Urban League Announces its 2013 Lions

The Urban League of Greater Cincinnati is proud to announce its 19th class of Lions.  This year's honorees include Susan Upton Farley, Rev. H.L. Harvey, Barbara Smitherman and Kitty Strauss.  A short biography and photo will be available next week.

Each year the Urban League holds it "Glorifying the Lions Presentation" as part of its annual meeting luncheon.  The annual meeting will be held, from 11:30-1:30 p.m., Friday, February 8, 2013, at the downtown Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Lions may be nominated by any individual, company or organization in the Greater Cincinnati area.  To be considered for the award, individuals must have demonstrated a commitment to serving families and individuals in the community.  This includes distinguished leaders who have changed the face of Cincinnati by their words, actions and deeds.  It also includes lesser know people outside of the "usual achievers" who readily come to mind. Nominiees include a next-door-neighbor, a church member, or former classmate, all who have made a difference in the lives of families and individuals in the community.

Tickets for the event can be purchased by visiting the Urban League website at www.gcul.org.

Urban League SBDC Wins Two State Awards

Congratulations to the Ohio Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati which took home not one but TWO peer recognition awards for outstanding performance during the past year!   The awards were given out November 27, 2012, at a ceremony in Dublin, Ohio. The first accolade went to the Center itself when it won the "2012 Ecomic Impact Award for Overall High Performance by a District."  The Urban League's SBDC is part of District 5 in Ohio, that also includes two other SBDCs, one at BizTech in Hamilton, and the other at the Clermont Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, Shelia Mixon, Director of the SBDC and Vice President of Entrepreneurship at the Urban League received the "Collaboration Award" that recognizes the top individual in the state who creates and strengthens a collaborative relationship of partnerships with other organizations with a goal of gorowing businesses in the communities they represent.

"We won the "Economic Impact Award" as a district because we do a good job  of making sure we achieve all of the goals established for the year.  If one SBDC is falling a bit short in its piece of the goals, the other two centers pick up the slack and together we do what is needed to provide the resouces businesses in the community require to thrive and grow."

Dixon herself was actually nominted twice for the "Colaboration Award" for two different projects.  She won for helping to bring a new SBDC to the region in Warren County.

On her personal award Dixon remarked, "We identified a need in the community for an additional SBDC.  BizTech in Hamilton used the Jobs Act to create a pilot program there, and when it the new SBDC opens in January there will be 23 organizations in the Country partnering with the Center to provide the same high quality of services the other three SBDCs in the district are already providing."

Construction Connections:

An Urban League Job Training Program That Works.  

• Construction Connections is an eight-week Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program designed to prepare participants for a career in the construction industry.
• The progr
  am is a collaboration between the Urban League and Allied Construction Industries and focuses on soft skill development as well as technical instruction.
• Upon completion of the 172-hour program each student is equipped with: a National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Core Curriculum Certificate, Registration in the NCCER's National Registry, Bobcat Certification, and OSHA 10.

Results 2010-2011

• 102 People Enrolled in the Program
• 94 Men and Women Graduated (92% Completion Rate)
• 81 Individuals Employed (86% Placement Rate)

A BIG thanks to the Ohio Department of Transportation for funding this program.

PREPARING YOUTH FOR LEARNING AND LIFE--EVERY CHILD IS SPECIAL AND DESERVES THE CHANCE TO SUCCEED

Children need many skills and tools in life to grow and succeed. The Urban League recognizes that one organization cannot meet all the needs that children have. So in our AFTER SCHOOL LEAGUE, we stick to the basics to bolster academic success and prepare students for life from South Avondale, Rockd...

ale Academy and Woodward Career Technical High School. We provide free tutoring in math and reading, we serve as positive adult role models and we interact with each child on a one-on-one basis. And we provide each student with the opportunity to be a kid--to play games, to be active, and to create through art and other media.

The numbers: In just the last year alone we helped 444 students, providing 1,422 hours of individual tutoring and another 985 hours of group tutoring.

FACT--"Children living in poverty, without financial resources and who are also struggling to read, are less likely to graduate, putting them in “double jeopardy.” For children who were poor for at least one year and not reading on grade level in third grade, more than one-quarter (26 percent) didn’t finish high school – a rate that is six times higher than that for proficient readers" --Annie E. Casey Foundation Study.

The Urban League believes EVERY child is special, and by providing these 444 children with a little EXTRA attention we have the ability to affect a REAL impact on the rest of their lives.

President Obama to Address the National Urban League Conference

On Wednesday, July 25, President Obama will address the 2012 National Urban League Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This is incredible news for the National Urban League.

In 2014, the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati will host the National Urban League Conference.