Montgomery County Named All-America City Award Finalist

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Contact: Doug Gaddis, 301-762-8682
or Bonnie Ayers, 240-777-6530

For Immediate Release: April 12, 2000

Montgomery County
Named All-America City Award Finalist

Montgomery County has been named as one of the 30 finalists in the 2000 All-America City Award program produced by the National Civic League and sponsored by Allstate Insurance Company. The County will compete with communities from throughout the United States for one of the 10 All-America City Award designations to be announced on June 3 in Louisville, KY.

The All-America City award recognizes outstanding grassroots community problem-solving programs and communities that cooperatively tackle challenges and achieve results. For more than 50 years, the All-America City Award has encouraged and honored communities - cities, towns, counties, neighborhoods and regions - in which residents, government, businesses and non-profit organizations work together to address critical local issues.

The three local programs highlighted in this year's application are the Language Bank, Linkages to Learning and Brothers Reaching Out To Help Each Reach Success (B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S).

The Language Bank is composed of volunteers who serve as on-call translators and interpreters for County residents who need to access public and private services. Services of the bank are available to public and private non-profit agencies registered with the County's Volunteer Center. In addition to information about the volunteer's language capabilities, the listing contains details about special skills the volunteer might possess, such as legal or medical knowledge.

Currently operating in 14 County schools,Linkages to Learning provides direct services and referrals to children and families designed to break down non-academic barriers to learning, i.e., linguistic and cultural differences, lack of transportation and childcare, and access to pediatric and mental health care. One of the program's most recent efforts is "Linkages to the Library," which promotes family literacy, improves students' reading skills and encourages parental involvement. It is expected that more than 300 children and their parents will participate this summer in the program, which was piloted last summer at the Wheaton Regional Library.

B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S. is a mentoring/education program for minority and at-risk males. In the program, college students mentor high school youth, who, in turn, mentor middle and elementary school children. Meetings, held twice a week after school, cover topics including life skills, anger management, and drug and alcohol resistance and awareness. Participants are trained in the political process and are required to vote as soon as they are eligible. Last year, 100 percent of the high school seniors participating in B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S. graduated and 98 percent of those went on to college.

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan said, "I'm delighted that our entry has reached the finals of the prestigious All-America City Award program and that we will have a chance to further showcase these three outstanding programs which are addressing such critical needs of our residents."

Local elected officials, including Duncan and County Council President Michael Subin, County staff, business and community leaders, and directors/participants from the three highlighted programs will make the presentation before the All-America City Jury in Louisville on June 2. Doug Gaddis, director of development for Community Ministry of Montgomery County, is coordinator of the Montgomery County All-America City entry.

Announcement of the finalists was made via a phone bridge from Allstate headquarters in Northbrook, IL on April 11.

For more information on the County's entry, call 301-762-8682.

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