During a guided tour of the Central
Alabama Opportunities Industrialization Center Inc. (OIC),
two of the center's instructors were having a serious
discussion with a young man as his father stood by. The
center's president and CEO, Connie Harper, stopped to
intervene, telling the young man to stop slouching. "Stand
up straight - you've got good limbs. Let's stand up!"
The boy did as he was told, never lifting his gaze above
the floor. "How are you doing?" Harper asked,
and then ordered him to look at her. "Give me some
eye contact," she demanded. Harper was apologetic
about the interruption, but made no bones about her belief
that the young man was a bright and natural leader - and
she was not about to give up on him.
Maybe that's why Harper was chosen
to receive the 2009 Chairman's Award at the Montgomery
Chamber of Commerce's 137 Annual Meeting. Standing before
an audience of 800 Chamber members, elected officials
and dignitaries, past Chamber Chairman Daniel Hughes handed
her the award. Harper was shocked to say the least, and
she did not know what to say. "My husband was just
so happy," Harper recalled. "He said, 'it was
the first time my wife's mouth was closed."
The Montgomery community should be thankful she doesn't
remain silent. One of 10 children herself, Harper can't
help but see the potential in every child. "I think
we're going to save him" she said. "I told him
you are going to get your act together. We are not going
to let you loose. We are going to be on you like a pit
bull- you are not going to get away."
The mission of OIC, which celebrated its 40th anniversary
in 2008, provides job training, job placement and other
services to youths up to age 21 who are unemployed, underemployed,
unskilled or semi-skilled. The organization also helps
youths who dropped out of high school or were expelled
to pass the general educational degree (GED) test. That's
what Connie Harper is all about - saving at-risk youths.
"We're getting them into college and we're getting
them into the military," Harper said.
Tiffany DuBose, executive assistant
and education coordinator for OIC, said youths age 16-21
can receive help through the center for up to one year.
Staff members routinely assess a youth's living conditions,
sussing out the challenges in their households. The youths
also are required to dress properly or they are not allowed
in the front door - that means ties for the young men,
and no baggy pants. Unfortunately, much of OIC's time
is spent solving problems the youths face outside the
classroom. Harper recalled one student who had just one
request: lunch. "That is so important to them because
they don't even have food to eat at home," Harper
said.
And speaking of homes, add that
to OIC's mission, as well. The organization has helped
build more than ISO homes, which sell for about $95,000.
Potential homeowners often are living with their children
in shacks or public housing. "I believe that when
you have ownership, you have value and you have pride,"
Harper said.
The organization first received
funding from then-Alabama Gov. George Wallace, and has
helped more than 20,000 people. Before the state funding,
Harper said Wallace personally gave her two $20 bills.
It was the first donation she received, and OIC has come
a long way since then.
During a tour of her facility,
Harper calls the Early Childhood Development Center "the
heart" of OIC. The organization has
about 40 children from ages 2 to 5 and is seeking approval
to add IS-month-olds. Some graduates of the early childhood
program have become honor students in Montgomery Public
Schools.
Harper has received numerous awards
and recognition for helping others help themselves. Some
of those successful graduates were on hand when she received
the Chairman's Award. "I was speechless," Harper
recalled.
Central Alabama Opportunities Industrialization
Center (OIC) provides recruitement, counseling, basic
education, GED preparation, skills training, early childhood
development care, affordable housing, job placement, follow
up and other necessary services to economically disadvantaged
individuals who are unemployed, underemployed, unskilled
and/or semi-skilled.
Description
of Exemplary EEO Support Programs:
OIC developed a successful partnership
with the Alabama Department of Transportation to provide
on-the-job training, supportive services, recruitment,
pre-employment training, job placement and post-employment
assistance to disadvantaged women, minorities and others.
The on-the-job program was designed specifically for disadvantaged
individuals interested in the highway construction trades.
Pre-employment training classes were located in Montgomery,
Birmingham and Mobile. There were ten classes, each with
ten participants. These classes met six hours per day
five days per week.
The first training cycle proved
very successful, achieving the following: Over 100 participants
trained and 62% of the trainees were places upon completion.
Central Alabama OIC turns houses
into homes with their First Time Home Buyer Program, Affordable
Home Buyer Program (Phases One and Two), as well as the
Morning Oak Villa Project and Sullican Gardens.
October
29, 2007
Montgomery Advertiser
By Robyn Bradley Litchfield, Montgomery
Advertiser
It pains Consuello J. Harper to see the rising number
of homicides and other crimes in Montgomery and the surrounding
area.
Knowing something must be done, Harper fully supported
the city's recent crime-free weekend and other programs
designed to curb crime. But it's going to take more than
that -- much more -- to make a difference, she said.
"The crime factor can be nipped in the bud with quality
education. But we've got to have early intervention. We
have got to reach these young people before they even
start school," said Harper, president and CEO of the Central
Alabama Opportunities Industrialization Center. The center
is a community-based, private, non-profit organization
that she founded in 1968 in Montgomery. And its Early
Childhood Development Center provides programs daily for
kids ages 21/2 to 5.
"I'm passionate about early childhood development because
it works," Harper said. In addition to ABCs, colors and
other things that are typically found in preschool curricula,
it is important to include character education and spiritual
guidance. Another key is to teach youngsters to respect
themselves and to value human life.
Sadly, she said, the state spends more money on building
prisons than it does on building preschools. If more money
went into quality preschools, Harper believes the need
for prisons would not be as great.
A supportive family and education has made all the difference
in Harper's own life. When her father died, Harper's mother
raised their 10 children on her own and sent all of them
to college.
"My mother would say: 'Education is a key that can unlock
any door,' " she said.
Harper also stressed training children to become good
citizens, good human beings. They may stray at some point,
but they'll come back, she said.
Back in the late 1960s, Harper was invited to speak in
Philadelphia. She focused on a self-survival kit and the
fact that it should always include value of self and education.
"And if you think education is expensive -- try ignorance,"
she said. "You never finish paying for that."
July 10,
2007
Central
Alabama OIC, Inc. announces the groundbreaking
of "Opportunity Gardens" -- OIC's second residential
subdivision development. This event is planned for
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 11:30 A.M.
The theme
for this ceremony will be "Building Houses to Develop
Homes" and will feature the Honorable Bobby Bright,
Mayor of the City of Montgomery, as a keynote speaker
to highlight this event. Representatives of the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
will also be on hand to commemorate the groundbreaking.
For more
information about Central Alabama OIC's residential subdivision
development programs, please contact Sylvia Harper
at (334) 265-1594 or by email by
clicking
here.
Click
here to learn more information
about the new Opportunity Gardens subdivision.
June 7,
2007
Central
Alabama OIC announces the funding of a Pre-K classroom
for 4-year olds for Fiscal Year 2007-2008. These
funds are being made available by the State of Alabama,
Department of Children Affairs, Office of School Readiness
(OSR). Dr. Trellis Smith, OSR Director, notified
OIC that these funds would be available on October 1,
2007.
Dr. Smith
congratulated OIC for its commitment to providing high
quality pre-k services to young children in Alabama.
