FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22,
2006
Contacts:
William A.
Smith, Ph.D.
(801) 718-8835,
wasmith@ed.utah.edu
Karen Boe,
Local Media Relations:
801-230-5404, marketing1slc@aol.com
Operation Uplift Created by Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Creates Springboard
12th District Council Meeting
Unveils New Program to Assist
SALT
LAKE CITY – The Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau is happy to
welcome the 12th District Council Meeting of Omega Psi Phi
Fraternity, Inc. the weekend of Sept. 23rd for their annual fall
District Council meeting. In
conjunction with this meeting, the fraternity has announced the formation of Operation
Uplift is issuing a call to local professionals for mentoring and role model
opportunities.
The Operation Uplift Foundation is launching a program that
will include educational and professional mentoring, a minority rites of
passage program, and a summer program.
Local professionals will impart information on education, health, and
will provide professional role models.
The Foundation will examine its mission, values, goals and grant-making
practices to determine how best to enhance Operation Uplift's current
initiatives and to examine new ways to ensure the Foundation a higher level of
impact on the young people and communities it serves, typically young African
American, Latino and Polynesian men, but also those from white working class
families and sons living in single-parent households.
The fraternity is
concerned about reports indicating that Utah dropout rates are higher than the
national average in grades 7-12 for African Americans (7.7% vs. 6.5%), Latinos
(8.5% vs. 7.8%), and Pacific Islanders (6.1% vs. 5.0%). Equally troubling are
the reports about Utah’s Native American young people where schools are having
problems producing high school graduates at an acceptable rate (6.9% dropout).
The fraternity feels that these students are having a qualitatively different
experience in schools than Utah’s White student population who are much better
than the national average in the dropout rates (2.6% vs. 4.0%). For minority
students, special efforts must be made that produces a better educational
climate while other programs can be developed that speaks to their unique
needs. This is where Omega Psi Phi’s Operation Uplift Foundation is prepared to
step in.
In
the future, the Foundation will continue to raise awareness and enhance
individual programs, develop community partnerships to increase impact and
sustainability. They also hope to increase volunteerism and community support
and to establish a permanent site for the Operation Uplift to increase impact
and sustainability. Through
corporate, individual and community contributions and partnerships, the goal is
to increase the endowment for this program by $100,000 over the next three
years.
The
strength of the Foundation remains the countless young people, particularly
young men, who participate in the fraternity’s national and local programs, and
who continue to benefit from the focus on their Four Cardinal Principles of
manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplift.
The 12th District is the
largest District in the continental United States, encompassing 1.6 million sq.
miles, 3 time zones, and 10 states ranging from Alaska to Arizona. The Fraternity was founded on the campus
of Howard Univ. in 1911 and currently is comprised of 150,000 Brothers, both
graduate and undergraduate. All
chapters observe the mandated programs of: Achievement Week, Scholarship,
Social Action Programs, Talent Hunt Program, College Endowment Fund, Health
Initiatives and Voter Registration, Education and Mobilization.
They look forward to experiencing the
historic essence of Salt Lake City, and promise to leave the city in a better
condition through their commitment to social uplift, academic enrichment, and
economic empowerment.
About Omega Psi Phi
On Friday evening,
November 17, 1911, three Howard University undergraduate students, with the
assistance of their faculty adviser, gave birth to the Omega Psi Phi
Fraternity. This event occurred in the office of their faculty adviser and
biology Professor Ernest E. Just, this was located in the Science Hall (now
known as Thirkield Hall). The three liberal arts students were Edgar A. Love,
Oscar J. Cooper and Frank Coleman. From the initials of the Greek phrase
meaning "friendship is essential to the soul," the name Omega Psi Phi
was derived. The phrase was selected as the motto. Manhood, scholarship, perseverance
and uplift were adopted as cardinal principles. One of the fraternity’s major
goals is development and encourage “economic empowerment leading to social and
political change” for communities where chapters are located. The fraternity is
committed to reaching people that are often overlooked, neglected, or least
likely to get the services or assistance that most people desire or expect to
receive naturally.
There are many
notable Omega Men
recognized as leaders in the arts, athletics, business, civil
rights, education, government, and science sectors at the local,
national and international level.
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