Happy Black History Month and Philanthropy Thursday Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. Family,

We wish good health, wealth and happiness to everyone this year! We will get through this snowy winter with more snow to come this weekend. Let’s all continue to be safe and socially distanced in our travels. Be grateful that the sun still shines through the snow. Nature is beautiful and a calming force in our environment. The seasons are all about change. In 2021, let’s work together to make effective change within ourselves and the communities that we serve.

Last year everyone had to be “resilient” to get through 2020. In 2021, we can all do our best to persevere, pray, repivot, rejuvenate and reclaim wellness of ourselves and our businesses. Throughout history, African Americans have found power in prayer and positive thinking to get through many roadblocks in their fight for many freedoms. Our nation is still celebrating our historic, first African-American, first Asian- American, first Woman, Vice President of the United States, the amazing Vice President Kamala Harris!

One of my personal role models, Madam C.J. Walker, an African American entrepreneur, first black self-made millionaire in America, philanthropist, and political and social activist said it best:

Due to the ongoing global pandemic, many people of all ages, races, etc. are still unemployed, food insecurity is high, loved ones are dealing with health crisis, loved ones are dying, people are missing social interaction, hugs and touches from loved ones Let’s spread love and thank you’s all over the world as we “reset” and get things done in 2021!

Last month, I was voted onto the Feeding Westchester Board. I feel honored to be given the opportunity to serve on the Board alongside the phenomenal and dedicated Board members. Karen Erren, Feeding Westchester CEO, Sue Norton, Feeding Westchester Board Chair and the other Board Members have welcomed me with open arms. 

I joined Feeding Westchester's Board, to add diversity and help increase the Board's community advocacy and commitment in ensuring that food insecurities are eliminated in Westchester County. It is an honor and privilege to serve, tapping into my personal and professional networks to work alongside my fellow Board Members as we pay it forward to help all of those in need with "dignity" and respect during these challenging times.

I am excited for the opportunity to use my voice on the Board to make a difference in the well-being of those who work, live and play in westchester. Our mission is to end hunger in Westchester. I was raised in Mt. Vernon, have been a resident Peekskill since 2002, and live a life of Community Service and Civic Engagement to better the lives of my two teen-aged sons and all of those in my community. No one in Westchester County should go hungry.

As my paternal grandmother used to say, when one eats, we all should eat. Serving on the Feeding Westchester Board will give me the opportunity to increase Feeding Westchester's impact to end hunger in Westchester County. Every day I see the good things that Feeding Westchester does in communities around Westchester County. I am humbled and grateful

for the opportunity to serve on the Board and continue "doing good" while ending hunger through advocacy.

Feeding Westchester is a member of Feeding America, the nationwide network of more than 200 food banks serving every state in the United States. Our membership gives us access to millions of pounds of donated food products from national companies. Our Feeding America membership also provides access to trainings and resources that help us maximize efficiency. We are proud to be part of the top ten percent of Feeding America’s member food banks for distributing nutritious food to local people. To learn more about Feeding America, click here.

Kecia Palmer-Cousins; entrepreneur and graduate from WED-C’s (Women’s Enterprise Development Center) 60+ Hour Entrepreneurial Training Program. Head Shot by Caitlin Chadwick Studios, Hudson Valley’s Premier Generational Portrait Studio. www.caitlinchadwick.com

Elmsford, N.Y. – Feeding Westchester, Westchester County’s largest nonprofit hunger-relief organization, announced the addition of five people to its Board of Directors, including Kecia Palmer-Cousins of Peekskill.

Also joining the Board are Jonathan Tretler (Scarsdale), Jennifer Wells (Bronxville), Davis John Abraham (Yonkers), and Tracey Levy (Larchmont).

Kecia Palmer-Cousins is a wellness entrepreneur, manufacturing engineer, and project management consultant. As co-owner of Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc., a business management and training company, she provides technical assistance and one-on-one coaching to Minority Women Business Enterprises (MWBE) to grow their businesses.

