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THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER, an initiative of Ursuline Social Outreach, was created in June 1996 and became a non-profit corporation in November of that same year. The whole idea began with the hope of reaching out to those who were falling through safety nets, who needed a hand or a boost to get on with their lives. We did not want to do what others were doing unless we were sure we had a better idea.
And we knew that we could not do it ourselves. Ursulines are wonderful, but their numbers are limited and most of us are already fully employed. So the key was to build a cadre of volunteers who would bring their talents and time to the project.
In August ’96 the Provincial Council of the Ursulines approved the formation of a group which could be called “Ursuline” which would involve Ursulines in direct outreach to the poor. One of the spurs was the proposed change in welfare legislation and the realization of the negative effects on the poor and undocumented. Our purposes became clear: to work with those who needed help, who either were un-served or under-served, to bring our skills and education directly to those in need.
But where to begin? We studied senior housing, day care, and a safe house for battered women. By September we had a name, a five-member board, and an initial focus: English language, citizenship and job training.
The next hurdle was location. The places we could afford were off the beaten track or too small or were on the top of the floor of a building without an elevator. Actually, looking at empty buildings clarified our thinking. We wanted the place to be available to women with baby carriages. You cannot have crying babies in class, so we also needed space for childcare. We wanted those who had just finished a day’s work to be able to reach us easily and be able to come to the Center whenever they were free. So the top floor of a school was out (too many stairs, no elevator, security problems) and the former gas station would not get approval for a childcare facility.
We stumbled into 572B Main Street when it was still the empty shell of an old RKO Theater. The rent was as high as anything we had looked at, but we had the chance to design our own space. And at the corner was a major bus hub.
Once we had our incorporation papers, we signed the lease for just under 5,000 square feet of space. That was in December. And in February we were able to walk through the almost finished offices. The site was freezing and the supervising nun impossible, especially when she insisted they would start classes in March. And classes began on March 17.
Where did the furniture come from? Good question. It was begged and borrowed. Some one told some one who knew some one. A financial bank in downtown New York was redecorating so for the cost of renting a truck we had 40 blue swivel based armchairs, five desks, several tables, and so on. Iona College had some tables; Sound Shore Medical was replacing some excellent chairs, and the College of New Rochelle went into its basement to see what we could use. We weren’t proud. We shopped at some of the best dumpsters in town.
Also we began begging in earnest. There is nothing like renovation costs and a five-year lease to motivate serious fund raising. We never got enough to cause us to relax, but we could pay the rent and keep the utilities functioning.
Best of all we began to hear from potential students and volunteers. The first class was limited to 70 students because we did not know if we could get enough tutors. And the first group of 25 tutors were real pioneers, mostly business people who had never taught before.
Since then we have grown to approximately one hundred fifty students each semester and a pool of approximately 70 volunteers many of whom are teachers or retired teachers. We also have students from The College of New Rochelle, Monroe College and the Hallen School working with us. In the last few years we have become more involved in the day laborer situation.
As we grew our need for more space became more and more apparent, thus in July of 2006 we moved to larger quarters located at 138 Centre Avenue, New Rochelle. This is right around the corner from the Main Street location and across the street from Blessed Sacrament Church.
The move was a big job, but with the help of friends, neighbors and a small army of volunteers we were able to get more or less settled with a minimum of fuss. He have been here for over one year and are very happy that we made the move.
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