SPRINGDALE -- The Urban League of Arkansas plans to opens an office in Springdale early next year.
League leaders held an open house Friday to introduce the community to the organization. They officially kicked off their statewide presence last month in Little Rock, the group's state headquarters. They plan to eventually open four satellite offices.
Northwest Arkansas makeup
U.S. Census Bureau race estimates as of July 1, 2014
RaceBenton CountyWashington County
White75.3 percent72.6 percent
Hispanic/Latino 16 percent 16.1 percent
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander0.4 percent2.4 percent
Asian3.4 percent2.6 percent
Black/African American1.9 percent3.4 percent
American Indian/Alaska Native1.9 percent1.5 percent
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
"This is not the Urban League of Arkansas just for Little Rock. This is the Urban League for the entire state," said D'Andre Jones, a member of the group's executive board of directors and Northwest Arkansas liaison.
The Springdale office will be at The Center for Nonprofits. The center is a Jones Trust property and is a main reason the first satellite office is opening in Northwest Arkansas, said Sherman Tate, the Urban League of Arkansas' chairman of the board.
"They were interested enough in having us get going they gave us a good deal on our office space. We have a lot of strong partners here," he said, pointing to corporate leaders such as Tyson Foods and Wal-Mart. The Bentonville-based retailer presented the Urban League with a check for $70,000 Friday.
The Urban League will be opened to any community member who is under-served or marginalized regardless of race or ethnicity, Jones said.
"We are about empowering all people," he said. "When we empower one group, often times other minority groups need the same form of empowerment. What works for one group works for others, and we realized we need to reach beyond the African-American community."
Tate said a white woman and a black man started the Urban League in 1910 to address the needs of the under-served.
Mike Malone, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said it's important for the state and Northwest Arkansas specifically to make sure it's welcoming to all people. He said 26 percent of the Northwest Arkansas population is nonwhite, compared to about 3 percent in 1990.
"We've become much more diverse, and we need to make sure people are connected to the right resources," Malone said.
The Urban League is just the most recent organization opening operations addressing the needs of the under-served, minority and immigrant populations.
Mireya Reith, executive director of the Arkansas United Community Coalition, is heading immigrant resources centers across the state. The first center opened last month in Springdale and offices in Little Rock, McGehee and Fort Smith opened within the past week. De Queen's center will open in early October, and Reith said they hope to open in Jonesboro by the end of the year.
"We are excited to have another organization to work with as we develop an avenue of civil integration," she said. "We all have a goal of helping the community as a whole reach its potential."
Arkansas is the organization's 95th affiliation, but it isn't the first time the Urban League has had a presence in the state. A Little Rock office closed in 1995 because of a lack of money, Tate said.
"We are in the process of raising money now," Tate said, adding they are taking their time and being very pointed in their organizational effort. He said the process of opening an Arkansas affiliation began four years ago with a sponsoring committee.
"It's a labor of love," he said.
The board is in the process of identifying executive director candidates, and, once that person is hired, he'll be responsible for filling the other positions, including two staffers in Springdale.
Jones said they are outlining priorities around three pillars: justice, jobs and education. Services could range from tutoring students to connecting people with jobs or food banks, he said.
"We are looking at collaborating with other organizations, the University of Arkansas, public schools, corporations," he said.
Students from the University of Arkansas' Sam M. Walton College of Business will provide technical research for the Urban League, Tate said.
"They will help with our needs assessment and help us determine where to start," he said.
Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said these types of resources are important, especially in a growing area.
"Helping connect people to the right resources will help our entire community have a better quality of life," Sprouse said.
NW News on 09/19/2015