40% of our neighbors don’t have a high school diploma, while only 8% have a college degree. We believe that offering programs such as adult education to obtain a high school diploma, ESOL, and other critical programming, can increase the potential for our community members to achieve a greater quality of life.
49% of our neighbors own their home – compared to 60% for Wichita as a whole. We believe teaching important life skills is critical to building community wealth and will lead to a stronger community. Providing understandable and bilingual education in the areas of home buying, personal finance, credit recovery, and other key areas will lead a more empowered community to grow their resources and abilities.
The median household income in our neighborhood is about $36,000 – far less than the nearly $53,000 for the city of Wichita. 66% of our residents work in blue collar or service jobs. We believe that our residents are the backbone of the Wichita workforce. Our programs can strengthen an individual’s potential, skills, and education to earn a higher wage or learn new skills to make a career change.
Hispanic business owners have surged by 34% in the last decade – higher than any other ethnic group – yet they are largely less profitable than white-owned businesses. Knowing that Wichita’s growth comes from its Hispanic population, it is important to be intentional about designing programs that help these small business owners thrive.