September 18th 2018, BROOKLYN, USA – Gospel recording artist Tonya
Lewis Taylor invited Actor Omar Epps to stop by a Brooklyn school to
show students that success means staying in school.
Epps, a Brooklyn native, was invited to the Life Academy High School
for Film and Music to unveil a new poster campaign for “I WILL
GRADUATE a city sponsored youth development program founded by
Tonya Lewis Taylor. The actor says it’s a personal project for him,
having gone to public school in Brooklyn and a mother who was an
educator.
The I WILL GRADUATE poster campaign is designed to create awareness,
influence attitudes, behaviors and empower young people to succeed.
This 2028/2019 media campaign entitled “Keys to Success,” will be on
display in all 1650 public schools in NYC. The campaign will also be
posted by the NYC Department of Education and other City
Agencies. Omar Epps joins an elite group of celebrities that have been
featured as part of the citywide campaign, past participants include:
Daymond John (Shark Tank/ FUBU founder), Cold Play (Grammy Award
winning Rock Band), Shad “Bow Wow” Moss, (American rapper, actor
and television host), Mary Mary(Grammy Award winning Gospel Duo)
Santonio Holmes (fmr. NY Jets Wide Receiver). “
Omar Epps is a shining example that with hard work and dedication you can live your dreams.
He is also a product of the New York City public school system which
makes him the perfect influencer for the poster campaign.” said Tonya
Lewis Taylor, co-founder of Entertainers 4 Education Alliance/I WILL
GRADUATE Program.
Epps also filmed “In The Classroom” an original program hosted
by Tonya Lewis Taylor founder of Entertainers 4 Education
Alliance/I WILL GRADUATE Program. Taylor sat down with Epps to
discuss his roadmap to success, struggles, and triumphs. The show
was taped in front of a live student audience.
About Tonya Lewis-Taylor (born Tonya Lewis) (tone-yah) is an
American recording artist singer, songwriter, philanthropist,
inspirational speaker, minister, life coach and author. Taylor
released her first national debut album “Delayed But Not Denied” in
2014. She wrote and co-produced all of the songs, including the lead
single “Thankyou”, which reached number 15 on the Billboard
charts. Her second studio album “I’ve Got To Win” in which she wrote
and co-produced all the songs was released July 2016 with the lead
single “I’M A WINNER” reaching Top 20 on the Billboard charts. Tonya is
also the co-founder and Executive Director of The I WILL GRADUATE
Youth development Program (a NYC sponsored youth development
program and Entertainers 4 Education Alliance. The “I’M A WINNER”
music video was released in October 2016 and features students from
the I WILL GRADUATE program Tonya co-founded.
About Omar Epps: Omar Epps is an American actor, author, rapper,
songwriter, and recording/film producer. His film roles
include “Juice”, “In Too Deep” and “Love & Basketball”. His
television works include the role of Dr. Eric Forman on hit TV
series “House”, and role of Agent Martin in American fantasy
drama “Resurrection”. Omar Epps was born in Brooklyn, NY. He
began writing poetry and short stories at the age of ten and
attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Performing Arts. Omar
recently released a new book titled “From Fatherless to
Fatherhood” sharing his journey from humble beginnings to the
bright lights of Hollywood.
ABOUT: Entertainers 4 Education Alliance, Inc./ I WILL GRADUATE
PROGRAM a city sponsored youth development program utilizes the
power of celebrities, musicians, sports figures, high profile individuals
and entertainment to promote positive messages to young people about
the importance of education, personal advancement and social
commitment. I WILL GRADUATE Youth Development Program is
dedicated to serving and empowering students, families of New York City
by communicating the importance of educational excellence. We
accomplish our goals through youth development programs, arts-ineducation,
college and career guidance, mentoring, parent engagement,
school and community workshops, exciting events and the use of multimedia
platforms. We enlist the talents, resources of the music and
entertainment industry along with prominent high profile individuals to
stress the importance and coolness of being educated – “Smart is the
New Cool.”