Saturday, January 26, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The Fort Wayne Urban League- United Way of Allen County
[Republished from the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. Link to original story.]
Urban League targets economic equality
Agency's programs help city's poor to improve themselves, no matter what their age.
By S.T. Boyer
nsmetro@news-sentinel.com
Editor's note: The United Way supports 36 Allen County agencies that have touched or will touch almost all our lives. These agencies exist to serve our community. This is one in a series of stories The News-Sentinel is publishing periodically to help generate a better awareness in the community about what United Way agencies are designed to accomplish and some of the lives they affect.
For more than 80 years, the Fort Wayne Urban League has advocated for economic equality and self-reliance for the urban poor and others. But several residents may be unaware of the many ways this agency can assist them.
“Anyone who walks through the door can and does receive assistance,” said Fort Wayne Urban League President and CEO Jonathan C. Ray. The Urban League, 2135 S. Hanna St., which receives some funding from the local United Way, has programs for every age group, with the ultimate goals of economic equality, self-reliance and social justice in mind.
“Economic empowerment is key,” Ray said. He feels that most of the time, the biggest obstacle against people being empowered is a lack of money. “You don't feel very powerful if you don't have any money.”
The Urban League offers financial counseling and new-homebuyer counseling in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ray said the organization is taking the housing program a step further with six-month follow-up counseling.
According to Ray, many clients who have gone through financial counseling and buy homes still get into financial problems. Ray feels lenders who target the poor often use predatory lending practices. “When people become homeowners, people accept credit opportunities when they really can't afford it,” Ray said.
Because of the many challenges facing the community today, the Urban League is working to make sure the next generation is headed for success.
Ray feels the key to empowering urban children to succeed in life is to prepare them to succeed in school.
One of the league's many programs is the Read and Rise program, focused on children under age 5 who need assistance in developing reading skills.
“We actually do cold-calling and knocking on doors,” Ray said. That's something Ray feels is unique to the program. The personal interaction with the children and the parents helps to get things started in the right direction.
For children already in school, the Urban League offers programs to help with homework. Ray pointed out that everyone takes education seriously. There are no game rooms for children to play in after school; the focus is academics.
To prepare for college, the Urban League offers the New Lights program, which gets students ready to study hard by visiting campuses.
Ray said the program teaches the children to make good choices by exposing them to the higher-education environment before they go to college.
The college and career help continue for adults. The league has job placement programs with several local businesses and has partnered with Brown Mackie College to provide classrooms.
The classroom partnership gives the community access to college training close to home. Computers from Ivy Tech Community College help with the League's computer instruction programs for all ages, from youth to seniors.
Even with its vast array of programs and services, the Fort Wayne Urban League is more than the sum of its parts.
Ray feels the new Hanna Street campus, which opened in 2005, provides the urban community with a true center.
Whether people are coming for skills training, job placement, housing assistance, youth programs, computer education, voting in the polling place, or just stopping by to use the bus shelter, the league symbolizes usefulness and help to anyone in need of assistance.
“We help people take the next step,” Ray said.
Reaching out
Organization: Fort Wayne Urban League
Address: 2135 S. Hanna St.
Phone: 745-3100
Web site: www.fwurbanleague.org
Mission: To enable urban poor and others to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.
Founded: The league was originally founded in 1920 as the Fort Wayne Community Association. The association joined the National Urban League in 1949 and became the Fort Wayne Urban League.
Annual budget: $981,000
United Way Funding: $111,000
President/CEO: Jonathan Ray
Employees: 12 full-time, 15 part-time, over 200 volunteers
Key services: Childhood literacy, youth center, homework help, creative workshops, drug prevention education, computer instruction, housing counseling, job training and referral, financial literacy
Clients assisted in 2006: About 2,200 directly and 23,000 through various partnerships
Urban League targets economic equality
Agency's programs help city's poor to improve themselves, no matter what their age.
By S.T. Boyer
nsmetro@news-sentinel.com
Editor's note: The United Way supports 36 Allen County agencies that have touched or will touch almost all our lives. These agencies exist to serve our community. This is one in a series of stories The News-Sentinel is publishing periodically to help generate a better awareness in the community about what United Way agencies are designed to accomplish and some of the lives they affect.
For more than 80 years, the Fort Wayne Urban League has advocated for economic equality and self-reliance for the urban poor and others. But several residents may be unaware of the many ways this agency can assist them.
“Anyone who walks through the door can and does receive assistance,” said Fort Wayne Urban League President and CEO Jonathan C. Ray. The Urban League, 2135 S. Hanna St., which receives some funding from the local United Way, has programs for every age group, with the ultimate goals of economic equality, self-reliance and social justice in mind.
“Economic empowerment is key,” Ray said. He feels that most of the time, the biggest obstacle against people being empowered is a lack of money. “You don't feel very powerful if you don't have any money.”
The Urban League offers financial counseling and new-homebuyer counseling in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ray said the organization is taking the housing program a step further with six-month follow-up counseling.
According to Ray, many clients who have gone through financial counseling and buy homes still get into financial problems. Ray feels lenders who target the poor often use predatory lending practices. “When people become homeowners, people accept credit opportunities when they really can't afford it,” Ray said.
Because of the many challenges facing the community today, the Urban League is working to make sure the next generation is headed for success.
Ray feels the key to empowering urban children to succeed in life is to prepare them to succeed in school.
One of the league's many programs is the Read and Rise program, focused on children under age 5 who need assistance in developing reading skills.
“We actually do cold-calling and knocking on doors,” Ray said. That's something Ray feels is unique to the program. The personal interaction with the children and the parents helps to get things started in the right direction.
For children already in school, the Urban League offers programs to help with homework. Ray pointed out that everyone takes education seriously. There are no game rooms for children to play in after school; the focus is academics.
To prepare for college, the Urban League offers the New Lights program, which gets students ready to study hard by visiting campuses.
Ray said the program teaches the children to make good choices by exposing them to the higher-education environment before they go to college.
The college and career help continue for adults. The league has job placement programs with several local businesses and has partnered with Brown Mackie College to provide classrooms.
The classroom partnership gives the community access to college training close to home. Computers from Ivy Tech Community College help with the League's computer instruction programs for all ages, from youth to seniors.
Even with its vast array of programs and services, the Fort Wayne Urban League is more than the sum of its parts.
Ray feels the new Hanna Street campus, which opened in 2005, provides the urban community with a true center.
Whether people are coming for skills training, job placement, housing assistance, youth programs, computer education, voting in the polling place, or just stopping by to use the bus shelter, the league symbolizes usefulness and help to anyone in need of assistance.
“We help people take the next step,” Ray said.
Reaching out
Organization: Fort Wayne Urban League
Address: 2135 S. Hanna St.
Phone: 745-3100
Web site: www.fwurbanleague.org
Mission: To enable urban poor and others to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.
Founded: The league was originally founded in 1920 as the Fort Wayne Community Association. The association joined the National Urban League in 1949 and became the Fort Wayne Urban League.
Annual budget: $981,000
United Way Funding: $111,000
President/CEO: Jonathan Ray
Employees: 12 full-time, 15 part-time, over 200 volunteers
Key services: Childhood literacy, youth center, homework help, creative workshops, drug prevention education, computer instruction, housing counseling, job training and referral, financial literacy
Clients assisted in 2006: About 2,200 directly and 23,000 through various partnerships
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
