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Community Action Partnership
Award for Excellence in Community Action
2003 Award Recipients
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Community Action Council of Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties
Lexington, Kentucky
- Jack Burch, Executive Director
- Gentry LaRue, Board Chair
Founded in 1965, Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties has capitalized on the “Power of Human Possibility” to make critical changes in the communities it serves.
In 2001, the Council undertook a major restructuring that dismantled top-down “smoke stack” style program management and resulted in six urban and three rural centers to improve service delivery. Eighty percent of staff assumed new responsibilities and many were relocated. In just the first year of the restructuring, center advisory councils assumed leadership roles and provided guidance to each center; Council staff began engaging participants in new ways; new programs emerged; and existing programs took on characteristics that reflect local priorities.
Community Action Council’s Vision Statement:
- As advocates, we listen, understand, and take our lead from the low income population; we assist the low income population in advocating for themselves; and we advocate for the low income population at all levels of public policy including economic, legislative, government and business.
- As a community action agency, we provide community- and neighborhood-based services that are integrated, comprehensive, developmental, and, empowering for individuals, families and communities. We utilize technology to enhance the quality and efficiency of our services and service delivery, holding ourselves accountable for measurable results.
- As an organization that believes the low-income population must be active participants in the ultimate solutions to poverty, Community Action Council will develop civic capital and promote community involvement within the low income community by identifying and capitalizing on the assets, leadership and talents present within the community.
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Little Dixie Community Action Agency
Hugo, Oklahoma
- Bob Yandell, Executive Director
- Pat Baggs, Board Chair
In 1968, three Community Action Agencies in Choctaw, McCurtain, and Pushmataha counties in Oklahoma merged. The geography and climate of southeastern Oklahoma resemble the Deep South, giving the area the nickname of “Little Dixie,” which was selected as the name for the new agency.
Little Dixie has progressively grown to meet local needs. In 1971, Little Dixie had a budget of $607,583. The agency’s current budget exceeds $16 million.
According to the 1970 census, 63.6 percent of residents in the area were below poverty guidelines. Now, 24 percent of the residents are below poverty. A major reason for this decrease in poverty is anti-poverty programs implemented through the years by Little Dixie.
In 1994, Little Dixie led local communities through a strategic planning process that resulted in part of the area being designated a federal Enterprise Community. Over $70 million has been generated for area improvements since EC designation in 1994. Tourism development, job creation, and other programs in the 1990s have resulted in a nearly 20 percent decrease in poverty in Little Dixie’s service area between the 1990 and the 2000 Census.
Little Dixie’s programs include: Economic Development, Business Lending, Entrepreneurship Development, Business Information Center, Technical and Management Assistance, Tourism Development, Transit, Head Start, Early Head Start, Affordable Housing, Self Help Assistance Resource Education, Court Appointed Special Advocate, Child and Adult Care Food Program, RSVP, Juvenile Restitution Program, and many others.
Little Dixie is known nationwide for its unique programs and expertise.
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Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc.
Wailuku, Hawaii
- Gladys Baisa, Executive Director
- Jeffrey Kuwada, Board President
Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc., is a private, nonprofit Community Action Partnership chartered in 1965 by federal mandate under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. The agency provides an enormous array of services annually to over 20,000 people throughout Maui County and the State of Hawai‘i.
The Mission of Maui Economic Opportunity is, through advocacy and direct service, to help the low-income elderly, children and youth, persons with disabilities, immigrants, other disadvantaged persons, and the general public to help themselves so that they may become self-sufficient and enrich their lives and the community in which they live.
MEO manages an array of services tailored to the needs of its customers, including the only quasi-public transportation program in Maui County, with vehicles running seven days a week up to 18 hours a day. MEO Head Start, an award-winning, nationally recognized program, provides services to 317 children through 15 centers countywide. The MEO YouthBank provides opportunities for youth ages 14-26 to work, to learn, and to prepare for their future. The Being Empowered and Safe Together (BEST) Reintegration program is designed to reduce recidivism among former inmates at the Maui Community Correctional Center.
Community Services staff work with challenging situations in the lives of individuals, providing emergency assistance, job placement and training, and other support services. MEO Business Development Corporation is a Community Development Funding Institution created to access capital and provide loans to persons to start small businesses, thereby creating jobs and boosting the community’s economy.
MEO is managed through a tri-partite board of directors, representing the private, public, and government sectors of the community. Board of directors members are recognized throughout the state as leaders in the human service field.
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Sunbelt Human Advancement Resources, Inc. (SHARE)
Greenville, South Carolina
- Dr. Willis H. Crosby, Jr., President/CEO
- Dr. Robert E. Dennis, Board Chair
Sunbelt Human Advancement Resources, Inc. (SHARE), is a Community Action Partnership chartered in 1965 under the Economic Opportunity Act and South Carolina law as a private, not-for-profit charitable and educational organization. SHARE serves the northwestern corner of the state and is sanctioned by the county councils of Greenville, Anderson, Pickens, and Oconee.
With a capable staff of some 300 employees, SHARE administers 34 programs and services managed by a President/CEO and a five-member senior management team. Traditional programs of the agency include emergency assistance for households in crisis, employment training and improvement, early childhood education, and youth services. More non-traditional programs include non-traditional homeownership, micro-business development, parenting partnerships, and neighborhood revitalization/advocacy.
SHARE’s basic philosophy on poverty conditions in the four-county service area may be summarized as follows:
- We believe in the professional administration of quality services that create self-sufficiency and build capacity to ameliorate the causes and conditions of poverty for low-wealth communities and low-income households. Our philosophy is framed in assets-based programs, results-oriented interventions, advocacy, and brokerage on behalf of the poor for desired outcomes with appreciating impacts. SHARE promotes and seeks to sustain social and economic independence for low-income families and low-wealth communities.
The local, state, regional, and national awards and recognitions received by SHARE, its leadership, staff, and participants over the years are impressive and far too numerous to mention here.
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