Summer Youth Initiative

H Street CDC annually provides summer employment to selected D.C. teenagers who qualify for our enrichment program. The Summer Youth Initiative is focused on students from disadvantaged neighborhoods who have maintained at least a “B” average during the current school year. Participants are chosen in a competitive process, based on applications, an essay, recommendations from school officials and community leaders, and personal interviews.

Each year, we develop the program around a specific theme of study. In recent years, study themes have included an introduction to the legal system, financial education and personal money management, the services of non-profit community organizations, and the workings of the D.C. Government. The program also includes computer training and visits to universities. During once-a-week recreation periods, the students learn the game of golf, a skill with lifelong value in career networking.

Whatever our heritage may be, we all want the same things in the end. We want to provide good homes and safe neighborhoods for our families, and a good education for our children. And we want to get along well with our neighbors.

This is the foundation of the H Street CDC’s Diversity Project, a long-term effort to promote understanding and harmony among community residents and merchants. Washington is a multicultural, multilingual city, with a growing number of residents and merchants of Latino and Asian-American descent. Of approximately 150 H Street corridor businesses, about 25 are owned and operated by Asian-Americans, principally of Korean or Chinese heritage. Cultural differences and language barriers between Asian-American merchants and primarily African-American customers have led to misunderstandings.

The Diversity Project’s goals are to encourage dialogue, resolve misunderstandings, and help merchants adapt to American business practices and comply with government regulations. To that end, we publish a bilingual newsletter, The Business Asset-Builder; conduct door-to-door visits with merchants to identify and resolve problems, and sponsor meetings to encourage candid discussions among residents, merchants, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, and other community leaders. Our partners in this project include the U.S. Community Relations Service, the Mayor’s Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, the Korean American Coalition, and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Asian Liaison Unit. The project is funded by grants from the Fannie Mae Foundation and the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region.