dropping in

Drop down a 26-story Galleria-area hotel for this Houston charity

Over the Edge Galleria Houston Women's Home 2021

Scale down a 250-foot building for a good cause.

Photo courtesy of The Women's Home

Attention adrenaline junkies, thrill seekers, and adventurous Houstonians: a local charity is offering the chance to scale a 26-story building, all for a benevolent cause.

The Women’s Home is gearing up to send “Over the Edge” to raise funds for its mission to help area women in pivotal life assistance. Those ready to live out their YouTube rappelling fantasies can descend on the DoubleTree Galleria building on Saturday, February 26 to drop down.

To qualify, those interested need to raise $1,200 and then can select a rappel time to rope down the 250-foot hotel. Those interested can participate alone or with a team; the organization will provide a personalized fundraising website and a free shirt the day of the event.

Notably, potential rappelers can continue to fundraise for a short time after the event — initially, participants will be asked to secure their donation with a credit card. “I have every faith that everyone will meet their goal,” Julie Comiskey, The Women’s Home chief development officer, tells CultureMap. “They know the importance of raising funds in order to support our brave clients as they reclaim their stability and continue their journey to creating the life they want and deserve.”

Those unwilling to scale a perfectly good structure can also opt for the “Chicken Coop” option, where they can join the spectators and live DJ to watch and cheer on the rappelers.

This is the second year Houstonians can drop down: Over the Edge debuted last year, with locals strapping on gear and Go Pro cams on their helmets to document the action. Judging from last year, there’ll be no shortage of those ready to drop down the Doubletree — including Comiskey. “I am doing this again because I am inspired by the brave, strong women that walk through our doors every day,” she says. “It’s the least that I can do.”

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For more information or to participate, visit The Women’s Home online. CultureMap is a media sponsor of the event.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”