Ninth Annual Pink Hat Tea Promotes Alzheimers Awareness and Raises Funds for Scholarships

Washington, DC, June 12, 2018 --(PR.com)-- The Pearl and Ivy Educational Foundation, Inc. (PIEF), in collaboration with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.,® Xi Omega Chapter, hosted its Annual Pink Hat Tea on Sunday, June 3, 2018 at the Renaissance Downtown in Washington, DC. The Tea, which is in its ninth year, raises funds for scholarships for college-bound high school students in the District of Columbia.

Each year, PIEF awards more than $20,000 in scholarships to exceptional, college-bound high school students. The 2018 scholarship recipients are 12 outstanding students selected from seven DC public high schools and charter schools. PIEF celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2018, and has awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships to hundreds of DC college-bound students.

This year’s Pink Hat Tea was a festive gathering that brought together 800 members of Washington’s social and philanthropic community to support a worthy cause. This year, the Tea focused on Alzheimer’s Awareness, an international Alpha Kappa Alpha Health Initiative, and honored Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III and Loretta Anne Woodward Veney author of the book Being My Mom’s Mom, for their efforts in raising awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease.

The Tea’s spotlight on Alzheimer’s brought heartfelt moments. Baker shared the story of becoming the primary caregiver for his wife of 30 years after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Veney shared how she’s become a memory keeper and maternal figure for her mother, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2006. During the Tea, Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha donated $1,000 to the Alzheimer’s Association National Capital Area Chapter.

The Tea featured a lively hat fashion show curated by Rev. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas, owner of The American Hat Factory, LLC – the only Black-owned millinery factory in the country. The event also featured a silent auction, vendor marketplace, and live musical entertainment from singer Lanell Lightfoot, whose stellar vocals brought audience members to their feet.