4 Reasons Why Golden Grooming Co. Gives Back to HBCUs

Posted by Staff Writer on February 05, 2019
4 Reasons Why Golden Grooming Co. Gives Back to HBCUs

4 Reasons Why Golden Grooming Co. Gives Back to HBCUs


What’s your philosophy?  What drives you to get out of bed every day and do your thing? What do you do to give back to the community? Do you help others be the best they can be? Do you inspire others to pursue their dreams as you pursue yours? If so how? Life is about learning, living and loving what we do, who we spend time with and how we positively impact others. It’s about earning, building and sustaining dreams we have dreamt since we were kids. Our communities where we live and work are places where we are given opportunities to interact with our peers, children that look up to us and seniors who have the advice to give. Part of interacting and being a part of a healthy community is paying it forward and giving back whether it be through volunteerism, consulting, being engaged in local politics, or contributing financially to an organization, it’s all good for the soul. At Golden Grooming Co., we believe that as we look forward while building our brand, we need to also look around and back to support those still at the beginning of their journeys.


Since its inception, Golden Grooming Co. has designed its business to include giving back to the community that purchases its products. It has made a commitment to give back 5% of its sales (not profits..SALES) to Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Our business philosophy is one that strives to provide the best all-natural, hair and skincare products for black men and other men of color so they can feel good in their own skin, by nourishing it with products like our powerhouse beard balm, our wonderful body balm/lotion and our one of a kind all-in-one beard, hair and body wash that are good for their bodies which in turn builds confidence and enables them to put their best faces forward and live their best lives. In accordance with this philosophy, it seemed fitting to give back to the entities that also provide an environment where our people can flourish as they seek higher education opportunities that positively impact their lives and the lives of their families for years to come.  Since they began to form in the early 1800s, there are HBCUs nationwide that have flourished when they could have failed for a myriad of reasons.


At Golden Grooming Co., we seek to support the financial stability of these historic educational and cultural institutions that began the same way we did, by providing a service for black people where the opportunity was lacking. Here are 4 reasons why we give to HBCUs.

 

1. Safe And Nurturing Environment - HBCUs are strong institutions that have created safe, learning environments for our young adults seeking a higher education when all other colleges and universities refused their admittance. They also provided a strong social and cultural opportunity for black women and men to grow into college-educated professionals who have inspired change, developed the black middle class as we know it and pursued careers in many diverse areas of study.  As a direct result of their contributions to society, these men and women have influenced social, environmental and educational change. This continues today!

 

2. They Do More With Less -  Burdened with a chronic lack of federal, state, corporate and private funding, they do more with less. Historically they've done the lion’s share of the work preparing students to be successful in and out of their educational experience. They develop the whole student as they navigate college life while instilling in them strategies and knowledge to be successful beyond the walls of the university.  Federal and state funding to these colleges and universities has seen decades of decreases in funding as well as blatant funding disparities between them and their white counterparts in the same states. In addition, corporate and private endowments come, if they come, with stringent guidelines and stipulations that are difficult to manage. In addition, fundraising infrastructures that allow these HBCUs to gain access to technologies that would improve their access to monies, alumni and marketing is greatly compromised or non-existent due to the same lack of resources. Private endowments on average are lower that of their white counterparts and systemic contributions from society at large, corporations and alumni are in great need of improvements. Increasing donations from private donors will assist HBCUs in gaining access to dollars to keep them viable when government funding wains due to economic downturns or who happens to be in office.

 

3. They Instill Pride - Students, families, and Alumni are full of pride as they speak of their college-bound student, their graduate or their personal experience as an alum.  Alumni take great joy and exert much pressure (lol) for their offspring to attend their alma mater. There is a huge sense of pride and familial love for these institutions that have provided for them an environment that was safe, supportive and challenged them educationally so that they may be prepared for the world that awaits them. One reason is the HBCU staff. They are and have been from the start, an integral part of what make these places of learning so successful. They don't just give assignments, tests, and grades. They build relationships with their students and are in tune with what they need to achieve their dreams. They remediate, reinforce and build trust with the students in their care. It is important for them to create experiences and opportunities for their students to excel in their studies, not just pass an exam or class. They provide an educational and professional network for students far beyond the days in the dorms.  Another reason is their child(ren) are surrounded by others just like them. They are not the minority and it is the one place where they can be free to be themselves. They can grow, take risks and grow at their own pace to achieve a freedom that higher education can give them. Finally, it is in these formative years as a young adult they are able to discover who they are, what they want to be, what they want to do and how they want to positively impact the world at large. These three factors bring a sense of belonging, nostalgia and love only an environment like this can provide. Families are enriched and strengthened by these experiences and they long for those they love to embrace the educational, social and cultural dynamics only an HBCU can provide.

 

4. HBCUs are Purposeful - Engines of Change. These institutions that were created after the end of the Civil War to educate Black Americans both free and newly freed did so out of an intense desire to read and write and be able to engage in the world that was now available to them as free Americans. As they began to become educated they knew the world would forever change as an educated population could no longer be an enslaved one. Students of these colleges and universities became change agents since their inception. They have been catalysts for change regarding civil rights, women’s rights and changing the perceptions of how society viewed their black citizens and other men and women of color, just to name a few.  Enrollment in campuses across the nation are on an uptick and it is believed it's in part to the social unrest that we experience today. HBCUs are as important today as they have ever been and our youth are continuing to seek out these places of higher learning that enroll others just like them that are seeking an environment where their peers have the same shared experiences, the same goals and can learn and explore without the daily struggles that come with being a minority on campus. The quality and rigor are on par with their white counterparts. Pushing and mentoring young men and women to challenge themselves to be the best so they may make significant contributions to society when they graduate into the world that waits them are what make these institutions great.  They continue to prove their worth by doing so much good with the little resources that are acquiesced.


Golden Grooming Co. is giving back and paying it forward by contributing to the sustainability of these great historical institutions that have done an exceptional job of educating men and women of color. Will you join us? Will you consider contributing to these entities? Let’s work to keep them viable for our youth as they seek a safe, meaningful place to learn and grow so that they can be catalyst of positive change. Let's do good while looking and feeling good.



With the lack of good options out there for black men, it can be tough to properly care for our skin. Golden Grooming Co. offers the best natural skin care products for black men at fair prices. We did our homework and created a product line formulated just for us.