From the Chair On behalf of the Board of Directors, administration, staff, participants and families that are served through all of Lawrence Family Development, Inc. d/b/a Lawrence Prospera’s programs, we present this Annual Report which covers July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. This FY’19 Annual Report reflects our unwavering commitment to our mission: Strengthening the individuals and families of Lawrence through the Development of Thriving Neighborhoods. Our major strategic accomplishments this year included: Launching the organization’s new website and URL at www.lawrenceprospera.org—I strongly urge you to visit the site to learn more about the great work of this organization Continuing the work on the SISU Youth Center and opening the SISU Recreation Room and Barbershop Continuing the buildout of the SISU Training Kitchen, which will provide meal service for up to 150 young people each day as well as culinary arts training as part of the YouthBuild-Lawrence program Launching a financial literacy program at the Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center in partnership with the Massachusetts Office of Refugees and Immigrants Creating a partnership with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) through a grant from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to increase Citizenship programming in Lawrence at both the Quintana Center and Casa Dominicana Strengthening staff relationships and morale by launching the first annual Lawrence Prospera Staff Appreciation Day Initiating a series of leadership trainings for Lawrence Prospera’s administrative team In FY’19, we also lost one of our greatest advocates, Patricia Foley Karl. Patricia showed an unwavering commitment to the children and families of Lawrence during her tenure as Executive Director/ Superintendent as well as in her retirement—we will miss Patricia dearly. We hope that this 2018-2019 Annual Report reflects our commitment to continuing to meet the needs of Lawrence through the mission of Lawrence Prospera and prompts readers and the Board of Directors to share my satisfaction for the future of Lawrence Prospera and its impact on the community. In addition to the individual program goals and accomplishments, Lawrence Prospera continues to move forward with our Strategic Plan with goals of professionalism and excellence in all aspects of the organization by being a community-focused, non-profit service agency. Sincerely, Gregory Spurr, President Lawrence Prospera
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