The Urban Alliance Foundation is a 501 nonprofit operating in Washington, D.C.. The group works to train youth from under-resourced areas for work and self-sufficiency, through paid internships, formal training, case management, and mentoring. Urban Alliance was founded in Washington DC in 1996 and has worked with more than 15,000 low-income D.C., Chicago and Baltimore youth.
History
UA opened in 1996, after a student attending AnacostiaSenior High School expressed a need for positive job experiences to UA founder Andrew Plepler. Plepler, at that time an Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, was visiting the school and asked the students what they needed to succeed. Plepler, with the support of Claudia Rosenthal Plepler and Mary and Jeff Zients, placed that student and five of his friends at internships throughout the city during 1996. The program was developed according to the practices implemented by the National Youth Employment Coalition. Specifically, the program aims to establish long-term mentoring relationships with adults, to increases youths’ personal, academic, and financial independence, and support them to meet their increased responsibilities through workshops on time management, financial literacy, and conflict resolution. The group documents students’ ongoing progress by tracking each internship on a weekly basis and collecting tri-annual ratings from the mentors. The program continued to work with students at Anacostia Senior High School for the next eight years, providing them with youth development and employment opportunities. In 2005, UA expanded to recruit students at ten other District of Columbia Public Schools targeting DCPS seniors who were eligible for a half- day class schedule. Monday through Thursday, these students attend school in the morning, work at their job sites in the afternoon and on Fridays attend UA's professional development workshops. In 2004, UA began working with the World Bank's summer internship program. As of 2012, that partnership has resulted in over 170 students finding placement at the World Bank. Students work thirty-two hour weeks as well as attend weekly internship trainings developed by the Bank. UA also works with organizations such as Bank of America, Marriott, and Morgan Stanley. In 2008, Urban Alliance expanded to work in the Baltimore City Public Schools. The organization currently works with nine Baltimore City high schools. In 2012, Urban Alliance expanded to the City of Chicago. The organization recruited students from schools such as Curie High School, Dunbar Vocational High School, and Crane Technical Preparatory High School. During the 2012-2013 school year, 71 students from six Chicago public high schools participated. In 2013-2014, the program planned to include 150 students across 13 schools. Also in 2012, UA announced a partnership with Venture Philanthropy Partners. The partnership focused on expanding the foundation's efforts into the suburban areas of Northern Virginia to work with 200 high school students and 70 alumni of the program. UA also works with VPP's youthCONNECT initiative.
