March 12, 2026 • 8 mins
On this episode, we’re joined by Richard Snow, Regional Development Director for the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), to talk about one of Philadelphia’s most anticipated philanthropic evenings — the 2026 UNCF Philadelphia Mayor’s Masked Ball. Taking place Saturday, March 21, 2026, at the Downtown Marriott Hotel (12th & Market Streets, Center City Philadelphia), this elegant and impactful fundraiser opens its doors at 6 p.m., with the program beginning at 7 p.m.
Hosted by UNCF Philadelphia and Mayor Cherelle Parker, the Mayor’s Masked Ball is a signature celebration supporting scholarships for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
This year’s event will honor NFL star Saquon Barkley and Philadelphia’s own The Roots with a special Semiquincentennial Legacy Award, commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Beyond the glamour and masks lies a powerful mission: investing in students, expanding access to higher education, and strengthening the future of our communities.
🎭 Event Details
• Event: UNCF Philadelphia 2026 Mayor’s Masked Ball
• Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026
• Time: Doors open 6 p.m. | Program begins 7 p.m.
• Location: Downtown Marriott Hotel, 12th & Market Streets, Philadelphia 🌐 Website: https://uncf.org/PhiladelphiaMMB
📱 Social: @UNCF
Join us as we explore the mission behind the masks — and how one unforgettable evening can change the trajectory of a student’s life.
Hosted by UNCF Philadelphia and Mayor Cherelle Parker, the Mayor’s Masked Ball is a signature celebration supporting scholarships for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
This year’s event will honor NFL star Saquon Barkley and Philadelphia’s own The Roots with a special Semiquincentennial Legacy Award, commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Beyond the glamour and masks lies a powerful mission: investing in students, expanding access to higher education, and strengthening the future of our communities.
🎭 Event Details
• Event: UNCF Philadelphia 2026 Mayor’s Masked Ball
• Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026
• Time: Doors open 6 p.m. | Program begins 7 p.m.
• Location: Downtown Marriott Hotel, 12th & Market Streets, Philadelphia 🌐 Website: https://uncf.org/PhiladelphiaMMB
📱 Social: @UNCF
Join us as we explore the mission behind the masks — and how one unforgettable evening can change the trajectory of a student’s life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine BALLADMORL. We have a powerful conversation
about how we tell our shared story. Sharif L Mecki,
CEO of the Center for Black Educated Development, has written
a compelling opinion piece challenging the way Black history is
taught in our schools. He argues that Black history is
(00:22):
American history, and when it's erased, minimized, or confined to
just one month out of the year, we all lose.
We'll talk about why a more honest and inclusive telling
of our history matters for every student in every classroom.
We also check in with Gift of Life. As many
of you know, I am a passionate advocate for organ donation.
(00:43):
I've lost too many friends to kidney disease while they
waited for a transplant, and have also witnessed a miracle
of transplantation, giving people the chance to see their children grow, graduate,
and build lives of their own. Gift of Life has
remarkable news about new technology helping more people receive life
saving transplants, yet even with that progress, there are still
(01:06):
more people on the waiting list than there are organs available.
But first we're talking about one of the biggest and
most fabulous galas of the year. Let's get started. We're
joined by Richard Lee Snow, Regional Development director for the
United Negro College Fund, to talk about one of Philadelphia's
most anticipated philanthropic events, the twenty twenty six Mayor's Masked Ball,
(01:29):
taking place Saturday, March twenty first, at the downtown Marriotte Hotel,
with doors opening at six and the program starting at seven.
Hosted by UNCF Philadelphia and Cherrell Parker are one hundred
mayor The signature fundraiser supports scholarship for students attending historically
black colleges and universities, and this year the UNCF Masked
(01:52):
Ball will be celebrating some extraordinary individuals. To tell us
all about it, Richard tell us, for those who may
be at for the first time, what makes the Mayor's
Masked Ball such a critical event for the UNCF and
the students you serve.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
And thank you, Lorraine for having us again and for
the support of you and iHeart over the years. We
are so excited about this year's event, particularly as we
celebrate two hundred and fifty years this nation's founding through
our semi quin centennial and this is the fourteenth annual
Mayor's Mask Ball. For those who may have not attended
(02:31):
in the past, it is an exciting evening of fun, fellowship,
food and friends. It starts off with an amazing opening
reception with entertainment, and it ends with dancing until you drop,
So everything from the beginning to the end and all
that's in between. But the highlight for us is not
(02:54):
only having the full support of this city's one hundredth Mayor,
Shryl Leslie Parker, and all that she brings to the table,
but also our list of honorees this year, which I
believe are the best we've had. We start off with
our individual Mask rewardy with Sheryl mckizick Daniel, President and
(03:16):
CEO of mckisick and McKissick. I think some of our
callers or audience may be familiar with her. And then
we also have our corporate champion, none other than Excellent,
the parent company of our local Peco organization. I'm so
excited to have them on board along with Peco as well.
