LETTER FROM THE UPO PRESIDENT & CEO · 2021. 1. 14. · Salim K. Adofo Michael Austin, Esq. Lafayette Barnes Barbara Bovbjerg Kevin Chavous, Esq. Ashley Emerson Donna Grigsby Rhonda

37TH ANNUAL MLK JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST - 2 - VIRTUAL EVENT | JANUARY 15, 2021

LETTER FROM THE UPO PRESIDENT & CEO

On behalf of the United Planning Organization’s Board of Directors and staff, I welcome you to our:

37th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast.

We’re gathering with friends and supporters to celebrate the spirit of Dr. King that lives through our collective work of alleviating poverty by opening doors to education and careers. Dr. King was indeed a scholar and used the collective energy, intellect, and community organizing skills of fellow citizens to improve our nation. We follow his lead.

With your support, UPO has helped to build stronger families and neighborhoods through community action for the past 58 years — and the result is a better city. My UPO team feels this. They prove Dr. King’s statement that “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve … You only need a heart full of grace.”

Please accept our sincerest gratitude for your ongoing investment, and we invite you to engage with us even more in 2021 as a supporter or volunteer as we live out our mission of Uniting People with Opportunities.

Our theme for the breakfast is UNITED because we went through so much this past year. We need to heal. This is one step — coming together as a community to lift each other up. It is in that vein of healing, that we dedicate this program to the first responders and frontline workers who made (and continue to make) such ardent sacrifices. We salute you.

Andrea Thomas,UPO President & CEO

OFFICERSJeffrey Page, Esq. | Chair

Joseph Vaughan | Vice Chair

Dr. Mary Ellen Curtin | Secretary

Juan Jara | Treasurer

MEMBERSSalim K. Adofo

Michael Austin, Esq.

Lafayette Barnes

Barbara Bovbjerg

Kevin Chavous, Esq.

Ashley Emerson

Donna Grigsby

Rhonda N. Hamilton

THE UPO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. JoAnne Joyner

Hadiyah M. Muhammad

Ruthven Phillip, Esq.

Tara Plochocki, Esq.

Oliver Spurgeon

Dr. Christine M. Warnke

Robert W. Warren


WHAT DOES YOUR SUPPORT MEAN?You give students a chance to succeed. Jade Polly, was active in UPO’s POWER program throughout middle school and high school. After she earned a Beavers Scholarship, she said:

“When I think of community action, two words come to mind: access and opportunity.”

She gained both from UPO. Jade graduated from Davidson College with a Bachelor’s in African Studies and is now teaching at a KIPP Charter School in DC.

ORDER OF PROGRAM

WELCOME REMARKS Jeffrey Page, Chair of UPO’s Board of Directors

REMARKS by MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER

REMARKS ABOUT UPO SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS AND VISIONARY SPONSORS

De Angelo Rorie, UPO Youth Services Director

VIDEO TESTIMONIALS from PREVIOUS BEAVERS SCHOLARS 1

KEYNOTE SPEECH by SENATOR CORY BOOKER

VIDEO TESTIMONIALS from PREVIOUS BEAVERS SCHOLARS 2

VIDEO: UPO’S IMPACT

CLOSING REMARKSAndrea Thomas, UPO President & CEO


KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Senator Booker believes that the American dream isn’t real for anyone unless it’s within reach of everyone. He has dedicated his life to fighting for those who have been left out, left behind, or left without a voice. He works tirelessly to unite people with opportunities—that’s why he and UPO fit together perfectly.

After studying at Stanford University, the University of Oxford (as a Rhodes Scholar), and Yale Law School, he moved to Newark, New Jersey and started a nonprofit organization to provide legal services for low-income families, helping tenants take on slumlords. In 1998, he moved into “Brick Towers” in Newark, which eventually became a housing project. Booker lived there until the housing project was demolished in 2006.

He still lives in Newark’s Central Ward, where he sees first-hand many of the challenges he’s working to solve in Congress, such as lack of access to affordable health care, environmental injustice, food insecurity, and our broken criminal justice system.

Booker was elected to the Newark City Council at 29, then served as Newark’s mayor for more than 7 years, when the city entered its longest period of economic growth since the 1960s. In addition, overall crime declined and the quality of life for residents improved due to initiatives such as more affordable housing, new green spaces and parks, more education options, and more efficient city services.

As New Jersey’s junior Senator since 2013, he brings an innovative and consensus-building approach to tackling the most difficult issues. He’s a member of the Judiciary Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Small Business Committee.

In his book, as in his presidential campaign, he spelled out what our nation needs: “It is not enough to seek modest improvement. We must reach beyond such meager measures and find the breakthroughs that come from working together. We must see and understand one another, and realize that we are one another’s best hope to fulfill our nation’s bold promise.”

SENATOR CORY BOOKER

“We, each of us, manifest our power through our daily actions: the depth

of our empathy for others despite lines of division, the strength of the

kindness we extend to those outside of our circles of comfort, and the

sacrifices we perform in the service to the greater good.”

