Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League

There is an institution older than the United States itself that is now fighting for its survival, and too many people in power are watching it happen without lifting a finger.

The United States Postal Service was founded in 1775, a year before the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General. It has survived wars, depressions, technological upheavals, and the death of the handwritten letter. It has never missed a day of service. Today, it is being quietly bled out, and the silence from Congress is its own kind of crisis.

 The City of Spartanburg is in the spotlight after a Hollywood movie company announced they are expanding into the Upstate.

FilmPool movie production company was joined alongside the Urban League of the Upstate (Greenville, SC), Spartanburg Community College and the Spartanburgers to announce their expansion into the Upstate.

“This is a huge opportunity for us and, you know, we just know the talent we have in Spartanburg, in front of and behind the camera is just to knock it out of the park,” Dr. Gail Wilson Awan, President and CEO of the Urban League of the Upstate said.

“FilmPool, after 22 years is expanding into South Carolina, Spartanburg area,” Brenton Earley producer with Filmpool told 7NEWS.

The company said planting roots in Spartanburg will create bigger opportunities for creative professionals in the area.

The Fort Wayne Urban League (Fort Wayne, IN), in partnership with Weigand Construction, will host a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of a major renovation project at its facility. This milestone initiative will reconstruct the lower level of the Urban League building, made possible through a generous $400,000 grant from the Windswell Foundation, formerly known as AWS Foundation.

Once completed, the newly renovated space will house Alliance Health Centers (AHC), which will operate a comprehensive developmental health clinic serving children and families across the region. The clinic will provide critical services including screenings and diagnoses for autism and other developmental disorders, as well as a broad range of integrated medical, behavioral, rehabilitation and therapeutic services.

JPMorgan Chase is donating millions to central Ohio organizations in an effort to strengthen the region's workforce as the country recovers from a weakening job market.

The United States' largest bank is investing $2.7 million into the National Center for Urban Solutions, Columbus Urban League (Columbus, OH), Jewish Family Services, the Godman Guild Association, Impact Community Action and Goodwill Industries of Central Ohio.

The bank, which employs nearly 20,000 in central Ohio, will also donate $1.3 million to several organizations in Cleveland and Cincinnati to "advance career pathways, strengthen regional workforce pipelines and support economic mobility for all Ohioans," according to a press release.

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