“We believe that it is important to have representation from the Urban League in this region,” Baker said.
“We are trying to raise money right now to make sure we have the appropriate resources to operate the Miami Valley Urban League.”
About $500,000 is needed.
The Urban League provides a variety of services including job training and placement.
The Urban League of Greater Cincinnati branch, for now headed by Baker, is also a subsidiary under the southwestern Ohio affiliate’s umbrella.
The Miami Valley Urban League will offer programs for people in Montgomery, Greene, Darke and Greene counties.
Before shutting down, the Dayton Urban League served about 5,000 people annually. It offered job placement and training, GED assistance, a housing program and several other services.
National Urban League President Marc Morial was in Dayton Friday to voice his support of the new chapter during a press conference held at the Cincinnati branch’s satellite office inside of the Job Center on Edwin C. Moses Boulevard.
The newly created Miami Valley branch will use that space for training programs. It will also rent space at the former Dayton Urban League building at 907 W. Fifth St.
Miami Valley Housing Opportunities bought that building in July.
The 63-year-old Dayton Urban League closed Dec. 3, 2010.
In a letter sent following the closure, the organization’s 17-member volunteer board said the trustees had worked tirelessly to resolve the agency’s financial problems. A National Urban League spokeswoman said the Dayton affiliate’s troubles were triggered by mismanagement and financial errors on the local level.
A new local Urban League board began meeting about a year ago.
Clinton Brown, a chairman of the Dayton Urban League in the 1990s, said the new branch can resume the Urban League work and regain the community’s confidence. He serves on the newly formed 18-member board.
“There are 5,000 residents who need the service of the Urban League. They were left hanging,” Brown said. “Right now we don’t have the financial resources, but we can build on that. It can take time, but we can get there.”
Staff from the Cincinnati branch will be loaned to the Dayton branch.
Rea N. Waldon, Chief Operating Officer at the Cincinnati branch, will direct the Dayton operations.
She said the officials will work over the next months to determine what programs are needed locally.
“We are going to be very strategic about what we do,” she said. “Each community is different and the programs will be customized based on the needs of the community and not some cookie cutter (approach).”
She asked for the community’s support in re-establishing a Urban League presence here.
“We are looking forward not backwards, ” Waldon said. “We are building a new history for the Urban League.”
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