community. Programming is powered by committed volunteers who help deliver the programs and services.
The Two-Six Project Sports Initiative offers free instructional lessons and clinics to student-athletes in the Fayetteville, North Carolina area. Former college and professional athletes from the Fayetteville community provide the instruction. Each sport (football, basketball, baseball, etc.) has a specific program manager to spearhead their particular initiative.
The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) enhances the leadership skills of marginalized high school students through a virtual experience. Through interactive activities and discussions, ELP constructs leaders through impact and culture. The students complete projects year-round utilizing Morehouse College Identity, Art, and Democracy curriculum for social impact. Leadership, Social Justice, Financial Literacy, and Social Impact are primary points of emphasis in the ELP curriculum.
The Two-Six Project Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to students who participate in our initiatives and pursue post-secondary education.
Statement from Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College:
“The Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College selected Grant Bennett for its inaugural Social Justice and Leadership Innovation Award. As the founder of the non-profit, The Two-Six Project, based in his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Mr. Bennett put ideas of social justice leadership into practice. Under his direction and in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Emerging Leaders offered a three-week mentoring program to Fayetteville youth, who acquired a greater awareness of the importance of identity, action, and social justice to leadership development. We were thoroughly impressed by the set of resources and activities that he organized, and his work serves as an example for others to follow. The Andrew Young Center highly commends The Two-Six Project and Emerging Leaders for their work in cultivating the next generation of social justice and social impact leaders.”
About Brother Grant Donte Bennett:
A 2020 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Morehouse College with a B.A. degree in Psychology, Brother Bennett launched his professional career earlier this month as a People Operations Associate at Google, LLC, based in the San Francisco, California area. On the same day he started his Google gig, Bennett also began his online pursuit of his Masters of Science degree in Human Capital Management at Columbia University.
Prior to departing Morehouse College, he served as a Campus Ambassador for Jopwell, a NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) Student Fellow, Content Intern for Forbes Impact, Google Equity Programs Intern, and a Peek Weekend Participant at the Harvard Business School. He also served as the Assistant District Dirctor for Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., 2019-20.
Pictured above: The Spring 2018 pledge line, the Preeminent 19, initiated at Morehouse College's Alpha Rho Chapter.
