NOLA Black Wall Street to host 2nd Annual Senior Car giveaway

By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer

Local nonprofit NOLA Black Wall Street will be hosting its 2nd annual Senior Car Giveaway at St. Roch Park on Saturday, June 22 from noon to five.

Goldie Gaspar founded NOLA Black Wall Street with the goal of championing economic empowerment and community enrichment for Black New Orleanians. She came up with the idea for the car giveaway when she thought of her own youth and how her parents were unable to buy a car for her and how much easier her college life would have been if she had her own transportation.

“Coming out of high school and going into college, accessing reliable transportation is just one difficult hurdle a lot of young people face,” Gaspar said. “I want to make it easier for their transition into college. By providing transportation support to graduating seniors, we aim to empower them to pursue their educational aspirations with confidence and determination.”

Interested parties can submit an application for the car giveaway at www.nbwsseniorcargiveaway.com. Applicants need proof of residence in New Orleans, proof of high school graduation, parents must follow the event’s sponsors on Instagram (Hustle Man LLC), and the applicant’s parent or legal guardian must be present to claim the prize.

The event will not just be limited to the car giveaway. There will be other giveaways every 30 minutes. These will include photo shoots, a musical instrument with lessons, nail sets, spa days, skin care products, LLCs for students looking to start a business, and more. There will also be space walks, face painting, a double dutch competition, free food, and music. Football, basketball, and dodgeball games will take place as well.

“It’s a family day. We’ll have a little bit of everything for the whole family,” Gaspar said.

Gaspar emphasized that putting the event together has been a collective effort. She thanked her sponsors, who include musical artist Sess 4-5, the lead organizer of Youth Day NOLA, and Fairetha Warren, Founder of Youth Day NOLA. She also singled out Alvin Alvarez, CEO of Push Start Motors for sponsoring a car for the giveaway.

Gaspar added that NOLA Black Wall Street also plans to do a back to school event featuring giveaways for items like backpacks and shoes. She also plans to do Thanksgiving and Christmas events. She added that any local business interested in sponsoring or participating in these events should contact NOLA Black Wall Street.

Any community members interested in making a donation to the event should visit www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=DDUBG4665T4B4.

This article originally published in the June 17, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.