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WHEREAS, NEED is an organization founded for the express purpose of providing financial aid to African American students pursuing collegiate degrees; and,
WHEREAS, NEED has served the Pittsburgh region for 55 years. The origins of the organization date to 1963, when Marion Jordon and Florence Reizenstein gathered friends and colleagues to help a group of African-American students in need of financial assistance to attend college; and,
WHEREAS, since its humble beginnings, NEED has worked with economically disadvantaged minority youth to make their dreams of attending college a reality; and,
WHEREAS, NEED provides valuable guidance, educational grants, and other important services to Pittsburgh’s underprivileged youth while they work toward bettering their futures; and,
WHEREAS, since its founding, NEED has supported more than 30,000 young people and provided nearly $34 million in grants to those with financial needs. The scholarships provided by NEED help to empower Pittsburgh's next generation of leaders to overcome financial, class, cultural, and social barriers; and,
WHEREAS, in recent years, many college aid programs and government programs alike have increased their aid to talented students based on merit, regardless of whether they actually needed financial help. This trend negatively impacted the poorest need-based students through the removal of funds that could have been useful to underprivileged students; and,
WHEREAS, on an annual basis, NEED provides 1,000 grants and scholarships to students whose average need is $6,778; and,
WHEREAS, as a result of NEED’s work with the community, the quality and character of the City of Pittsburgh is constantly improved; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Tuesday, March 20th, 2018, to be “NEED Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.