Juneteenth 2023

Hempstead County, Arkansas
Celebration of resilience, history & liberation

Dear Partner:

Visibility Outreach Touch Engage South Arkansas (VOTE SoAR) collective, the Hempstead County Juneteenth Celebration organizer, invites you to partner with us as a sponsor for the Juneteenth 2023 festivities Friday, June 16-Sunday, June 18. For your reference and review, the Sponsorship Registration Form is included.

In 2022 standing on the memories and words of the elders, we organized the Hempstead County Juneteenth Parade and Fest More than twenty participants joined the two mile parade route from the historic Henry C. Yerger Museum to the Northside Park. Once onsite at Northside, activities included inspirational speeches and recognition of the need to celebrate and joy found when lifting up African and African American cultural heritage. Check out these links for snippets of the spirit and vibe of Juneteenth 2022 events!
• https://tinyurlcom/bdfrSjbr
• https://tinyurlcom/pkeSekha
• https://tinyurlcom/38xuxh3w

VOTE SoAR is adding two new Juneteenth 2023 activities-a reception at Historic Washington State Park and a Griot Circle! The reception recognizes Washington as the site of the Southwest Field Office of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen's Bureau). Both additions offer a deeper reflection on the Black community in the fabric of Hempstead County.

With our sponsors, members, and volunteers' support, we are planning another successful festival, even increasing the number of attendees and providing more activities and resources this year. Your sponsorship will help you build brand awareness, ensure the event's success and just as importantly provide your organization with an opportunity to connect with the Black community in Hempstead County.

Thank you for your interest, consideration and support! In the East African tradition of labor done not as a job for payment, but for the good of the community "HARAMBEE!" (pronounced ha-ram-bee ha-ram-ba) or all.pull together.

8~ C BIIOUrl1, Tennd& Thonuu 81uuron. U,uton,
Sponsorships & Marketing Working Group, Juneteenth 2023

Who are you/Who we are

• Juneteenth is a centuries-long celebration that has been recognized in the Black culture. Since the two-year old federal recognition more businesses, communities, and governments have launched their own recognition. I'm proud to be a part of the VOTE SoAR collective and being the ones bringing back this centuries-long celebration to Hempstead County.
• 2023 marks the 160th Anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. It's fitting that Hempstead County businesses, communities, and governments continue to join us to recognize and celebrate Hempstead County's Black resilience and history.
• VOTE SoAR is Visibility Outreach Touch Engage South Arkansas, a nonprofit community collective finding joy in civic engagement, community building and sharing power.
• VOTE SoAR has been door knocking and talking to neighbors 1:1, where they are. We've also increased participation and visibility at civic meetings, such as municipal board meetings and Quorum Court because too few are making decisions for us without us.
• Following the recommendations from the Defining Civic Health project, VOTE SoAR is building social connectedness to and between neighbors, institutions, and the government through community events like the second annual J uneteenth celebration.

Sponsorship Levels