Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for stepping up to support Urban Alliance students these past weeks. From donating to our emergency COVID-19 Student Support Fund to providing technology assistance to reaching out to see how we and our students are doing, it has been incredible to see the community come together for these young men and women.
In Detroit, where more than 1 in 3 interns lacked access to a computer to complete school and remote work assignments, Quicken Loans donated 20 laptops to help fill that technology gap. In Northern Virginia and DC, two partners on the front lines of the COVID-19 response, Inova Health System and the American Red Cross, made sure their interns had telework projects to keep them engaged and working. In Montgomery County, Bethesda Green took on two additional interns whose workplace was shuttered and could not provide remote work.
Our team is working hard to keep our students earning and learning, and launched a new series of virtual programming this week with a webinar on interview skills attended by over 370 students. However, it has become increasingly clear that we are only at the beginning of what is and will continue to be a very trying time for our students. In addition to health-related worries, many of our students are navigating lost wages (though some are able to work remotely), family financial difficulties, a senior year without any milestone events such as prom or graduation – and perhaps most frightening, transitioning to adulthood in an uncertain economy and tough job market.
At a time when our students are being asked to deal with so much more than teenagers usually face, they need our support more than ever. We are dedicated to keeping them earning and learning for as long as we can – but we need your help. Please consider donating what you can today to keep the paychecks on which our students rely coming regularly.
Urban Alliance was designed to open the door to economic opportunity for students who otherwise wouldn’t have access to the kinds of skills, connections, and experience needed to achieve lifelong economic self-sufficiency. But we need the support of the entire community to make that happen.
We are so grateful for your support.
With thanks,
Eshauna Smith
CEO, Urban Alliance