POMPANO BEACH, Fla. - Marylandian -- A+ Editing & Content Creation, publisher of Villij News, was awarded a $10,000 grant to better serve the community through its writing and editing services. A+ Editing is one of four Broward County businesses to earn the ELEVATE TOGETHER™ grants. The awards were presented by Round It Up America®, Office Depot's new nonprofit initiative designed to address systemic discrimination and historical racial disparities in business growth and profitability in Black and Hispanic communities. Through a partnership with the National Urban League's Entrepreneurship Centers and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the initiative helps support Black and Hispanic small businesses with five or less employees. The ODP Corporation (parent company to Office Depot and CompuCom) is the initiative's founding partner.

"We are so grateful to be awarded a grant of this size. With the money and services included in the grant, we plan to expand distribution of our community newspaper and brings more news to our black community so they can make informed decisions," said Attiyya Atkins, owner of A+ Editing & Content Creation.

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The other winners include Island Origins Syndicate, La Paix Bakery, and Amer-Plus Janitorial Services.

"We were pleased to partner with the Office Depot and The Elevate Together grant to provide the four winners a $10,000 grant to help drive their business initiatives," said Dr. Lascelle A. Sweetland, UBiz Co-Lab Program Coordinator. "The four winners of the grant were all participants in our inaugural Ubiz Co-Lab cohort. The Urban League of Broward County launched the UBIZ Co-Lab in March 2020 during difficult times for many businesses. The new initiative designed to stimulate sustainable small business growth in targeted economically challenged communities.

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The four businesses that were honored include:

• A+ Editing and Content Creation is a full-service ghostwriting and editing agency (https://www.apluseditor.com: "During the pandemic, I lost clients due to lack of staff and resources, but I gained perspective and am very blessed to be able to scale my business with help from this grant," said Attiyya Atkins, owner.
• Amer-Plus, a commercial cleaning and janitorial servicing company (www.amerplusjmi.com)
• Island Origins Syndicate ,1310 SW 2^nd Court, Fort Lauderdale, 33312,  a publishing company with a  publication designed to reflect the Caribbean American community (www.islandoriginsmag.com), and
• La Paix Bakery, 6035 Miramar Parkway, Miramar, 33023, a family-owned and operated retail bakery specializing in Haitian baked breads, pastries and other goodies (www.lapaixbakery.com). "After such a difficult year for small businesses due to the pandemic, I am grateful to receive the Elevate Together grant to help elevate our business model and footprint," said Nadeige Sterlin, La Paix owner.

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