Community Economic Development Graduate Creates Model Community Service Program to Assist Welfare-to-Work Recipients

The program started by a graduate of SDSU’s Community Economic Development (CED) program to help welfare-to-work recipients get to and from their jobs can now be used as a model in other California cities.

Willie “Mac” McGee began his organization, All Congregations Together (ACT), when he aspired to solve the problem for welfare-to-work and CalWORKS recipients who have issues which prevent them from reaching their worksites.  McGee realized that many churches use vans on a limited basis to help their congregations get to services, yet these vans sit unused a good portion of the week. He knew that by coordinating and mobilizing the various churches to assist those with transportation barriers, he could solve the problem. The idea resulted in the ComLink program and, in the early years, it was working for a limited number of people in San Diego. But McGee had bigger aspirations.

What McGee felt he needed were the skills to expand the program to reach as many people as possible so he enrolled in SDSU’s Community Economic Development certificate program. The CED program prepares individuals to operate a non-profit organization effectively, as well as efficiently.  “I have CED to thank for the success of ACT. It led me to think differently,” said McGee. “This program teaches people how to be successful in a non-profit organization so they can maximize the help they provide others.” 

Today, ComLink has spread from downtown San Diego to East County and has made over 656,000 trips. Recently, ACT was under a contract with the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to conduct a Transportation Environmental Justice Feasibility Study in low-income communities surrounding San Diego. The study included a business plan on how to put in place and operate a community-based transportation system similar to ComLink’s model. When released, the report detailing the model will be available for use throughout the state of California.

McGee hasn’t stopped at transportation alone. He has developed a center to provide a variety of services to help those in need. If a client is experiencing a short-term crisis such as housing, emergency food or clothing, the new Resource Referral Desk directs them to the right place for assistance. The Career Wardrobe Center provides welfare-to-work candidates with professional attire. In conjunction with San Diego State University’s Interwork Institute and high school students, ACT has created a cyber lab to train individuals with the technical skills they need in the workplace.

ACT has partnerships with many other organizations such as San Diego Workforce Partnership, San Diego Youth at Work and the Department of Labor to provide work experience training to youth, seniors and adults in an attempt to help them find job opportunities and interviews. As McGee puts it, “There is a need, there is a resource and we are the bridge between the two.”

ACT is dedicated to empower individuals to become confident, self-sufficient and independent. The focus of the organization is to provide professionalism and technical accessibility to their clients.

McGee credits the CED with giving him the right tools to utilize resources and grow his non-profit. “When you need a wrench to get the job done, you don’t reach for a screwdriver. The CED teaches the steps you need to do to run a successful non-profit organization.”

“ComLink is an outstanding example of the strong level of commitment our CED graduates have for the communities they serve and clearly demonstrates the critical role community economic development plays in fostering economic prosperity,” said Linda Guzzo, director of the Center for Community Economic Development (CCED). The CCED develops business skills in people who have a heart for the community.  Since it’s inception in 1995, the CCED has graduated over 200 students through its award-winning Community Economic Development Certificate Program.

These highly-motivated and well-trained advocates are providing leadership in the area of CED to communities throughout San Diego. For example, Claire Carpenter (’02)successfully orchestrated the creation of the El Cajon Community Development Corp., which is effectively revitalizing the City of El Cajon. Going north, Kevin Ham (’99) is directing the economic development of Vista. To the south, Leisa Lukes (’96) is providing community development leadership to the City of Chula Vista. And finally, Ocean Beach is benefiting from the expertise of CED graduate, Luke Sponsler of the Ocean Beach Community Development Corp.

email: business@sdsu.edu