Public event scheduled for Thursday, September 3

Geoffrey Canada, an education reform advocate who was named one of Time magazine’s “world’s most influential people,” will be the featured speaker at The Rapides Foundation's 2026 Symposium.

The Symposium will take place Thursday, September 3, at the Randolph Riverfront Center in Alexandria from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lunch will be served. This event is open to the community and there is no cost to attend, but registration is encouraged.

The Foundation presents the Symposium each year as a way of providing information on a topic of importance for the Central Louisiana community while also recognizing the creation of The Rapides Foundation on September 1, 1994. This year’s topic is Pathways to Success: Creating Opportunities for Children, Families and Communities to Thrive.

Canada, a passionate advocate for education reform, will draw on decades of experience to share how communities can help children succeed.

Canada created the Harlem Children’s Zone, a birth-through-college network of programs that today serves more than 13,000 low-income students and families in a 97-block area of Central Harlem in New York City. His success with the Children’s Zone led to Canada being named one of the world’s most influential people by Time magazine in 2011 and as one of the 50 greatest leaders by Fortune magazine in 2014. Today, he serves as president of Harlem Children’s Zone and has most recently founded The William Julius Wilson Institute to serve communities impacted by poverty as they develop programs focused on the racial wealth gap and building economic mobility.

Follow the link to reserve a spot: https://form.jotform.com/261614375156155

The Rapides Foundation focuses its works in three strategic areas: Healthy People, to improve access to healthcare and to promote healthy behaviors; Education, to increase the level of educational attainment and achievement as the primary path to improved economic, social and health status; and Healthy Communities, to improve economic opportunity and family income; and enhance civic and community opportunities for more effective leaders and organizations. 

On September 1, 1994, a joint venture partnership between Rapides Regional Medical Center and HCA created a $140 million endowment to establish The Rapides Foundation. The partnership extended the hospital’s ability to provide quality healthcare in a changing environment and created a wellspring of resources dedicated to improving the health of Central Louisiana residents. The Foundation continues its dual role as part owner of Rapides Regional Medical Center and as a leading health grantmaker in the region.

Since the Foundation’s creation in 1994, it has awarded more than $292 million in grants. The Rapides Foundation serves a nine-parish area in Central Louisiana consisting of Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn parishes.