Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Lamar Quinn.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dr. Quinn. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a native of Chicago’s South Side. I am the youngest of four boys by my late mother, Diane Quinn, and one sister by my father. I attended South Shore High School and graduated in 2003. Following high school, I furthered my studies at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL, and then went on to the University of Illinois at Chicago, where I received my Doctorate of Pharmacy degree in 2011. Upon graduation, I accepted a position as a staff pharmacist with Walgreens in Dallas, Texas. In 2014, I was promoted to the role of Pharmacy Manager. I am a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, and the founder and chair of Toast for Charity, a non-profit public organization.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I recount many challenges throughout my life. One of my biggest challenges was surviving growing up on the South Side of Chicago. Early in my life, I became very passionate about sports. I wanted to be just like MJ. So, quite naturally like every kid growing up in the 90’s in Chicago, I pursued basketball. However, in high school, I would learn that I did not possess the right stature to make the varsity basketball team. Luckily for me, I fell in love with track and field with an emphasis on cross country. I was actually pretty good at it. My talent and leadership skills landed me the role of captain my junior and senior year of high school. Ultimately, my passion for sports enabled me to see past the violence in my community and landed me in college.
In college, I struggled academically as a student-athlete. Initially, many of my academic woes stemmed from my lack of resources which included the inability to pay for my course textbooks. I remember in my first two years of college, I heavily relied on the graciousness of my classmates — they let me borrow their books — and the library. Unfortunately, this didn’t work at all. I eventually took on a second job at Walgreens as a photo tech, in addition to my work study job, to help with tuition and purchasing my textbooks. Soon thereafter, the second job and the difficulty of my courses would cause me to hang up my running shoes to focus primarily on my academics and my pursuit of pharmacy school. This would work in my favor as I began to excel academically with the help of a few teachers, tutors, and of course, my own textbooks.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Toast for Charity – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
In 2015, with the help of my closest friends and associates, I organized Toast for Charity in response to the disparities within the various Dallas communities. I had always discussed with my friends the desire to make a difference in the community. I noticed that there were no charity events in Dallas that my friends and I could look forward to attending socially. I wanted to address this void and create charity events where we could enjoy and also give back. So, from Toast for Charity’s inception, the breadth and outreach of the organization have grown, largely due to our signature “Party With Purpose” events and community service projects that galvanize area young professionals to donate their time and funds. The largest and most popular of these events is an annual toy drive which provides Christmas gifts to Promise House, an organization that provides immediate services to neglected, abused, and at-risk youth ages 0-24. Through this partnership, volunteers raise thousands of dollars in donations, yielding hundreds of gift cards and toys.
Another event, Day of Care seeks to target the epidemic of homelessness within the South Dallas community by providing care packages of hygiene products and food items to over 250 homeless individuals. Our signature “Party With Purpose” events for Day of Care include our annual Fat Tuesday in February and our annual Let’s do Brunch in April.
Through Toast for Charity, I am determined to remain connected to my roots while positively impacting the community in which I and my wife, Lauren, live and raise our newborn son, Jaxon. Honestly, it’s about God, family, and giving back. When you have the means to affect change within a person or a community, you should choose to do so.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
In an inaugural event entitled “From Dallas to Chicago with Love,” Dallas-based organization, Toast for Charity, will take its humanitarian efforts to inner-city Chicago, with the goal of raising $15,000 to fund textbook expenses for college-bound freshmen. Toast for Charity will commute to Chicago to launch “From Dallas to Chicago with Love”—a four-day fundraising effort happening July 19 thru July 23. Events will include a comedy show featuring noted comedian, Baldhead Phillips; a yacht party chartered by Anita Dee Yacht Charters; and, an official after-party at Persona Ultra Lounge.
Pricing:
- VIP package for Chicago $150
Contact Info:
- Website: WWW.TOASTFORCHARITY.ORG
- Email: TOASTFORCHARITY@GMAIL.COM
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toastforcharity
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/toastforcharitydfw/
Image Credit:
JCI Creatives, Eyeclonic Visuals
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