Our Heritage (continued) Begun in 1993, YouthBuild-Lawrence is in its nineteenth cycle, successfully preparing youth and young adults to earn a GED and learn job readiness through building homes for low-income families. The Adult Leadership Development Program and Parent Mobilization Project now comprise LFDEF, Inc.’s Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center. LFDEF, Inc. staff and participants provide inspiration and motivation by addressing the pressing needs faced of newcomer families living in poverty and seeking citizenship, skill development in English as a Second Language or with computers. The ALDP and PMP projects demonstrated a community need for: a) an education for their children to attend college and achieve the American dream; b) an opportunity for them to learn English for work and support their families, and for many, to attend college themselves;and c) an opportunity for them to become United States citizens and ensure future stability. LFDEF/LFDCS Board ~ Past & Present (October, 2007) The Board of LFDEF, Inc. saw each of these needs as central to our purpose and essential for building a better community by strengthening the lives of families in our community. Today, the Lawrence Family Development Charter School enrolls 678 children from early Kindergarten through grade eight and connects to a founding philosophy that children who attend safe, wellfunctioning schools attain the skills necessary to succeed in America’s colleges and marketplace increasing the level of education for the next generation within their own family and their community. The Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center serves more than five hundred adults including parents of our students who learn English and participate at their child’s school, attain United States citizenship to provide permanence for their children and generations to come, and participate in the civic, social and economic ownership of their community. The YouthBuild-Lawrence and AmeriCorps Programs currently serve approximately sixty-eight youth who obtain their GED and acquire skills in carpentry. 6
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