Lincoln Action Program (LAP) features a variety of services for low-income families and individuals to help them overcome poverty and become self-sufficient, as well as providing support for refugees and immigrants.
| Get Involved:
The Lincoln Action Program offers many opportunities for Lincoln residents and students looking to lend a helping hand. Visit www.lincoln-action.org for more information. Serve meals to the homeless Interpretation and translation for non-English speaking individuals Mentor or tutor an at-risk youth Volunteer in a Head Start classroom Help out at the on-site health clinic Assist in the clothing and household bank Work in the computer learning lab Source: Lincoln-action.org |
The agency, which was founded in 1964 out of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, is just one of more than a thousand Community Action Agencies across the country and one of nine in Nebraska. All Community Action Agencies throughout the U.S. are united by a common goal: to be an effective force in the reduction of poverty.
Lincoln Action Program strives to better the community and be an advocate for those without a voice, said Rebecca Christensen, Assistant Director of Grants and Communications at LAP.
The agency has been doing this work in the community for more than 40 years, pioneering such programs as Head Start, a comprehensive child development program, and Weatherization, a program that educates families on ways to make their homes more energy efficient.
Volunteers and staff find satisfaction in helping others. Christensen said joining the LAP was the best career movement she has ever made.
"I was an editor before coming here, and I just really wanted a job that when I came home at night I felt like I made a difference, and I definitely feel that way about my work here," Christensen said.
One thing that sets LAP apart from other organizations, Christensen said, is the breadth of services provided. Food banks and other aid organizations usually have one focus, whereas the LAP is multifaceted, offering services that range from assistance with basic needs to assistance in saving money for the purchase of a small business, home, or another asset.
Career development and education are leading forces against poverty, Christensen said. The agency has recently received two substantial federal grants that will provide funding in these areas - JOLI (Job Opportunities for Low-Income Individuals) and Youthbuild.
In addition, Lincoln Action Program is the grantee for the AmeriCorps Program, a national program that involves participants in results-driven community service.
LAP has several members who serve as part of the CommUnity AmeriCorps Program, which is operated under the Nebraska Volunteer Service Commission. AmeriCorps programs have a focus on literacy or youth in a wide variety of programming, said Aaron Bowen, director of career development at LAP.
Bowen said serving with the AmeriCorps program is a job training opportunity to give people experience, leadership skills and education before they are pushed into the full-time work force. The program is ideal in that the clients receiving aid are achieving job experience as well.
The priority for LAP, Bowen said, is long-term outcomes and goals.
"We can't just help with training; we need to help provide placement and provide follow-up training," Bowen said.
The UNL facilities planning department approached the Job Skills Development Program at LAP about an opportunity that would open custodial positions for clients. Bowen said Associate Director Ron Bailey and Director Suzanne Drew of Faculties Management and Planning Custodial Services have been helpful in creating this opportunity.
Bret Beermann, senior teaching major at UNL, is a CommUnity member serving through LAP as youth education coordinator for Lincoln Education Outreach, a department that provides academic resources through tutoring middle school and high school students.
Beermann said AmeriCorps members who complete their requirement of hours within the year receive a stipend which helps pay for higher education.
The LAP also promotes self-sufficiency through computer classes that orient clients with Microsoft Office, Excel and other programs, Beermann said. After thirty hours of lab time, clients are eligible to receive a refurbished computer. Participation points can also be used at the LAP's clothing bank.
The long hours and the challenges presented by clients can be stressful, Beermann said, but the mentorship is a rewarding experience overall.
"The kids are eager to show me their grades when they come out; that's a highlight of my day," Beermann said.
Jennifer Cornwell, senior international studies major at UNL, teaches an English as a Second Language (ESL) class at LAP. Class plans are developed based on students' needs and interests. Students in her class are from Iraq, Sudan, Korea and Mexico.
Because Cornwell is considering teaching overseas after she graduates, she applied specifically for the ESL position at UNL's volunteer fair.
Directors at LAP work with volunteers to best fit them to a position they are interested in and would be good at.
Having a varied background of cultural classes and languages has helped Cornwell with her teaching position. She has studied Arabic for two semesters and Spanish for six semesters and received her certificate to teach English abroad during her trip to Malta, a country in southern Europe, for the spring semester of 2005.
After helping her Korean roommate during her freshman year progress with English, Cornwell took a semester of Korean. She is also considering going to Yemen this summer for Arabic study.
"It's really great to hear their stories and life experiences and being able to help them with their English," Cornwell said.
Laura Thomas, junior international studies major at UNL, got involved with the LAP through UNL's career fair. Thomas started her position with the Center for Refugees and Immigrants (CRI) program last week where her job is to help clients complete paperwork and show them ways to be assimilated into the community.
Thomas said she enjoys meeting people from other parts of the world and getting to practice her conversational Spanish at her job.
She said the LAP serves the community in a number of ways, a sign of the community's welcoming and friendly atmosphere.
"The LAP is an extremely important asset for Lincoln because it gives people an outlet, a place to go where they can get the help or assistance they need from people who genuinely care," Thomas said.
Theo Banzhaf, senior finance and business major at UNL, has been a receptionist for LAP a little over a year. He said the language barrier can be tough, but he enjoys meeting people from all over the world.
He has begun to recognize some of the different languages that clients speak and is able to direct them to the right interpreter. LAP personnel speak over 20 different languages.
The large-scale community projects, like the clean up with Union College that Banzhaf participated in last summer, have made the biggest difference in the shortest time, he said.
Working with LAP has been an eye-opening experience for Banzhaf that has also taught him patience.
"I didn't know how much poverty existed in Lincoln before this," Banzhaf said.
