MISSION

Rhode Island Young Professionals

RHODE ISLAND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS (RIYP)

The Rhode Island Young Professionals (RIYP) is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization that was formed in the winter of 2002, as an outlet to unite Rhode Island’s young professionals between the ages of 21 and 40. The RIYP works twofold, to 1. Provide its members with exclusive networking activities, workshops, and resources that foster their personal and professional development, and 2. Develop and implement services, programs, and projects that are essential to empowering and enriching the states communities.

RIYP is an auxiliary of the Urban League of Rhode Island (ULRI), and one of nearly 50 active National Urban League Young Professionals (NULYP) chapters in cities throughout the United States, working together with the affiliates of the Urban League to support its five-pronged agenda of providing programs and initiatives in the areas of economic empowerment, education & youth empowerment, civic engagement & leadership empowerment, health & quality of life empowerment, and civil rights & racial justice empowerment for African-American, other minority, and low-income communities.

URBAN LEAGUE of RHODE ISLAND (ULRI) The Urban League of Rhode Island, Inc. was founded in 1939. The Urban League of RI (ULRI) is a community-based, non-profit, tax-exempt organization. Its mission is the elimination of racial discrimination and segregation in the state, and the achievement of parity for Blacks, other minorities, and the poor in every phase of American life. This mission inherently involves the enabling of minorities and the poor to demonstrate their full potential and to exercise their human rights as American citizens. The Urban League of Rhode Island is one of 106 affiliates of the National Urban League, Inc. It is also a member of a network of community-based agencies providing health and human services to those most in need in greater Rhode Island.

The Urban League implements its mission through advocacy, program service delivery, bridge building among the races, and research. Its Board of Directors provides the guidance to effectively serve the varied communities of the State of Rhode Island. It assists members of its constituencies in developing strategies and techniques to bring about positive changes in policies and institutions that adversely affect their lives. The Urban League’s wide range of services and programs include:

  • Adolescent Services Programs and Health Promotion Unit
  • Adoption and Foster Care and At-Risk Youth Programs
  • Advocacy on the neighborhood, city and state level
  • Emergency shelters at two locations
  • Employment assistance, Education services and Job Training
  • HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs for adults
  • Host Homes providing short-term shelter for runaway youth
  • Housing for transitional living and permanent affordable placement
  • Safe Havens Program of supervised transitional housing
  • Supportive Case Management Services
  • The Urban League Bridge Alternative School

www.ulri.org

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS (NUYLP) National Urban League Young Professionals (NULYP) is a network of young professionals, across the country who provide leadership development, economic empowerment and community volunteer opportunities for other young professionals. The organization trains, develops, and educates young professionals to take leadership roles within the National Urban League, the civil rights movement, and society-at-large. Members of NULYP are defining, developing, implementing, and leading the next generation civil rights agenda.

NULYP’s mission is to engage young professionals in the National Urban League’s movement towards the achievement of social and economic equality. NULYP does this by providing an effective forum through which young professionals can support the Urban League’s more than 100 affiliates in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

We support the goals and mission of the National Urban League by serving our communities and developing our members through mentoring, tutoring, scholarships, economic empowerment, political engagement, and leadership development programs. Our chapters implement local programs in support of the National Urban League empowerment agenda, which include:

Education and Youth Empowerment

Economic Empowerment

Health and Quality of Life Empowerment

Civic Engagement Empowerment

Civil Rights and Racial Justice Empowerment

NULYP also works to strengthen our members by encouraging them to achieve balance in their lives even as they work to strengthen their communities. To this end, NULYP strives to develop programs that encourage individual members’ personal and professional development.

http://www.nul.org/youngprofessionals.html

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE (NUL)

Established in 1910, The Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community- based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream. Today, the National Urban League, headquartered in New York City, spearheads the non-partisan efforts of its local affiliates. There are over 100 local affiliates of the National Urban League located in 35 states and the District of Columbia providing direct services to more than 2 million people nationwide through programs, advocacy and research.

The mission of the Urban League movement is to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.

The Urban League employs a five point strategy, tailored to local needs, in order to implement the mission of our movement.

Education and Youth Empowerment: Ensuring that all of our children are well educated and prepared for economic self-reliance in the 21st century through college scholarships, early childhood literacy, Head Start and after care programs.

Economic Empowerment: Empowering all people in attaining economic self-sufficiency through job training, good jobs, homeownership, entrepreneurship and wealth accumulation.

Health and Quality of Life Empowerment: Working to build healthy and safe communities to eliminate health disparities through prevention, healthy eating, fitness, as well as ensuring access and complete access to affordable healthcare for all people.

Civic Engagement and Leadership Empowerment: Empowering all people to take an active role in determining the direction, quality of life, public policy and leadership in their communities by full participation as citizens and voters, as well as through active community service and leadership development.

Civil Rights and Racial Justice Empowerment: Promoting and ensuring our civil rights by actively working to eradicate all barriers to equal participation in the all aspects of American society, whether political, economic, social, educational or cultural.