Our Heritage Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund, Inc. was founded in 1992 by the Board of Directors of the City of Lawrence Youth Commission (LYC). Its efforts are built on the roots and hopes that launched Lawrence Futures in 1988, which was to ensure stable funding to carry out the potential and promise of that vision. Funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation supported the initial development of programs in: youth education and career direction, empowerment of urban parents and leadership training for promising new leaders. A strong commitment to these goals, intentional planning and a belief in the capacity of new immigrants to help build a better community led to the evolution of purposeful programs and close to twenty-two years of contribution to positive change for the people of Lawrence. Our History…In 1991 the board and administration of the Lawrence Youth Commission were urged to apply for non-profit status as a 501(c)3 IRS designated nonprofit to allow for receipt of foundation grants for promising pilot projects in community education and leadership development. A Career Center, housed at the Lawrence Public Library, offered after-school programs—such as, Proyecto Alcance and Project Reach to support the goals of high school students to undertake paths to higher education. Career awareness information and life skills, along with intensive Math, English and English as a Second Language (ESL), were established to reduce the drop-out rate and increase admissions to colleges. An Adult Leadership Development Program (ALDP) provided the necessary background information on management, leadership, legal and fiduciary responsibilities to prepare newcomer residents with the skills and confidence to serve as board members on local non-profit organizations. The goal of new voices, immersed in the heritage and culture of our newest immigrants, helped create a new generation of community leaders for Lawrence. The Parent Mobilization Project (PMP), one of the LYC’s most ambitious endeavors, began in 1989 with workshops that “asked the right questions.” These workshops were led by a core of Latino parents who recruited and trained hundreds of other Latino parents for greater awareness of their rights and responsibilities as new Americans—particularly the right to expect quality education for the future of their children. At kitchen tables and living rooms in almost every neighborhood of Lawrence trained parents strengthened family life and built community cohesiveness and purpose…and hundreds of parents developed new confidence to attend parent-teacher conferences, sign up for ESL classes, apply for jobs and set limits and expectations for their children. Our Evolution…building on the past to respond to the needs of today. The projects described above set the foundation for the Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund, Inc. (LFDEF) which was granted tax-exempt status as a 501(c)3 organization and held its inaugural meeting in February 1992 at the Lawrence Heritage State Park, for the election of the founding board members and acceptance of the organization’s first grant from Shawmut Bank (Shawmut Bank was later acquired by Fleet Bank which was acquired by Bank of America). With the possibility of attracting both private and public funds, LFDEF, Inc. set out to establish programs of the highest quality that met the needs of emerging populations in Lawrence. The Career Center applied for and received AmeriCorps funding for City CORE, one of the first five AmeriCorps programs in Massachusetts that enabled young people to learn skills as they performed needed community service and earned scholarships to pursue higher education. Lessons learned from AmeriCorps and the urgent need to offer an education/workplace program for seriously at-risk youth led to the successful creation of YouthBuild-Lawrence. 5
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