(03:38):
And then we turn our attention to our community partner champion,
and that would be the Michael ann and Saquon Barkley
Hope Foundation. I think we're all familiar with Saquon Barkley,
being the huge Eagles fans that we are, and we're
looking forward to not only honoring them, but finding ways
to link our organization and partnership for the future. The
(04:03):
ALA Award, which is Advancing Young Leadership Award, is going
to Joseph Hill. Joseph is a managing director at Cozen O'Connor.
It's been around, he's a huge supporter of UNCF and
we'ch is so happy to honor him with this reward.
And then, last but not least, because of the Semoquin Centennial,
(04:24):
we will present be presenting a special Legacy Award to
our city and this country's favorite entertainers, the roots, and
so we're really excited to do that. So just a
strong host of honorees this year, and we're looking forward
to the event.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Richard, UNCF awards more than eleven thousand scholarships each year,
valued at over sixty two million dollars. Who are the
students behind those numbers, especially right here in Philadelphia, Well,
and thank.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
You for sharing those national numbers in Philadelphia. Annually, we
honor a or. We award about two hundred or so
scholarships a year worth two point five million dollars, and
they go to students either attending our local institutions or
who live in our area. So we have scholars at
(05:15):
almost every institution across the country, but here locally. Not
only do we have scholars at Lincoln and Cheney are
two historically black colleges and universities, but also we have
students at Drexel and Penn and Temple at Penn State.
So we have students receiving our scholarships from all over
(05:36):
the Philadelphia region, and we're proud of that fact.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
For listeners who want to attend, donate, or learn more
about uncf's work, what's the best way to connect.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Well, the best way to connect us through our local website,
which is UNCF dot org slash Philadelphia. If you go
on there, you'll be able to navigate yourself to the
Philadelphia Mayor's mass Ball, but also to any of our
scholarship sites or informational sites for those who are interested
in that. But we really really solicit your support for
(06:09):
this event. We have a huge goal this year and
we think we'll make it, but we can't make it
without the support of the community.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
I'd like to thank you so much for joining us
here today. Richard lie Snow, Regional development director for the
United Negro College Fund, telling us all about Philadelphia's most
anticipated philanthropic events, the twenty twenty six Mayor's Masked Ball,
taking place Saturday, March twenty first at the Downtown Marriott
twelfth and Market Street. We really thank you for joining
(06:38):
us here today and sharing with us what will be
an elegant, fun filled event that's going to do so
much good for the folks here in Philadelphia and across
the nation. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Well, thank you for having us Lorraine, as you always do,
and thank you and our listeners for helping us remind
the world of mine is a terrible thing to waste.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
We'll have more insight after these messages.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
I'm the threat that's already inside the house, in the closet,
under the bed, in the car. But I don't want
your money or your TV. I can't be scared away
or negotiated with. I'm patient and quiet. I don't sleep.
(07:37):
You can't call the cops on me, you can't even
see me. I'm the threat of family fire and as
long as your guns aren't stored securely, I'll be there.
Protect your family, secure all your guns. Learn how to
make your home safer at end family fire dot org.
(08:01):
That's endfamilyfire dot org. A public service announcement brought to
you by Brady and the AD Council.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
What's going on? Yasha Boy, Yanye ma as the Boys
to Men Motown Philly back again doing a little invisible
symptom jam. Autoimmune symptoms can be invisible to the eye,
so don't fail to identify you lost your groove, can't move,
hard to walk, talk, balance off. Remedies exist. Advocate Today,
sponsored by the Getting Up Organization, educating people from every
(08:31):
zip code to identify symptoms of rare and autoimmune diseases
and get a diagnosis.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Help support, education, treatment and curious at Getting up dot org.
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine BALLADMORL. We have a powerful conversation
about how we tell our shared story. Sharif L Mecki,
CEO of the Center for Black Educated Development, has written
a compelling opinion piece challenging the way Black history is
taught in our schools. He argues that Black history is
(00:22):
American history, and when it's erased, minimized, or confined to
just one month out of the year, we all lose.
We'll talk about why a more honest and inclusive telling
of our history matters for every student in every classroom.
We also check in with Gift of Life. As many
of you know, I am a passionate advocate for organ donation.
(00:43):
I've lost too many friends to kidney disease while they
waited for a transplant, and have also witnessed a miracle
of transplantation, giving people the chance to see their children grow, graduate,
and build lives of their own. Gift of Life has
remarkable news about new technology helping more people receive life
saving transplants, yet even with that progress, there are still
(01:06):
more people on the waiting list than there are organs available.
But first we're talking about one of the biggest and
most fabulous galas of the year. Let's get started. We're
joined by Richard Lee Snow, Regional Development director for the
United Negro College Fund, to talk about one of Philadelphia's
most anticipated philanthropic events, the twenty twenty six Mayor's Masked Ball,
(01:29):
taking place Saturday, March twenty first, at the downtown Marriotte Hotel,
with doors opening at six and the program starting at seven.
