For Immediate Release:
August 13, 2007
Contact: Marsha D. Mitchell
(213) 743-3061
Russell Simmons Donates $5,000 to
Friends of SCLARC, Inc.
Hip Hop impresario Russell Simmons donates $5,000 to Friends of SCLARC, Inc. as a Pearl
Sponsor of the 3rd Annual Friends of SCLARC, Inc. Golf Tournament & Dinner. Simmons, an
avid community, social, political and music activist, joins presenting sponsor and fellow music
mogul Michael Concepcion (founder and CEO of Grand Jury Records) and super director Brett
Ratner (“Rush Hour” franchise) in supporting this fundraiser.
Simmons burst upon the music scene in the early 1980s as a record producer and artist
manager. Soon after, he co-founded Def Jam Records and began producing top-selling artists
such as Run-DMC, Public Enemy and L. L. Cool J. As the premier rap label of the time,
Simmons helped to establish rap music as one of the most influential forms of music the world
has seen. In addition to his music empire, Russell Simmons has also transformed the world of
fashion with his Phat Farm line.
An avid philanthropist, Mr. Simmons spends a great deal of his time and considerable energy
working for social, political, and philanthropic causes. In 1995 he, along with his brothers Danny
and Joseph Simmons (Rev. Run of Run DMC), founded Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. The
organization is dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban youth with significant exposure and
access to the arts, offering exhibition opportunities to underrepresented artists and artists of color,
and will soon open an arts education and resource center in East New York, Brooklyn.
Following the historic Hip-Hop Summit Russell organized in June 2001, he founded the HipHop Summit Action Network (HSAN) to harness the cultural relevance of hip-hop music as a
catalyst for addressing societal concerns fundamental to the well being of at-risk youth
throughout the United States. Among HSAN’s major initiatives is “Get Your Money Right,” a
national financial literacy tour. The non-partisan organization will also register and mobilize
young voters across the country in preparation for the 2008 Presidential Election. Russell’s most
recent pro-social endeavor is the Diamond Empowerment Fund™ (DEF), whose mission is to
raise money to support education initiatives that empower economically disadvantaged people in
African nations where diamonds are a natural resource.
Now, he is lending his support to Friends of SCLARC, Inc. to provide residents of South Los
Angeles who have been diagnosed as having mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism and
epilepsy with resources and support during times of emergency. Friends of SCLARC was
established in 1984 by a group of concerned volunteers who joined together in order to help
promote public awareness about developmental disabilities in the surrounding community and to
fundraise. For the last three years, Friends, Inc. signature fundraising event has been its golf
tournament and dinner.
This year’s tournament will be held at Downey’s Rio Hondo Golf Club, located at 10627 Old
River School Road, Downey, CA, 90241 on Friday, August 24, 2007. For more information on
how to participate in, donate to or be a sponsor of the Friends 3rd Annual Golf Tournament, please
contact Marsha D. Mitchell, Event Director, at (213) 743-3061 or e-mail her at
Marshamb@sclarc.org.
Russell Simmons