United Way of Northwest Indiana presented a draft memorandum of understanding to the School City of East Chicago Board of School Trustees on July 17, outlining workforce and youth programs and asking the district to identify students who might participate. United Way officials said the MOU would open a longer-term partnership and requested the district review and help shape the draft before attorneys finalize it.

The presentation, led by Pete Smith (labor and community liaison), Chris White (chief executive officer) and Courtney Wedrick (director of collective impact), described three program areas the MOU would cover and why United Way wants to work with the district. "Our Level Up program empowers individuals toward economic stability through 1-on-1 navigators," Wedrick said, describing resume help, financial literacy and job-placement supports. White said the organization aims to "lift a thousand families out of poverty over a five‑year period" and noted United Way has "about 350 graduates" and "about 200 students currently engaged" in Level Up.

Why this matters: the MOU would create a formal channel for United Way to work in the district on job training, youth workforce development and volunteer efforts tied to the district's back‑to‑school and family outreach activities. Board members pressed for details about where programs would operate, which students would be eligible and how the partnership would use district facilities.

Key points from the discussion: United Way described three core offerings: (1) Level Up, a navigator‑based adult economic stability program; (2) YouthBuild, a 6‑month intensive program for 16‑ to 24‑year‑olds combining academic recovery and construction (with 12 months of post‑training supports); and (3) CharityTracker, an online case‑management referral system for nonprofits. White and Wedrick said YouthBuild will recruit from Gary, East Chicago and Portage and that the construction training includes building housing projects (they said some of the housing work would be in Gary). White also said a Department of Labor grant funds parts of the training.

Board members’ questions and district response: Trustee Rodriguez and others asked whether housing or housing assistance would be limited to Gary; Wedrick and White said navigators work across the region and that United Way partners with an ARP‑funded homeless program in Hammond and will help find housing resources when available. Trustees asked whether the Day of Caring (Aug. 1) would have volunteers in East Chicago; United Way said the event has a kickoff breakfast at Avalon Manor and volunteer projects throughout Northwest Indiana and that United Way is coordinating volunteers for school projects on Aug. 1.

Next steps and actions: Superintendent Dr. Yanders confirmed the district’s legal office will receive a draft MOU prepared with input from the district and United Way. The board asked that the draft be circulated to trustees for review; the presentation was informational and the board did not vote. The board will consider formal approval at a future business meeting (trustees were told to expect the item approximately at the board’s next regular meeting in August).

Quotes from presenters and trustees are verbatim and attributed to the speakers who spoke on the record at the July 17 work session. The draft MOU remains under development and United Way and district counsel will exchange edits before the item returns to the board.