Community Action Agency Celebrates 50th Year; Recognizes Volunteers, Awardees and Community Advocacy Institute Graduates

For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 24, 2018

"Community Action is widely known for its multi-faceted approach to addressing poverty and helping people become self-sufficient,” said Uma Ahluwalia, director of the Department of Health and Human Services.  “The Head Start program was an early pioneer in embracing a two-generation approach to reducing poverty, with a holistic, integrated, family-centered service model."

The celebration included a graduation ceremony for eighteen county residents who completed the Community Advocacy Institute, an eight-month training program for low-income residents which was developed and led by the Community Action Board.  Pamela Luckett, chair of the board, noted that as part of the program, "each participant completed an advocacy project - either meeting with an elected official, testifying before the County Council, or submitting a letter to the Council - to advance the well-being of the community."

The Community Action Board presented the Marcia Plater Community Action Award to Marika Brown, a volunteer for more than seven years with the agency's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program.  IMPACT Silver Spring’s volunteer-led English Class at the TESS Community Action Center received the Gerald J. Roper Sr. Community Action Award.  The Henry L. Dixon Community Action Award was presented to the Latino Economic Development Center’s Empowered Women International Entrepreneur Pathways for Women Program.

At the ceremony, one hundred forty-two volunteers were recognized for augmenting the services delivered directly through the agency. Volunteers provided over three thousand hours of service, leveraging the agency's local funding and its federally-funded Head Start and Community Services Block Grants.  

The Community Action Agency (CAA) is the County's federally funded antipoverty program and part of DHHS' Office of Community Affairs. Its mission is to reduce poverty and increase self-sufficiency through services, partnerships and advocacy. The agency monitors County-funded contracts with 25 non-profits that serve the low-income community by delivering food, clothing, and social services and by providing legal assistance, employment training, education and community engagement.  The agency is governed by the Montgomery County Community Action Board (CAB), which is authorized by federal, state and county governments to provide advice regarding needs of low-income people while recommending services and policies. The Board provides oversight for the agency’s federal grants, including Head Start, which is monitored and supported by CAA staff.  For more information about the Community Action Agency, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/communityaction

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