Urban League Plays Important Service Role in Area

Although the Springfield Urban League has been around for more than 80 years, many people are unaware of the important service role it plays in this community and how many lives have been improved because of agency programs and advocacy work.

Springfield Urban League is the sixth-largest Urban League affiliate in the country and holds one of the national Urban League’s highest performance ratings. Last year alone, 6,000 people were economically empowered through job training, financial literacy and business assistance programs, along with health and wellness, child care, early childhood education, college prep and other services.

Head Start has been a prime focus of the agency since 1990. More than 700 children were enrolling this year in Early Head Start, which focuses on birth to age 3, and Head Start, serving 3- to 5- year-olds with home- and center-based programs in Springfield, Riverton, Jacksonville and Meredosia. Head Start’s Cook Street site is nationally accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. For parents needing child care because of jobs or school attendance, Wee Grow provides year-round high- quality, professional care starting with infants, and includes before- and after-school and summer care for older siblings.

The league is especially excited with the success of Freedom School, highlighting reading proficiency and comprehension for first- through seventh-graders. In its third summer of operation, Freedom School is a project of the Children’s Defense Fund and patterned upon the famed Mississippi Freedom Schools of 1964. Illinois Steps Ahead GEAR UP, funded through the Illinois Department of Human Services, is designed to engage and motivate students starting at seventh grade to pursue educational goals beyond high school. It tracks them through the 12th grade, providing ongoing support. At graduation, scholarships await those who successfully complete the program. Other initiatives that promote academic excellence include National Achievers, with its yearly recognition ceremony, and the annual “Doing the Right Thing” celebration, an outdoor festival that draws more than 1,000 each fall.

Springfield Urban Leagues recognizes the importance of technology in school and work environments now and in the future. Sixteen years ago, the agency began developing computer-based instructional services for direct-service providers. Seven years ago it expanded to create the Community Technology & Training Center that today employs a variety of adult and youth-serving initiatives. Recently, the American Honda Foundation awarded a grant to the league for the operation and expansion of the Digital Career Academy and WASSUP (Work, Attitude, School, Study yoUth Program).

WASSUP, which includes the Youth Community Technology Program, aims at helping disaffected older teens attain positive educational and personal goals, and encourages them to explore the use of technology in today’s work environment. The Digital Career Academy (a Web-based instructional program taught by DigiPen in Seattle) focuses on high school students who may want to pursue careers in computer animation.

Claude Comair, founder of DigiPen, describes how it motivates youth to learn. “If you say to students, let’s study algorithms, they run away. But if you give them the opportunity to make games, they do more than you ask …”

Participants employ math, science and physics skills, along with computerization and gaming artistry, as they create video games and learn significant computer applications. The Honda grant will also allow for a new component, which will be announced soon, to be introduced into these programs.

Not only does the education initiative start with the smallest clients at birth, but it assists them as they approach adulthood in pursuing higher education through our W.B. Winston Scholarship Program and annual Historical Black College and University Tour (HBCU). This year’s spring break saw staff escorting a busload of teens on a weeklong visit to schools in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. In June, nine college- bound young men and women shared $10,000 in financial assistance, thanks to a program financed by membership dues and fundraising efforts of the Urban League Guild.

Other educational activities include the Brandon Youth Outreach Center, serving 6- to 18-year-olds, Teen Reach and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention programs, tutoring and mentoring, and HIV/AIDS education efforts aimed at young males involved in risky behaviors and at nursing school students.

The Springfield Urban League’s twin goals are empowering communities and changing lives. These education-focused initiatives – and others dealing with employment, training, health and families – are designed to do just that.

Thanks to the many blessings and investments in the Springfield Urban League by local, state and national funders – and the strong commitment of the board of directors, community leaders, staff and volunteers – it’s clear that the agency stands as the primary service provider for African-Americans, Latinos, emerging minorities and disadvantaged members of this community.

(c) 2007 State Journal Register. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.