Kecia is also co-owner of G&K Sweet Foods, LLC, a MWBE Certified baked goods company that was a contracted vendor at the 2014 Super Bowl. She is Vice President of the City of Peekskill’s Youth Bureau, Civic Engagement Chair and 2nd Vice President of the Peekskill NAACP, a member of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, and a former Chapter Editor/Foundation Chair of the Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter.

Kecia was honored by the Women’s Enterprise Development Center for Women (Lillian Vernon Award), City of Peekskill (Black History Month Awards), 914INC. Magazine (2014 Women in Business), and the African American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester and Rockland Counties (10 Influential Blacks).

She received a BS in Manufacturing Engineering from Boston University, a Masters Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University, and an MBA in Marketing from Long Island University.

Every $1 donated to Feeding Westchester provides three meals for local children, seniors, and families struggling with hunger. To find help, or to help, visit feedingwestchester.org or call (914) 923-1100.For the latest news and updates, follow @FeedingWestchester on Facebook and Instagram and @FeedWestchester on Twitter.

Today more than ever, let’s focus on self-care. Check on our neighbors especially our sick and shut-in. A call to say that you were thinking of them, and offering assistance to them in some capacity goes a long way. As you provide blessing to others, your blessings will also flow. Wake up every morning thankful for the air that you breathe and the ability to breathe on your own.

Sit back, and get your Black History on this month by checking out Black History Month Historical Moment Timeline on the History Channel Website, from Slavery Comes to North America, 1619, Rise of the Cotton Industry, 1793, to Kamala Harris Becomes the First Woman and First Black US Vice President, 2021.

Harriet Tubman escorted her charges to Canada through Philadelphia and New York State, developing an extensive support system of friends and associates ( Station Masters ) in the Hudson River Valley. It is known

that she traveled through Peekskill was an active member of the AME Zion Church in Peekskill and had friends here.

New York City and the Hudson River Valley formed a natural combination of resources and geographic advantages to create major routes for the underground railroad. There are many well established connections to the historical underground railroad in this area. However, the secrecy and misdirection that was necessary due to the very nature of the underground railroad makes it difficult to research. Information, that was kept hidden in order to serve its purpose and to be successful in helping escaping slaves to their freedom. Thus, much of the history has been forgotten and lost. One community where a fortuitous combination of circumstances allowed actual structures and oral history to survive is Peekskill, New York.

Peekskill is situated on the banks of the magnificent Hudson River, it is a city with a rich history of pre-colonist Revolutionary War and Civil War involvement. By the 1800 the Hudson River and the railways from New York City

encouraged many to build simmer homes along the river. Noted abolitionist and Clergyman, Henry Ward Beecher was a Peekskill resident from 1861 to 1878 and his famous sister Harriet Beecher Stowe often visited him here.

There is a " Tunnel " in Peekskill with the entrance and exit disguised as a property marker. It is well documented and indisputable that Henry Ward Beecher was a abolitionist, so it is should be no surprise that he had a "Tunnel"

constructed on his Peekskill property to secure slaves seeking their freedom. According to the Underground Railroad Curator of the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior, the tunnel on our tour of the

"Underground Railroad" sites is, to date, the only documented surviving tunnel in the country. There are several buildings and properties with anecdotal connections to the Underground Railroad that are now being researched.

One of these buildings is the African American Episcopal Zion Church built in the mid 1800’s that has a false panel behind the pulpit that was used to hide fugitives. Also, the home of William Sands that may be in the book of

"Amawalk Society" a Quaker organization that was in Peekskill. It was known to help runaways on their way North. The house was built as early as 1882 and was the residence of John Sands at that time.

