Feet on the Street

By Teresa Royer
Member Relations Specialist

I met the President & CEO of the Fort Wayne Urban League, Mr. Jonathan Ray. The Urban League offers many, many services that benefit the community as a whole—everything from homework help to financial literacy classes and everything in-between. A common phrase Jonathan used throughout our conversation was “empowering communities, changing lives." It didn’t take long to see that Jonathan has a true spirit and belief in what this awesome organization is doing.

What struck me the most was when I learned that it was the FW Urban League that orchestrated the peace walk shortly after we read the tragic headlines last spring of the 8 homicides within a few days of each other. The Urban League felt the need to DO something and not look the other way. They got people talking—they met with various groups of people such as youth, incarcerated youth, community leaders, religious leaders, the general public and more. After much discussion and asking questions, they came up with an action plan. Jonathan tells me that people are coming forward as a result of the action plan and want to get involved such as community officials, attorneys and more.

You can read the Action Plan and learn more about the FW Urban league at www.fwurbanleague.com.