The Bergmann Upper School Student Council of Sinai Academy in Aventura, FL., under the leadership of teacher, Gloria Heitner, held a book drive to benefit The Book Bank Foundation.  This foundation is a nationwide organization promoting literacy and education for the homeless and needy.  Their belief is that, through literacy, we can combat many of society’s problems.  The Student Council collected a variety of books, a total of 40 boxes in all, for all ages, to assist in this endeavor.

I am so proud of my mom for helping out with Glenn Toby’s Book Bank Foundation.  This is further proof that our industry is not all about cutting each others throats in competition for clients.  Glenn is a family friend and his cause is a noble one.  Kudos to Momma Heitner .

Today is Blog Action Day 2008.  Last year’s mission was to help the environment, and SportsAgentBlog.com did its small part to notice those in the sports world who have been going green and encourage others to follow suit.  This year’s goal is to make a difference by having over 7,500 bloggers post about poverty.  Those 7,500+ sites have a total readership of over nine million.  I have once again signed up this blog to take part in this effort to promote a good cause.  What can sports agents do to raise awareness about poverty and potentially reduce its footprint?

We can follow the lead of Glenn Toby.  Glenn, himself, had to deal with poverty as a child.  He went from not knowing if he would have a comfortable place to sleep at night to becoming a sports and entertainment executive worth many millions.  He has represented LL Cool J, 50 Cent, and Asante Samuel among many other big name clients.  Still, with all of his success, he gives back to those who need money a lot more than he does.  Toby is doing his part to ensure that young disadvantaged children have more opportunities than he did growing up.

Glenn Toby has gone from homeless to hero.  With all of his great achievements, he takes the most pride in the creation of the Book Bank Foundation.  It was formed in 1997 with the goal of boosting literacy among the nation’s youth.  Its mission is to make a positive impact on the communities in which we live by providing homeless children and their families resources for combating illiteracy.  The emphasis is placed on helping inner-city children who are often poverty stricken.

Dr. Cornel West, a popular professor at Princeton University, has noted, “Poverty is what has created & shaped Glenn Toby.”  Dr. West’s words are very inspiring, but trumped by this quote by Mr. Toby: “Homeless does not mean helpless.”  Do your part and either help Mr. Toby advance his Book Bank Foundation, find another worthy cause that raises awareness and helps out those who are poverty stricken, or start your own initiative.  Blog Action Day is all about doing something.  Even if it means donating a piece of memorabilia from one of your clients so that the money made from its sale goes to help out those who need the money, you would be doing a part in helping out our world.

For information on the Book Bank Foundation:

The Book Bank Foundation Inc.

Phone: (718) 989-2168

Fax: (718) 989-2168

Email: info@thebookbankfoundation.org
Web: http://www.thebookbankfoundation.org

Anyway, PressPassTV recently covered a day in the life of Mr. Toby. The camera tracks Glenn going from a meeting with rapper, Saigon, to picking up some custom fitted suits from ECC (Mr. Toby recently signed on to be a consultant for the lifestyle apparel company). The final scene takes you to the classroom, where Mr. Toby and G-Unit rapper, Tony Yayo, teach kids about the importance of learning in school and being humble. Check it out below.