December 19th, 2009
We live in extraordinary times.The unemployment rate is the highest it has been in 25 years.One in six Alabamians – and one in four children – live below the federal poverty line, which is just $22,050 a year.
Perhaps most heartbreaking of all, 13 percent of Alabamians are food insecure and do not have access to adequate nutritional resources.
Alabamians are extraordinary people.
There’s the young woman who volunteered to create OUR Garden in Birmingham’s impoverished West End neighborhood with the WE Community Garden and the Jefferson County Family Court. This garden gives juvenile probationers an opportunity to do their service hours, grow food and learn job skills.
And the first-year student at The University of Alabama who created a curriculum for college students to mentor low-income and first-generation students and help them navigate the college admissions process.
And – last but certainly not least – the hundreds of you who attended our workshops and conferences where you learned about cutting-edge community development techniques aimed at eradicating our state’s systemic poverty.
In order to do our work, the Alabama Poverty Project depends on the support of foundations, higher education institutions, communities of faith, and individuals like you.
Thank you, and happy holidays!
Chair Executive Director