Please mark your Calendar for our 2nd Award Banquet:
Sunday October 3, 2021 @ 5.00 pm
Stay safe and healthy!
Second Annual Friendship Award Banquet
Sunday October 3, 2021 @ 5:00pm
The Great Hall & Conference Center
1900 S Germantown Road Germantown, TN 38138
Three local heroes from Memphis share a friendship that lands them on the Ellen Show with a video seen over 18 million times so far!
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Friendship Park — A place to celebrate world friendships
The Friendship Park ...
The park is a living monument to and catalyst for inspiring the human spirit to seek out, begin and grow friendships through wondrous play, cooperative experiences and human interchange*, where cherished commonalities are celebrated, and those things unique to every race, culture and faith are discovered, explored and respected, to the end that friendships are celebrated, begin and flourish, making the world a safer and more joyful place.
The Frienship Award ...
Michael Todd, Kristopher Graham and Antwan Garrett – Recipients of our Second Award
IN THE FALL of 2019 three teenagers of Memphis, Tennessee made national and international news. This time it was not due to misdeeds or outrageous behavior such as is often chosen and highlighted by news outlets. These three formed a friendship that has warmed the hearts of millions. We celebrate Michael Todd, Kristopher Graham and Antwan Garrett.
All three are students from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. College Preparatory High School. Michael had become the target of derision and had received a lot of verbal abuse due to wearing the same clothes to school for several days. Kristopher was among those who teased Michael. His conscience began to nag at him that what he had participated in must have been devastating to Michael. He confessed his regret to Antwan and together they devised a plan to reach out in kindness and acceptance to Michael and make him a peace offering, to surprise Michael with brand new clothes. The three have been friends since that day. Unbeknownst to them a video of their simple act of kindness was posted on social media. The video has been viewed over 17 million times. Among those who viewed it was Ellen DeGeneres who invited the three to her show and surprised them with an appearance by Will Smith who gave them all some new clothes and promised to provide New Balance shoes for all the students at MLK, Jr. Prep. Their acts of humility, bravery and kindness have not gone unnoticed by the world.
We are proud to present our Second Friendship Award to the boys.
Mr. Daryl Davis – Recipient of our First Award
NOW RESIDING IN Silver Spring, MD, Chicago native Daryl Davis graduated from Howard University with a degree in Jazz. As a pianist, vocalist and guitarist, he performs nationally and internationally with The Daryl Davis Band, he has also worked with such notables as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley’s Jordanaires, The Legendary Blues Band and many others. While music is his fulltime profession, seeking to improve race relations nationwide, has become a fulltime obsession.
Davis has received the Elliott-Black and MLK awards as well as numerous other local and national awards for his work in race relations. He lectures nationwide and abroad on the topic.
We are proud to present our First Friendship Award to Mr. Daryl Davis
The Friendship Moving Forward...
• First Annual Memphis Friendship Foundation Award Banquet.
• First Friendship Scholarship for High School Seniors sponsored by Starbucks.
• Friendship Day Celebrations.
• Friendship 5K Run.
• Annual Spring Picnic.
• Blood Drives, and more…
The Mosque Across the Street
What happens when a mosque moves across the street from a church in the Bible Belt?
by Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
“I just expected to be nice to some new people who were moving in, and we’d be cordial neighbors,” he said. “Now my life is so very changed by these friendships and relationships. I’ve been to weddings and parties that I didn’t even know existed. I’ve been part of events with people that I never knew.”
“It’s an amazing friendship,” he said, “that I can’t imagine having missed out on.”
About Us
An unusual and rare friendship has developed between the people of the Memphis Islamic Center and Heartsong Church. This special relationship began with a simple act of neighborly love. When Heartsong became aware that Muslims had bought the land across the street from them, a sign was quickly put up welcoming the Islamic Center to the neighborhood.
Get Involved
We would love to talk with you about Friendship Park and the plans we have. Recently, Tom Norquist, a speaker at a national conference, told a huge audience that he believes “play” will someday be used as a big contributor to world peace, and that he had met some people in Memphis who were hot on the trail of making that happen.
Join Us
Find Us
People are talking …
Deborah Fagan Carpenter for Porch Scene
http://porchscene.com/2015/03/19/good-bridges-make-good-neighbors-by-deborah-fagan-carpenter/Timberly Moore for Commercial Appeal
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/nov/10/donors-join-heartsong-church-islamic-center-in/Donors join Heartsong Church, Islamic Center in Memphis in support for shared park.
On God’s Side: Everyone claims God for their side, but who is on God’s side?
Bianca Phillips for Memphis Flyer.
http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/park-friends/Content?oid=3174695Park Friends – Cordova mosque and church plan eight-acre Friendship Park.
Clay Bailey for Commercial Appeal.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/apr/26/2-faiths-1-park-harmony/2 faiths + 1 park = harmony: Heartsong, Islamic Center join project.
Cordova church welcomes new Islamic Center to the neighborhood.