The properties in the City of Peekskill for the "Underground Railroad" are, the MacGregory Brook, except where covered over by Center and Park Street. That it flow’s today as it did in the 1800’s and that this shallow brook still

runs strong after close to 200 years is exceptional. Runaway slaves seeking freedom came to the Hudson River by boat and followed MacGregory Brook to the safety of the Safe House which concealed runaway slaves in a secret room

which was accessed by a secret stairway. The AME Zion Church, where there is a hiding place behind a secret panel, William Sands home and the unique Tunnel on the property of abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. These properties

combined show a character of the Underground Railroad that may not be matched elsewhere. By chance, all of these sites, are in close proximity to each other and are still completely intact. Source: Hudson Valley UGRR (nygeo.org)

In December, 2020, the Harriet Tubman statue arrived in Peekskill, NY.

The Peekskill Business Improvement District brought Wesley Wofford’s statue, Harriet Tubman – The Journey to Freedom to downtown Peekskill. In light of recent events like the pandemic and the racial equality movement, the presence of the statue in our downtown takes on even more meaning. Positioned outdoors, admirers can experience the statue in a socially distanced manner while celebrating our community’s rich history and cultural diversity from mid-December through Black History Month in 2021.

The BID has started a website for the project www.harriettubmanpeekskill.com Check out the event schedule and information for these events!

Click HERE for the link to the sponsorship form if you have the ability to sponsor, or know someone that could.

Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. plans to join in on this historic opportunity and become a proud sponsor! We encourage you to become a proud sponsor too!

Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently Made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. I remember reading about Harriet Tubman when I was in elementary school years ago. She was one of my first role models and heroes. I admired her strength, courage and vision to lead so many black slaves to freedom. I continue to be a freedom fighter through my community service and advocacy for youth, women and minority and women owned businesses.

Presented by: Peekskill Business Improvement District

Enjoy this wonderful video put together by the dynamic Peekskill NAACP President Valerie Eaton. It features the amazing, dedicated, women of the Peekskill NAACP Executive Board including Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc.’s CEO Kecia Palmer-Cousins. Kecia is the 2nd VP and Civic Engagement Chair of the Peekskill NAACP Chapter.

I think about her ingenuity as I work daily with minority and women owned business on their journey to becoming profitable business owners and successful entrepreneurs. Stop by Peekskill and enjoy this amazing work of art that shows one of my favorite “sheroes”. Every time I look at Harriet and the young girl that she is taking to freedom, I see something different. The details on this statue is breathtaking. Wow! 

History buffs interested in hearing from descendants of historical African American figures can register for the Sisters in Support Presents The

Freedom Movement: A Look at A Legacy, on Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 12:00 Noon.

Hear from the descendants of historical African American figures Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass & Booker T. Washington, Hawley & Harriett Green and John Rankin and MORE!

The Office of Economic Development and Empire State Development held a webinar on the New York Loan Fund. The New York Forward Loan Fund, a New York State economic recovery program in support of Governor’s New York Forward Plan, offers up to $100K loans for five years, for working capital needs for small businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees and

under $3 million in revenues. Residential landlords with total ownership of under 50 units in each building and a total of 200 units can also apply.

If you missed the event you can watch it HERE. Password to watch is NYFLFworkshop20

The first New Yorkers to receive the vaccine as part of Phase 1 will be high-risk hospital workers (emergency room workers, ICU staff and Pulmonary Department staff), nursing home residents, nursing home staff, followed by all long-term and congregate care residents and staff, EMS workers, other health care workers, coroners and medical examiners.

Governor Cuomo provided additional details about the vaccine program in his briefing; if you missed it, you can view it HERE.

Let’s continue to love and support each other through this challenging 2021! Live each day with purpose! Keep the Faith! Faith is knowing that life can be unpredictable but trusting that it will all work out for good!

Kecia, Kevin and the Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. family thank everyone for their continued support! We truly appreciate it as we continue to motivate and collaborate with MWBEs to project completion! Stay safe, stay well, stay connected with us, your Aero-Ba-Soul, Inc. Family!

Happy Black History Month to everyone!

Sincerely,

You can also visit our website at www.aerobasoul.com or email Kecia at kecia@aerobasoul.com.