The Benjamin & Yancy Foundation was incorporated in February 2017 and has been dedicated to the legacies of two phenomenal physical educators, Velma Benjamin, Ph.D., and Elmira Jacqueline Bridges Yancy, B.S., M.S.. Benjamin & Yancy taught in the Orleans Public School System for a combined 70 years, touching countless youth through their specialized curriculums focused on maintaining healthy lifestyles through Health, Physical Education, and Dance. Both Benjamin and Yancy lost their battles to breast cancer, but their educational contributions and community-based platforms are the core visions of the BY Foundation-empowering individuals to advocate for their own quality of life and health, as well as for others'.

The co-founders of the BY Foundation are the daughter and sister of these two extraordinary women. The late Jean Benjamin Vappie, B.S., M.A., and Elizabeth Bridges, Ph.D., who came together nearly a decade ago for a breast cancer walk. At that event, the co-founders experienced an outpour of community support, leading them to recognize the need to increase grass-root efforts to link cancer patients to valuable resources within their immediate communities.