URBAN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION INC

Urban Alliance aims to ensure that all young people have access to education and employment opportunities, leading to lives of self-sufficiency, regardless of race or socioeconomic status.

Urban Alliance is an intensive intervention for high school youth, providing up to 700 hours of service to each young person served.

The intervention revolves around a ten-month, paid professional internship. Examples of placements include, law firms, banks and financial institutions, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations. At the worksite, Interns are able to hone in on such professional skills as office administration, technology, and communication. In addition, they are exposed to a new world of professional contacts and mentorship.

Prior to placement, Interns are put through an intensive training where soft skills such as professionalism, attitude, and punctuality are emphasized. These skills are reinforced in weekly workshops throughout the year.

Finally, individual case managers work with each youth to create a detailed post-high school plan, ensuring youth are on-track for college and career readiness.

Youth have access to multiple sources of positive adult relationships. All Urban Alliance Program Coordinators, who have a caseload of approximately 30 young people, are trained in Advancing Youth Development principles. In addition, most of these trained youth developers have had previous classroom experience.

Moreover, each Intern is paired with a worksite supervisor or Mentor. Mentors not only act as a professional support, providing tasks and appropriate feedback, but also support the young person in pursuit of their post-secondary goals, often acting as a professional reference and contact.

Urban Alliance is committed to its results and are constantly tracking them against regional averages. Results are listed below:

- High School Graduation Rate = 100%
- College Acceptance = 95%
- College Enrollment = 81%
- College Persistence = 81%