A Los Angeles-based cosmetics company has donated $100,000 to the University of Louisville to launch the Breonna Taylor Memorial Endowment to support nursing students in honor of the 26-year-old woman who was shot and killed by cops who messed up a drug raid last year
Thrive Causemetics, which gave the donation, will support the endowment and the Breonna Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund in nursing, per a U of L news release, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. The cosmetics company hopes others will give so that the endowment will reach $2 million and live on for others to benefit.
“Like so many around the world, the employees and customers of Thrive Causemetics were heartbroken and horrified by the tragic death of Breonna Taylor, and the injustice that was served in her killing,” Thrive Causemetics founder and CEO Karissa Bodnar said in Wednesday’s release. “As a way to turn pain into purpose, our team went to work to find ways that we could help keep her legacy alive. While our hearts ache for the beautiful life that was lost, we are comforted to know that Breonna’s legacy will live on in the hearts of the beneficiaries who receive this scholarship, as well as the lives those individuals change.”
Hereis more on the story, per the Courier Journal:
U of L Health board members established the Breonna Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund last summer, with several hundred donors from throughout the U.S. supporting the fund since then, according to Wednesday’s announcement.
One other student has also received the scholarship, which is a four-year renewable award, the university said.
The scholarship and partnership with Thrive Causemetics “helps ensure workforce diversity, with a vision toward the elimination of racial inequality in health care,” U of L’s release added.
“There could not be a better company to partner with on this endowment and scholarship, as its philosophy of helping women thrive through donations from product sales allows organizations to inspire women to be more,” said Sonya Hardin, dean of the U of L School of Nursing. “This scholarship helps a woman obtain her dream of becoming a nurse and supporting the community in that role.”
Additionally, the company donated $3,000 for a scholarship that can be used to honor Taylor. Taylor was killed by Louisville Metro Police officers in March of 2020 during a botched drug raid at her apartment. Before the cops killed her, Taylor aspired to become a nurse and was working as an emergency room technician at University of Louisville Health. Her death at the hands of police sparked protests in Louisville and cities nationwide over racist policing.
There is still an ongoing FBI investigation into her death.
A Jefferson County grand jury elected to indict a cop involved in the shooting, but it was for firing shots that hit a neighboring apartment, not Taylor.
Kaelyn Goatley, the U of L freshman who was the recipient of the “immediate-use” $3,000 award, wants to work as a labor and delivery nurse or in the area of pediatric care after she finishes her degree, the U of L news release said, the Courier Journal notes.
“Becoming a nurse means so much to me because as a Black woman, I know there are injustices everywhere in the world and the health care field is no different,” Goatley said. “I will fight for every single one of my patients and make sure they receive the best care — this scholarship is what’s helping me work towards that goal, and I am extremely grateful.”