- Senator Cory Booker from his book United:

Thoughts on Finding Common Groundand Advancing the Common Good


The scholarship fund is named for the late Joseph A. Beavers, a dedicated member of UPO’s Board of Trustees and legendary Washington, DC labor leader who maintained a lifelong commitment to youth and education. In 1992, the UPO Board of Trustees posthumously honored Mr. Beavers by naming the scholarship fund in his honor.

Mr. Beavers was a longtime civil rights activist and labor leader. He retired as the first Vice President of the Hotel & Restaurant Employees Union. He was also the notable treasurer for the 1963 March on Washington.

For more information, please contact Mr. De Angelo Rorie at 202-610-2796 or visit our website at www.upo.org

JOSEPH A. BEAVERS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS HAVE ATTENDED

UPO JOSEPH A. BEAVERS SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE

De Angelo Rorie Margaret DeAngelis Andrea Thomas Johnetta AbrahamThe UPO Joseph A. Beavers Scholarship Committee is presided over by Youth Services Director De Angelo Rorie with

the support of the Youth Division Advisory Council.

UPO JOSEPH A. BEAVERS SCHOLARSHIP


SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR 2021 SPONSORS

COMMUNITY SPONSORS

Al’s Twin Air, LLC

CDW

City National Bank

Clark Construction Group, LLC

Comcast NBCUniversal

Fernando Harris

Foulger-Pratt

Gallagher Benefit Services

Greater Washington Community Foundation

Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission

John L. Oberdorfer, Esq.

RCM&D

Ricoh USA

Safeway Foundation

Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP

INDIVIDUAL SPONSORSAlignstaffing

Achievement PrepAmerican Psychological

AssociationBozzuto Development Company

Ronald BrownDC Housing Authority

Delta HousingEdgewood Brookland Family

Support CollaborativeEvelyn Brooks Higginbotham

Dana M. JonesScott Kratz

PNC Financial Services GroupTD BankWINNCO

Buffett Early Childhood Fund

Pepco, an Exelon Company

T. H. Easter Consulting

The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness

TM Associates

United Bank

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS SPONSORS

VISIONARY SPONSORSwho support UPO year-round:


DONATE TODAY

Your generous donation means so much to UPO and to our Joseph A. Beavers scholars. Because of you, our scholars will get the financial support they need to thrive in college.

Please consider donating throughout this morning’s breakfast. You can donate via:

PAYPAL OR CREDIT CARD

www.upo.org/donateMLK

Click on “Donate Now” and make your contribution

CHECKPayable to The United Planning Organization

Memo Line: MLK Scholarship

TEXT TO GIVE

Text MLK21 to 41444 to donate

So many easy ways to donate!

Won’t you help these outstanding students gain self-sufficiency through education today?

Text MLK21 to 41444 to Donate!


HELPING OUR NEIGHBORS DURING COVID

❱ Shelter Hotline has given out 45,000 meals so far, along with water, comfort items, and rides to the city’s most vulnerable — people experiencing homelessness.

❱ Our Advocacy team ensures that hundreds of families each month have direct access to groceries and hot meals.

❱ Our COVID-19 Emergency Fund (supported by the Bainum Family Foundation) and grant funding from the NATS4GOOD Community Response Fund are helping families with immediate needs such as rent, food, living expenses, transportation, and safety gear.

❱ Comprehensive Treatment Center ensures that treatment is available to keep our customers physically and emotionally healthy.

❱ Our EBT team makes certain that residents are still able to feed their families by receiving their SNAP benefits even in the midst of the pandemic.

❱ Youth Services, in collaboration with Advocacy and Early Learning, is distributing 1000+ laptops to families whose children need them to join their virtual classes in school.

❱ Remotely, our Workforce Institute provides ongoing training and job placement to our trainees for IT (Comp TIA A+ Help Desk) and the Building Careers Academy, and our Early Learning teachers and home visitors engage with families to ensure that they are safe and have the support they need.

❱ Our Foster Grandparents (senior volunteers who mentor children) have learned DC Public Schools software so they can keep nurturing students in the city’s lowest-performing schools. Thanks to Citi Community Development, our volunteers have new laptops for this effort. Also, since the children’s families can’t afford school supplies, we helped dozens of families through a fundraiser on Global Giving — our most successful one ever on that platform.

❱ We have deepened our partnerships and express our appreciation to so many organizations, including the Washington Nationals Philanthropies, Greater Washington Community Foundation, TD Charitable Foundation, Martha’s Table, Washington National Cathedral, American University, George Washington University’s School of Medicine, Greater Washington Urban League, and many more.

Thanks to you and all of our supporters, UPO is responding powerfully to our neighbors’ needs during the COVID pandemic, as we do in each crisis faced by our beloved city. Our frontline heroes continue to provide high-quality direct services. Here’s a snapshot:



Educare DC and Buffett Early Childhood Fund Salute UPO and All

EDUCATORS,

DREAM-BUILDERS, OPPORTUNITY-MAKERS AND

POVERTY-FIGHTERS

“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well!”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

37th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast Virtual Event



Dear Friends, We need your support. As we near the close of a year that has been trying for our country and around the globe, we are looking forward. With a new year and medical advances on the horizon, we hope for an end to the impact of the covid pandemic.

