Brittany Jackson sat outside the Columbus Urban League (Columbus, OH) on Saturday, chatting quietly with the nurse administering her first shot of Pfizer vaccine in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood on the NEast Side.

Sporting a "God Is Dope" T-shirt written in highlighter green, Jackson offered a thumbs up and a smile that crinkled the eyes above her mask. How did it feel to finally receive the vaccine? 

"On deck," she said with a laugh, as the soft beats of Spotify's "Soul Coffee" playlist echoed across the parking lot.

The 34-year-old was one of 240 people to receive the coronavirus vaccine through the "pop-up" COVID-19 vaccination clinic over the weekend, courtesy of a partnership between the Columbus Urban League and OhioHealth.

Brittany Jackson sat outside the Columbus Urban League (Columbus, OH) on Saturday, chatting quietly with the nurse administering her first shot of Pfizer vaccine in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood on the NEast Side.

Sporting a "God Is Dope" T-shirt written in highlighter green, Jackson offered a thumbs up and a smile that crinkled the eyes above her mask. How did it feel to finally receive the vaccine? 

"On deck," she said with a laugh, as the soft beats of Spotify's "Soul Coffee" playlist echoed across the parking lot.

The 34-year-old was one of 240 people to receive the coronavirus vaccine through the "pop-up" COVID-19 vaccination clinic over the weekend, courtesy of a partnership between the Columbus Urban League and OhioHealth.

The Greater Stark County Urban League (Canton, OH) is giving out boxes filled with food for those in need.

"We are excited about the opportunity that we have to give at least 2,000 boxes of food to individuals within the community. And one of the beautiful things about this is that we're able to do that in an area that has been designated a food desert," said Diane Robinson, President and CEO of the Greater Stark County Urban League.

Robinson's mission as president of the Greater Stark County Urban League is to help those in the community. She said making sure the people who live here have access to food is important.

"Consequently, they have to walk, ride a bike, or catch a bus to purchase food and that is not convenient and whenever they go, many times, they can't get the amount of food they need to last for a week," she said.

It can be hard just to land a job.

But getting to work creates even more challenges if you don’t have transportation.

The Milwaukee Urban League (Milwaukee, WI) has launched a pilot program to help residents overcome this hurdle.

The Leading Access to Success Transportation program, better known as the L*A*S*T* Mile Program, provides Milwaukee Urban League clients with temporary transportation to their job sites. The program launched Jan. 25.

“Two of our major focus areas are education and employment,” Eve Hall, President and CEO of the Milwaukee Urban League, said. “And what we’ve learned through employment is that while there are opportunities, transportation has been an issue, especially for those who had job opportunities on the outskirts of Milwaukee, where public transportation is rather limited.”

It's time for action. At least 20 people were killed & 27 hurt in mass shootings over the past week. Here are the gun violence prevention measures we need. | A night to remember. This week’s Women of Power Awards was jam-packed with dynamic honorees + powerhouse speakers. Watch the replay. | Catch up on what you missed. On Tuesday, we hosted a webinar on everything you need to know to safely return to the workplace. Watch now. | Change must come. We NEED the Senate to vote to address unchecked bias in policing and accountability for police misconduct. Here’s how you can help. | Catch us on YouTube. Have you missed one of our virtual events? Well, you’re in luck! Subscribe to our channel to stay up to date.

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

“At trauma centers across this country, we have seen the pain with our own eyes. We have cleaned the blood from our own hands. Sometimes the blood soaks through our scrubs and socks. We can wash away the blood, but the pain stays with us. I cannot fully grasp the tragic impact of the lives lost. Yet I am still hopeful. If we take concrete actions now, if we do the small things now, then we will create the big changes later. These changes will stem the tide of gun violence that has become such a devastating problem in our country.” --  Trauma surgeon Selwyn Rogers, Testimony to Senate Judiciary Committee, March 23, 2021

National Urban League Young Professionals’ Women’s Leadership Summit is a free half -day virtual summit during Women’s History Month in March created to empower female professionals within the National Urban League (NUL) movement to be their best Whole Self personally and professionally. Ultimately our goal with the inaugural National Urban League Young Professionals’ Women’s Leadership Summit is to increase the visibility and network of female leaders within the National Urban League Movement by bringing them together in one place to engage, network, grow and learn from each other.