Hosted by UNCF Philadelphia and Cherrell Parker are one hundred
mayor The signature fundraiser supports scholarship for students attending historically
black colleges and universities, and this year the UNCF Masked
(01:52):
Ball will be celebrating some extraordinary individuals. To tell us
all about it, Richard tell us, for those who may
be at for the first time, what makes the Mayor's
Masked Ball such a critical event for the UNCF and
the students you serve.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
And thank you, Lorraine for having us again and for
the support of you and iHeart over the years. We
are so excited about this year's event, particularly as we
celebrate two hundred and fifty years this nation's founding through
our semi quin centennial and this is the fourteenth annual
Mayor's Mask Ball. For those who may have not attended
(02:31):
in the past, it is an exciting evening of fun, fellowship,
food and friends. It starts off with an amazing opening
reception with entertainment, and it ends with dancing until you drop,
So everything from the beginning to the end and all
that's in between. But the highlight for us is not
(02:54):
only having the full support of this city's one hundredth Mayor,
Shryl Leslie Parker, and all that she brings to the table,
but also our list of honorees this year, which I
believe are the best we've had. We start off with
our individual Mask rewardy with Sheryl mckizick Daniel, President and
(03:16):
CEO of mckisick and McKissick. I think some of our
callers or audience may be familiar with her. And then
we also have our corporate champion, none other than Excellent,
the parent company of our local Peco organization. I'm so
excited to have them on board along with Peco as well.
(03:38):
And then we turn our attention to our community partner champion,
and that would be the Michael ann and Saquon Barkley
Hope Foundation. I think we're all familiar with Saquon Barkley,
being the huge Eagles fans that we are, and we're
looking forward to not only honoring them, but finding ways
to link our organization and partnership for the future. The
(04:03):
ALA Award, which is Advancing Young Leadership Award, is going
to Joseph Hill. Joseph is a managing director at Cozen O'Connor.
It's been around, he's a huge supporter of UNCF and
we'ch is so happy to honor him with this reward.
And then, last but not least, because of the Semoquin Centennial,
(04:24):
we will present be presenting a special Legacy Award to
our city and this country's favorite entertainers, the roots, and
so we're really excited to do that. So just a
strong host of honorees this year, and we're looking forward
to the event.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Richard, UNCF awards more than eleven thousand scholarships each year,
valued at over sixty two million dollars. Who are the
students behind those numbers, especially right here in Philadelphia, Well,
and thank.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
You for sharing those national numbers in Philadelphia. Annually, we
honor a or. We award about two hundred or so
scholarships a year worth two point five million dollars, and
they go to students either attending our local institutions or
who live in our area. So we have scholars at
(05:15):
almost every institution across the country, but here locally. Not
only do we have scholars at Lincoln and Cheney are
two historically black colleges and universities, but also we have
students at Drexel and Penn and Temple at Penn State.
So we have students receiving our scholarships from all over
(05:36):
the Philadelphia region, and we're proud of that fact.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
For listeners who want to attend, donate, or learn more
about uncf's work, what's the best way to connect.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Well, the best way to connect us through our local website,
which is UNCF dot org slash Philadelphia. If you go
on there, you'll be able to navigate yourself to the
Philadelphia Mayor's mass Ball, but also to any of our
scholarship sites or informational sites for those who are interested
in that. But we really really solicit your support for
(06:09):
this event. We have a huge goal this year and
we think we'll make it, but we can't make it
without the support of the community.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
I'd like to thank you so much for joining us
here today. Richard lie Snow, Regional development director for the
United Negro College Fund, telling us all about Philadelphia's most
anticipated philanthropic events, the twenty twenty six Mayor's Masked Ball,
taking place Saturday, March twenty first at the Downtown Marriott
twelfth and Market Street. We really thank you for joining
(06:38):
us here today and sharing with us what will be
an elegant, fun filled event that's going to do so
much good for the folks here in Philadelphia and across
the nation. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Well, thank you for having us Lorraine, as you always do,
and thank you and our listeners for helping us remind
the world of mine is a terrible thing to waste.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
We'll have more insight after these messages.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
I'm the threat that's already inside the house, in the closet,
under the bed, in the car. But I don't want
your money or your TV. I can't be scared away
or negotiated with. I'm patient and quiet. I don't sleep.
(07:37):
You can't call the cops on me, you can't even
see me. I'm the threat of family fire and as
long as your guns aren't stored securely, I'll be there.
Protect your family, secure all your guns. Learn how to
make your home safer at end family fire dot org.
(08:01):
That's endfamilyfire dot org. A public service announcement brought to
you by Brady and the AD Council.
Speaker 4 (08:09):
What's going on? Yasha Boy, Yanye ma as the Boys
to Men Motown Philly back again doing a little invisible
symptom jam. Autoimmune symptoms can be invisible to the eye,
so don't fail to identify you lost your groove, can't move,
hard to walk, talk, balance off. Remedies exist. Advocate Today,
sponsored by the Getting Up Organization, educating people from every
(08:31):
zip code to identify symptoms of rare and autoimmune diseases
and get a diagnosis.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Help support, education, treatment and curious at Getting up dot org.
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