We are proud that UPO Inspire’s IT trainees and the training program itself have persevered through the immense challenges of this year. We are very pleased that six UPO Inspire trainees have completed the IT Training program and are prepared to begin IT focused internships. Our Board of Directors and friends of UPO Inspire are working hard to secure paid internships for them, with the objective of our trainees continuing these relationships as full-time IT employees.

We also have great news for the coming year! In September, we started a new class of 12 trainees, working towards the CompTIA A+ Certification. Our new virtual training methods allow students and instructors to safely participate remotely, while maintaining the rigorous course schedule.

This year our focus will be on securing internships that convert to lasting employment and providing support to our trainees through a stipend to assist those participants who have financial struggles.

We also will be launching a pilot program to reach out and include people living in areas of rural poverty in our training program - a step we now know how to do through virtual communications. We think this is important for many reasons.

UPO Inspire depends financially on the generous support from people like you! Members of our Board have written you in recent months about why the UPO Inspire program is so important - personally- to them.

We would be pleased to talk to you about our plans in further detail.. if you would like to do so, contact Alice Jordan at [email protected].

THANK YOU!John Oberdorfer, UPO Inspire President


THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.MEMORIAL BREAKFAST

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HOLIDAY COMMISSION

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER'S MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Secretary of the District of Columbia

COMMISSIONERS:Rev. Thomas L. BowenLee Brian RebaDenise Rolark-BarnesRobert Vinson BrannumCharles “Chuck” HicksAudra GrantCarlos D. Davis

Felicia Davis HipkinsMónica PalacioJesse JohnsonAngie GatesIsrael LyonsThennie FreemanCalvin Nophlin

Chairman Kimberly A. Bassett

“Each year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an opportunity for us to come together as a country and honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. Today, more than ever, we remind ourselves and our communities of the values Dr. King lived for and we recommit to

continuing the fight for justice and equality.”- Mayor Muriel Bowser, January, 2019

Ryan WegmanCharon HinesBrenda WalkerAshley EmersonEster Hardesty

The Community Foundation salutes UPO as a fellow

champion of thriving communities.

We’re proud to invest in Beavers Scholars — emerging

leaders who will become catalysts for change.

www.thecommunityfoundation.org


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From infancy to adulthood, all students deserve theopportunity to reach their full potential.

Despite this challenging year, the 2021 Joseph A.Beavers Scholars continued to grow and thrive.Congratulations to all of this year's recipients!

www.educaredc.org

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Working for the community. Inspiring the community. PNC honors those who are striving to do amazing things every day. That is why we are proud to support UPO on the occasion of your annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast.pnc.com

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We are Educators.

We are Dream Builders.

We are Opportunity-makers and Poverty-fighters.

We believe that everyone deserves a chance to pursue and live sustainable, successful lives. We create paths that start the journey from dependence to self-sufficiency and economic independence.

We are United Planning Organization

Our approach is holistic and generational. As the only Community Action Agency serving the residents of Washington, DC, we’ve touched thousands of lives over our 50 years. We offer more than 30 programs

and human services. We help our customers get a job; learn a skill, find and stay in affordable housing. We teach financial literacy, offer

early learning and adult education, help send high school students to college and keep our seniors physically and mentally active.

From newborn babies to senior adults, when you’re a part of the UPO family, we wrap our arms around you and are with you every

step of the way.


PURSUING EXCELLENCE THROUGH COMMUNITY ACTION

- A Glimpse of UPO’s Programs -

Our mission is to Unite People with

Opportunities so they and their communities

can thrive. A human and community

development organization, UPO serves 55,000 DC

residents annually, from babies to elders.

Our team treats education as the key to

helping people lift themselves out of poverty.

Office of Early Learning: DC’s largest Early Head Start provider

Youth Services: Robust STEAM activities (including DC champion teams) and college scholarships

UPO Workforce Institute: Job training and placement, with the city’s largest Construction Skills Center

Advocacy: Community empowerment via leadership classes, volunteer opportunities, and community-wide approaches

Affordable Housing: Real housing solutions, including new units and innovative initiatives

Community Reinvestment: Free tax preparation, housing counseling, and foreclosure prevention

Foster Grandparent Program: Classroom mentoring by 200 senior volunteers; UPO’s team is the most prominent in the nation

Community Health: Comprehensive Treatment Center (methodone treatment), EBT, and Shelter Hotline

Family Strengthening: Certifications in leadership training

Community Impact: Place-based strategies that help neighborhoods flourish

301 Rhode Island Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20001

WWW.UPO.ORG

CFC # 90524 | DC One Fund Campaign #9881 | United Way NCA #9881

Documents

LETTER FROM THE UPO PRESIDENT & CEO · 2021. 1. 14. · Salim K. Adofo Michael Austin, Esq. Lafayette Barnes Barbara Bovbjerg Kevin Chavous, Esq. Ashley Emerson Donna Grigsby Rhonda