Memorial Musings...Please SHARE: Update on the GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE Fundraising Campaign!

Memorial Musings...Please SHARE: Update on the GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE Fundraising Campaign!

Beautiful People, Thank You All for Your Generous Hearts and Amazing Support. So far, we've received Twenty Seven Donations totaling $3,265 which means we moving steadily toward our $25,000 Goal for the GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE fundraising campaign. Thanks to NEW DONORS James Gillard, Dr. William & Mrs. Bernice Tiga Tita and Two Anonymous Donors, as well as James Aloway, ChiChi Anyanwu, Andrea Christofferson, Sage Crystal, Gayle Hodnett Dobbs, Lawrence Evans, Sylvia Golbin Goodman, Adam Khan, Stanley Wayne Mathis, Donna Baxter Porcher Carl Redwood, MO/Scent Elate, Jan Schmidt, Denise Woods, Dr. Robert Woods, and five Anonymous Donors for their generous contributions. We are hoping to have all the funds by JUNE 15th, 2023 so that we can begin the next stage of our marketing. I Encourage All Contributing Writers and Friends to Join In! Your contributions will enable us to help successfully market GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE to a worldwide audience. We plan to have a WEBSITE that highlights author bios and photos so that you will feel connected not just to me, but to eachother. We have authors from four continents on Earth. This book will become part of Your Living Legacy! Any Amount You Share Is Greatly Appreciated. GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE: An Anthology of Hope! is collected and written by Rev. Melony McGant with a Foreword by Ben Vereen and is Edited by Andrea Christofferson Today We Highlight Some of the Authors from the Ms. Betty J. Tilman Tribute Section of GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE: An Anthology of Hope! Bruce Blakey with wife Patricia Backers Blakey "I've met a lot of people in my life, and there have been very few that I would say that "knowing them made me a better person". Betty J Tilman was one of the few. I am proud to have had a long friendship with Ms. Tilman. Her kindness, her generosity, her quick wit, and unselfish nature was just part of this phenomenal woman. She was thoughtful, funny, well informed, and current on most issues. Betty J. Tilman was one of the most decent human beings I have ever met. She will be missed terribly." Dr. Stephanie Boddie "There are times in our lives when we need earth angels. Ms. Betty J. Tilman showed up in my life at a time I truly needed one. She infused courage, hope, light, and joy into my life. She announced to me that it was my time to step into my authentic power and to fully display the person God created me to be. She reminded me that I deserved to be happy. The good she brought to my life was beyond what I could ever measure!" Martha Richards Conley Esq. "I met Betty in 1968 in my first year of law school at the University of Pittsburgh. I met her on the third day of classes at Pitt Law school; I had been there long enough to know that I was in way over my head. There were only seven women in my class, and I was the only black woman. At that time, Betty was working at the Office of International Student Services where she helped multitudes of international students navigate their way through the University of Pittsburgh. Betty was an internationalist. She has hundreds of friends around the world. She loved to travel and was always going abroad. She was a godsend to me at Pitt because I felt very much alone. I hate to think how I might have fared without Betty to lean on and help me navigate the Pitt Campus and culture." Rev. Cheryl Fanion Cotton "...The choir became very popular at University and City Ministries {UACM}, now renamed the Community of Reconciliation. At some later point, Mrs. Tilman approached Rev. Stith about the choir going on a tour to East Africa. We were speechless. Over two years, we raised the monies and embarked in August of 1972 on a trip of a lifetime throughout Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. This was the handiwork of none other than Mrs. Betty J. Tilman. I left Pittsburgh in 1981. Down through the years I've kept in touch with Mrs. Tilman. I just always wanted her to know how much I loved and appreciated her. One is very blessed to meet someone who impacts one’s life in such a way that one’s purview of the world takes a different form. The legacy that Ms. Tilman left us with is the realization that the ways in which we are similar are far greater than the ways in which we are different. We serenaded an African Youth group with the backdrop being Mt. Kilimanjaro at dusk, and they sang for us. It was simply electrifying. Though we did not speak their language, and they, not ours, our warm embraces afterwards proved that music truly is a universal language. Where do the Thank Yous end when a woman who is such a visionary brings two cultures together the way Betty Tilman did? 

Dr. Bubba Misawa "The International Glue and Mother Africa: A Tribute to Ms. Betty Tilman. Since my first contact with you from Nigeria in 1982, as young student applying to graduate school at Pitt, you made things sound and look normal, and indeed, very reassuring always, including in your own last few months alive. You built futures for many young minds and bridges across the world, and especially the African diaspora bridge. While many people gave flowery speeches about African Americans and Africa, you simply exemplified the relationship by nurturing African students, scholars, and professionals in Pittsburgh. You never lost any hope, even with the clear lack of understanding of the essence of unity and African identity among the two groups. Your love for humanity brought people from the around the globe to you; thus, making you the international glue without the great fanfare and notoriety that you so deserved. Most people would have claimed the popularity and fame in helping others, but you chose grace and kindness from your heart with full joy and happiness."

Dr. Bill & Bernice Tiga Tita "I am a humble and cheerful adorer of BJ! "Betty J" was always pursuing one unifying theme (Intercultural Exchange -appreciation) from several angles!! She was a pillar of our "intercultural House" project (ICH), assisting us to meet and surpass the 20% international students' quota! She worked tirelessly with us to identify and arrange destinations, notably, Ghana, Afghanistan et al. for the travel/work program of the ICH project. The Nationality Rooms/African Heritage Classroom initiative was the sweetener from my perspective! She was also my cheerleader as I sought to integrate the Pittsburgh Black Business Community into the fabric of PITT's B-School and the University as a whole. As you can see, it matters less the angle from which we choose to honor and celebrate her life and legacy! We will all end up at the core, a champion of Intercultural Exchange! I Am Pleased to Be an Aspect of This Movement!" Once Again, I Encourage All Contributing Writers and Friends to Join In! Your contributions will enable us to help successfully market GOOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE to a worldwide audience. Any Amount Is Appreciated. Thank You All for Your Generous Hearts and Amazing Support. Always, Melony Photo:

Bruce & Patricia Blakey. William & Mrs. Bernice Tiga Tita, Group Photo: Heinz Memorial Chapel with Dr. Buba Misawa by Jordan Jenkins