The Tacoma Urban League announced today (January 22, 2009) that it has received $25,000 from The Comcast Foundation to expand the league’s Family Literacy Program to include more comprehensive services for families with young children who have been exposed to trauma due to family violence, homelessness, neglect or physical abuse, substance abuse, and or mental illness.
The Family Literacy Program is currently a drop-in center. Because of the grant, the Urban League will be able to actively seek out children and their families to get them involved in intensive counseling and other services.
“Many of these children are overlooked because their families are resistant to seeking and using traditional services. This grant will help give the Tacoma Urban League what we need to work directly with these children and their families and help improve the quality of family life,” said Dr. Dorothy Anderson, President of the Tacoma Urban League.
“The Tacoma Urban League serves the area in so many ways and actively seeks the toughest challenges. The League has a long record of breaking down obstacles to helping the most disadvantaged and at-risk youth and adults,” said Anne McMullen, Comcast Area Vice President. “The Family Literacy Program offers a friendly and welcoming place with people who are trained in, and deeply passionate about, helping some of the most challenged children and their families. We’re proud to help this agency reach more of them.”
The Family Literacy Institute at the TUL’s offices on South Yakima provides a therapeutic haven for parents and young children to engage in family bonding, reading and storytelling while also opening the door to additional therapeutic social services. The Comcast grant will help pay to arrange expanded service and interventions. The Foundation grant will support in-home visits to families as well as transportation to the League offices and speakers who can talk to the families about subjects such as parenting, healthy relationships and financial management.
Programs include conducting reading groups for children, during which the adults meet separately to discuss issues, to and holding communal gatherings where everyone comes together to eat and talk. Personalized attention and customized programming is crucial, Anderson said, because many of their clients, through no fault of their own, may have great difficulty accessing helpful services successfully without individual support.
About the Tacoma Urban League
Founded in 1968, the Tacoma Urban League’s mission is to assist African Americans and other disenfranchised groups to achieve economic independence, parity and social justice. Through coordinated services we address issues related to education and youth; economic empowerment; civic engagement; and health and wellness. For more information go to http://www.tacomaurbanleague.org/
About the Comcast Foundation
The Comcast Foundation was established by Comcast Corporation in 1999 to provide charitable support to Section 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact in the areas of volunteerism, literacy, and youth leadership development. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $55 million to organizations in the communities that Comcast serves nationwide. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/neighborhood.
