By Chris Richburg
Hip-Hop soul queen Mary J. Blige is joining forces with music executive Steve Stoute to motivate women to reach their goals.
The pair will officially launch their new organization, FFAWN: the Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation For the Advancement of Women Now, Inc. this Friday (May 9) during a press conference at Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, New York.
Founded by Blige, FFAWN is dedicated towards inspiring women to reach their individual potential through scholarships, grants, and programs that foster strong self-esteem, career development and personal growth, while gaining the confidence and skills needed to achieve success.
In addition to Blige, the organization’s board of directors will include Stoute, Kendu Isaacs, Jada Pinkett Smith, Charles Wright and Samantha Fink.
Although it will initially focus its efforts in Blige's hometown of Yonkers and surrounding communities in Westchester, FFAWN will ultimately expand to the Greater New York area as well as the rest of the country.
News of the organization’s launch comes as Blige was recently named one of People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People.
Stoute, an accomplished executive in the music business, has worked with a number of Hip-Hop artists throughout his career.
In February, Translation Advertising, an advertising agency that is part of Stoute's Translation Consultation and Brand Imaging, named rap mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter as its chairman.
As a result of the action, Stoute and Jay-Z jointly own 51 percent of the company, while Translation's parent company, the Interpublic Group of Companies owns the remaining 49 percent.