Our History… In 1991, with the support of the Anne E. Casey Foundation, the board and administration of the Lawrence Youth Commission (LYC) created the entity, now known as Lawrence Family Development Inc. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, LFD was able to obtain funding to launch several promising pilot projects in community, education and leadership development. Almost 30 years later, the spirit of these projects is still found in Lawrence Family Development, Inc. dba Lawrence Prospera’s programming as well as the work of other non-profits in the City of Lawrence. Some of those projects included… a Career Center offering after-school programs—such as, Proyecto Alcance and Project Reach to reduce the drop-out rate and support high school students’ paths to higher education in addition to providing career awareness information and life skills, academic support and English as a Second Language (ESL). The Career Center also launched City CORE, one of the first five AmeriCorps programs in Massachusetts. These projects provided the roots for today’s LFD, Inc. SISU Youth Programs. an Adult Leadership Development Program (ALDP) helped create a new generation of leaders immersed in the heritage and culture of the City’s immigrant community. The goal of the ALDP was to provide newcomer residents with the skills and confidence to serve as board members on local nonprofit organizations. The ALDP would later provide a foundation for Community In-Roads (formerly known as Jericho Road) and what is known today as LFD, Inc.’s Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center. the Parent Mobilization Project (PMP) hosted workshops led by a core of Latino parents that “asked the right questions.” The PMP recruited and trained hundreds of Latino parents for greater awareness of their rights and responsibilities as new Americans. At kitchen tables and living rooms in almost every neighborhood of Lawrence, trained parents strengthened family life and built community cohesiveness and purpose. This mobilization became the catalyst for the creation of the Lawrence Family Development Charter School and was the foundation for Lawrence Community Works’ Parent Roundtable Project. Parent Mobilization Project launches 1989 Career Center established at Lawrence Public Library 1991 Lawrence Youth Commission applies for Non-Profit Status LAWRENCE PROSPERA FY’2018–2019 ANNUAL REPORT City Core program becomes one of the first AmeriCorps programs in Massachusetts Inaugural Meeting of Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund, Inc. as a 501(c)(3) 1992 PAGE 1
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