The Julius and Lenora Carter Scholarship and Youth Foundation was established in September 2010. After the sudden passing of Lenora Carter, Publisher and CEO of Forward Times Publishing Company, Inc., the daughter of the founders, Karen Carter Richards, current Publisher and CEO of the Forward Times, took the initiative of establishing the Foundation in her parents’ honor.

Julius Carter and his wife, Lenora, founded the Forward Times Publishing Company in January, 1960, and during their tenure the Carters privately assisted students who aspired to excel in the area of journalism. The Carters saw a need to positively influence the decline in interest when it came to vetting stories, qualifying subjects, and upholding journalism ethics by extending more knowledge to students by providing a means to help them garner better education in the field of journalism.

In keeping with the legacy and history of the newspaper, Karen Carter Richards understood that the future of new media could be breached with the volumes of white noise reporting online. Currently, as part of the Carter legacy, the private assistance once personally handed out to a few students is now available to more students who are seeking to advance their careers in the field of journalism and digital communications through the Julius and Lenora Carter Scholarship and Youth Foundation, a 501(c)(3) company.

The Carter legacy will live on through the well-appointed works of the students who have benefited from both the scholarships offered and the Foundation itself. In keeping with the Foundation’s charter, it has partnered with local businesses and corporations to grant scholarships to qualified high school and university students that meet eligibility requirements. As of 2022, the Foundation has granted more than $50,000 in scholarships and helped numerous low and/or medium income high school seniors and college students from both public and private schools within the Greater Houston Metropolitan area to continue their education. Additionally, the Foundation affords these students the unique opportunity for real world experience by providing an intern experience at the Forward Times Publishing Company, Inc.