Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine July 2017 | Page 107

T
hroughout her career, Ebonnie has
distinguished herself as someone
dedicated to the growth of others
and the support of charitable causes.
She has founded and directed organizations
that cater to the needs of some of society’s
overlooked groups. In Canada she started the
Each One, Teach One mentoring program for
Black Youth and PhemPhat Entertainment
Group, a dynamic, all-female non-profit
company that provides promotional and
educational opportunities for upcoming
female artists and to support and promote
women’s charities.
In Barbados, she worked for many years
producing the Fun Run for Auntie Olga’s Needy
Children’s Fund as well as the same artist
development programme for young women
she started in Canada. Listed in the Who’s
Who of Canadian Women, Ebonnie’s work has
earned her many awards, including a Special
Achievement Award from the Urban Music
Association of Canada, an Ontario Voluntarism
Award and the prestigious YWCA's Women of
Distinction Award for Arts & Entertainment.
Ebonnie’s journey began when, as an English
Literature student at the University of Toronto,
her friend committed suicide. The loss was
devastating; it made her realize the shortness
of life, the silent despair suffered by many, and
fuelled her need to do something that meant
something and would leave a significant
legacy. Determined to have a constructive
influence on the lives of others, she left
University to start a mentorship program, Each
One Teach One, which matched black youth
with black professionals.
Honey Jam Canada came into existence after
Ebonnie produced a 3 hour radio special on
Canada’s largest Hip Hop radio show in 1994,
discussing how women were portrayed in Hip
Hop lyrics and videos. The radio special came
about after hearing several complaints from
her female Each One Teach One mentees.
After the radio show, she was asked to edit an
all-female issue of a national entertainment
magazine, Mic Check. The celebration party
for that issue in 1995, intended to be a one-
off show, was called “Honey Jam.” The success
of the show pointed to a void in the artistic
community which Ebonnie attempted to fill,
and over the last 22 years Honey Jam Canada
has been doing its part in addressing that
need. It provides educational, networking and
performance opportunities, with its concerts
growing to become a much-anticipated
annual multicultural showcase of upcoming
artists in all genres of music - where talents
such as Nelly Furtado have performed, at the
beginning of their careers.
Ebonnie introduced the initiative to Barbados
in 2011 to rave reviews, and is excited to
continue providing opportunities to young
women on the island. A spinoff of the event,
the Honey Jazz Barbados Festival, takes place
anually in January. She also conceptualized a
“Joy to your World” essay contest, encouraging
children to give back to their communities.
She was recently invited to speak at the Cave
Hill (Barbados) School of Business Women’s
Leadership Conference, with the theme: What
Fearless Women do that Other’s Don’t, and
also, at the invitation of the U.S. Ambassador
to Barbados, she spoke at their 2017
International Women’s Day reception.