FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      CONTACT: Susan Krimer Yancy

January 22, 2004                                                                     301-962-5505

HOC HONORS RETIRING EMPLOYEE FOR COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS

 

Public Housing Counselor Led Effort to Launch “Saturday School” in Olney; Founded Germantown Alliance; Launched Numerous Toy and Holiday Drives

The Housing Opportunities Commission recently honored public housing counselor Delores Cole on the occasion of her retirement after working with the housing agency for 28 years. Since 1985, Ms. Cole served as the resident counselor for two HOC public housing communities: Towne Centre Place in Olney and Sandy Spring Meadow in Sandy Spring. 

“Delores Cole has played a major motivating role for hundreds of HOC residents, helping them to achieve home ownership, gain a high school or college or professional diploma, helping children complete their homework and helping families to become more self-sufficient,”  said Scott Minton, Executive Director of the Housing Opportunities Commission. “Delores is a compassionate, skilled and committed professional. We will miss her,” Mr. Minton added.

Among Ms. Cole’s many achievements is the creation, almost 20 years ago, of the “Saturday School,” in cooperation with Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and Blacks United for Excellence in Education. The Saturday School program began as a tutoring program for children living in Towne Centre Place in Olney, but now enhances the education of hundreds of county youth at eight different Montgomery County Public School sites.

In May 1993, Ms. Cole received the Omega Psi Phi Community Service Award for her work with the Saturday School and was given the Montgomery County 1991 Outstanding Woman of the Year award by the County Executive based upon her volunteer activities. Ms. Cole also received the 1999 Henry L. Dixon, Jr. Community Action Board Award for “outstanding volunteer service to the disadvantaged of Montgomery County.”  

Other notable achievements include:

• Serving as president and founder of the Germantown Alliance, leading the community to create a master plan for the development of Germantown;
• Establishing an interagency committee responsible for the development of the Plum Gar Community Center;
• Developing numerous toy and holiday drives for the families and senior adult residents of Towne Center Place, which required outreach to the broader community for resources (and Ms. Cole often used her personal funds for these efforts);
• Developing a partnership with NAACP to enhance the representation of minority residents in community affairs; and
• Participating in, and graduating from, the first class of “Senior Leadership Montgomery.”

Members of the Housing Opportunities Commission presented Ms. Cole with a resolution in her honor on December 3, 2003.

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