ACU to bring Robert Woodson to Abilene to speak about building stronger neighborhoods For immediate release March 26, 1999 Abilene Christian University's Center for Advancement of Community has invited Robert L. Woodson, Sr., founder and president of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, to speak to Abilene citizens at a luncheon April 7 at the Abilene Civic Center at 11:45 a.m. Tickets for the luncheon are available at $10 per ticket. They can be purchased by calling ACU's Center for Advancement of Community at 674-2156. Tickets also can be purchased at the Abilene Civic Center box office or at the Neighborhoods in Progress office, 534 Cypress, Ste. 105. Woodson will speak about ways to build stronger neighborhoods and strengthen a community. He is a strong proponent of self-help and empowerment strategies and supports many grassroot initiatives addressing societal problems. His organization, the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower neighborhood leaders to promote solutions that reduce crime and violence, restore families, revitalize low-income communities and create economic enterprise. According to Woodson, drug abuse, theft and gang activity are localized evidences of a moral disintegration that is rampant among all walks of American life, white and black, rich and poor alike. He makes an appeal for the revitalization of American society at the grassroots, neighborhood level through "street-level" champions. Among many awards, Woodson has received the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. His publications include Youth Crime and Urban Policy, A View From the Inner City (1981), On the Road to Economic Freedom: An Agenda for Black Progress (1987), A Summons to Life, Mediating Structures and the Prevention of Youth Crime (1988), and, most recently, The Triumphs of Joseph: How Today's Community Healers are Reviving Our Streets and Neighborhoods (1998). Woodson's most recent book will be available for purchase at the Civic Center and autograph books after the lunch presentation. -30- If you are a member of the media who would like more information about this release, please contact Tom Craig, director of media and community relations, at craigt@nicanor.acu.edu or call 915-674-2692. Last update: March 29, 1999 This page is maintained by Tom Craig, craigt@nicanor.acu.edu. http://www.acu.edu/people/news/990326-woodson.html