DML’s connections to its communities are seen in a variety of ways, from services to programs. A key factor with such connections is the partners that help DML offer services and programs, like Omega CDC, opens a new window (Community Development Corporation).
Omega CDC is a non-profit organization that was established by the Omega Baptist Church in 1997. DML’s Northwest Branch partners with them to offer a program titled Omega CDC – Ready 4 Work Program, opens a new window, where community members are invited to drop in or make an appointment to receive help with creating or updating their resume, learning soft skills and professional etiquette, job searching, and practicing mock interviews.
Ready 4 Work sessions at the Northwest Branch are led by Eleanor-Newman-Bumpus, Omega Lead Workforce Development Trainer, and offer lessons with training material that can be focused on certain areas.
“It also uncovers individual barriers associated with un/underemployment,” Newman-Bumpus explains.
“We equip individuals with the necessary tools [that can lead to] viable education and stable employment – opportunities that help create a stronger future or self-sufficiency." While this program is essential to the Northwest Branch’s community members, there is a deeper connection between the mission of the DML and Omega CDC.
“The Branch’s partnership with Omega CDC is directly related to a Promise Neighborhood/Hope Zone Initiative,” states Sharon Taste, Branch Manager of Northwest. “Having the Ready 4 Work program embedded into the Library footprint aligns the mission of the Hope Center to relight hope within our communities and for the Library to inspire patrons to become the best version of themselves, through resource exchange and conversation.”
Being connected to the Promise Neighborhood Initiative (PNI)/Hope Zone Initiative is vitally important because it addresses barriers and systemic systems that impact residents residing in the designated zip codes within Northwest Dayton, including where DML’s Northwest Branch is located.
"Work groups address education, housing, community culture, and economic development by identifying quick wins and means by which issues can be resolved," Taste adds.
A January 2023 article, opens a new window from the Dayton Daily News states that Omega CDC received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods program, which is “expected to help improve educational and social outcomes for children and families in neighborhoods across northwest Dayton.”
For the Promise Neighborhoods Program, federal funding will be provided through 2027 and will help pay for coordinated support services and programs for families and individuals in Northwest Dayton, providing assistance at every stage, “from childhood to careers,” the article states – within the Hope Zone.
The Hope Center for Families, opens a new window is an initiative of the Omega CDC itself. The Center empowers low-income individuals and families of greater Dayton to achieve and sustain self-sufficiency with the life and work skills and character to succeed through a two-generation poverty reduction model, according to their website.
By partnering with Dayton Children’s Hospital, Mini University, and Sinclair Community College, in addition to Omega CDC, their mission is to serve families in the surrounding communities by providing a variety of necessary and much-needed services.
“Omega CDC is grateful to have Dayton Metro Library as a strong partner in the Hope Zone Promise neighborhood,” states Rachel Ward, Vice President, Omega CDC, pictured here. “Our partnership with the Library has expanded over the last year to include things like utilization of Library spaces at the Northwest Branch, Hope Zone work group meetings, and Omega CDC staff meetings.”
“We know that our partnership with the Library is making a difference for countless children and their families as well as our senior residents of the Hope Zone,” concludes Ward.
It’s a community partnership at its finest, and with a little bit of “hope,” community members are able to use today to build for a better tomorrow.
*Omega CDC - Ready 4 Work, opens a new window is held at the Northwest Branch every Tuesday, 11 am - 3 pm. Walk-ins are fine, or appointments can be made. Call the Library's Ask Me Line for more information at 937.463.2556.
