Urban League of Lancaster County 2011 Annual Report
Download a copy of the 2011 Annual Report here.
Open Letter from the President & CEO
Dear Community Partner:
Since 1965, the Urban League of Lancaster County, a United Way affiliated organization, has enriched the lives of African Americans and others within Lancaster County. It has done so with your support and the support of the National Urban League which celebrated its centennial anniversary in July of 2010. Our original mission, to secure economic self-reliance, enable parity and safeguard civil rights, has allowed us to support the creation of a community in which African-Americans, the poor, the disadvantaged and other minorities can engage in life-long learning, become self-sufficient and develop toward their full potential.
We live our mission by offering a variety of programs geared toward improving the health, education and economic well being of our diverse clientele. On June 16, 2011 we will celebrate Equal Opportunity Day. The purpose of this day is to celebrate the successes of the programs that we offer to empower our community by changing individual lives. The economic status of the population we serve dictates that our programming is offered at no cost to our clientele. We need, and invite you to partner with us by providing sponsorship for the event or for one of our individual programs highlighted below:
Project Hope: Dedicated to providing services to those infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS. The program also provides HIV testing as well as outreach to high risk populations in an effort to stop the spread of this terrible disease. During the past year Project hope touched more than 2,000 individuals through group or individual level interventions, HIV testing and/or case management.
Youth Educational Support Services: Dedicated to providing a safe, educational and fun after school and summer environment for school aged youth. Our main focus is to provide homework assistance and tutoring in various subjects throughout the school year. Students have access to our computer lab and also participate in activities geared toward maintaining literacy skills, as well as daily recreation during the summer months. The program served 140 students from our community during the past year.
Integrated Employment Program: Dedicated to providing job skills and educational support to the unemployed or underemployed. The program partners with the PA Career Link to administer the Ready2Work job skills program, provides weekly life skills classes, offers resume preparation assistance and mock interviews. The program sponsors job fairs with participation from local employers such as RR Donnelley, Turkey Hill and Marriott Hotels. The program served 344 participants during the past year with 100 obtaining employment (63 full time and 37 part time). The program also offers a GED preparatory course for those who lack a H.S. Diploma. We had 9 graduates during the past year with 31 others working diligently to prepare for the exam.
ELECT Teen Program: In partnership with the School District of Lancaster, the program provides educational support to pregnant and parenting teens with a focus on high school completion and prevention of subsequent pregnancies. This past school year all 20 of our senior level participants graduated from J. P. McCaskey High School.
Equal Opportunity Day Event
Again this year, we will present Awards to people who are doing exemplary work in our community promoting diversity. The Champions of Diversity Award recognizes individuals and/or organizations that promote diversity through building bridges between diverse communities, empower others to improve their lives, and promote inclusion in the local community. We partner with the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry in presenting the award(s).
Candidates for the “Champions of Diversity Award” demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics: (1) dedication to improving the relationship between diverse groups in Lancaster County, (2) a significant history of empowering or supporting the empowerment of individuals to improve the condition of their lives and (3) a proven commitment to creating a culture of inclusion in Lancaster County.
We provide the attached sponsor sheet to assist you in making a selection for your level of support. Thank you in advance for your support. It helps us continue to strengthen our community by changing individual lives.
Sincerely,
Joshua R. Dixon
President and CEO