ESSENCE Festival 'Brings The Love' To New Orleans With Commemorative 'Day Of Service' On July 2

NEW YORK, May 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In commemoration of the 10 years since Hurricane Katrina, the 21^st annual ESSENCE Festival will celebrate the beloved city of New Orleans with a dedicated 'Day of Service.' On Thursday, July 2^nd from 10:00am – 2:00pm,1000 volunteers will team up with ESSENCE, NOLA FOR LIFE and Walmart to 'Bring The Love' to the community through a focus on achievement for local youth, promoting literacy and healthy living.

The ESSENCE Festival's 'Day of Service' will include refurbishing local schools in the 9th Ward and New Orleans East, as well as mounting a community health fair and book drive.  The school restoration project will consist of painting projects and grounds beautification, while the Community Health Fair will provide screenings, vision & dental services and life coaching.   Supporters are encouraged to showcase their commitment by donating a new or gently-used book suitable for young-adults.

"With our inaugural ESSENCE Festival 'Day of Service', we are celebrating the resilience of New Orleans 10 years after the damaging effects of Hurricane Katrina," said ESSENCE President Michelle Ebanks. "We are inviting all of our loyal Festival attendees, partners and friends to join our mission to 'Bring the Love' by giving back to our youth, supporting healthy lifestyles and encouraging a love of reading."

"ESSENCE is once again proving its strong partnership with New Orleans and NOLA FOR LIFE as residents, visitors, volunteers, and community partners come together to improve the quality of life for our families and our children," said Judy Reese Morse, Deputy Mayor of Citywide Initiatives for the City of New Orleans. "One of our major goals in NOLA FOR LIFE is ensuring that people are involved in their communities and see investments in all neighborhoods. This ESSENCE Festival 'Day of Service' will have a great impact in New Orleans East."

ESSENCE and its 'Day of Service' partners NOLA FOR LIFE and Walmart will thank the first 1000 volunteers for their love and support by gifting them an exclusive ESSENCE #BringTheLove T-shirt. To sign up to volunteer and get transportation information, visit essence.com/dayofservice.

Join the Festival community: follow us on Twitter @essencefest #EssenceFest and become a fan of 2015 ESSENCE Festival on Facebook.

The 2015 ESSENCE Festival is executive produced by ESSENCE Festivals LLC, a division of ESSENCE Communications Inc. (ECI), and produced by Solomon Group. GeChar is the executive producer of the 2015 ESSENCE Empowerment Experience and Empower U.

Sponsors of the 2015 ESSENCE Festival include presenting sponsor Coca-Cola and major sponsors Ford, McDonald's, My Black Is Beautiful, Samsung Galaxy, State Farm, Verizon, and Walmart.  Superlounge sponsors include Coca-Cola, Ford, Verizon and Walmart.   The All-Star Gospel Tribute is sponsored by Walmart.

ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS INC.:  
ESSENCE Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, with a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events and online.  The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the ESSENCE Festival, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music, Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights series, the ESSENCE Book Club, ESSENCE.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 45 years, ESSENCE, which has a brand reach of 13.4 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information and specific solutions relating to every area of African-American women's lives.  Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at www.essence.com.

SOURCE ESSENCE Magazine

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