In high school Robin Nelson-Rice was part of Center for Leadership Development’s (CLD) first and most popular program, Self-Discovery and Career Exploration Project, which challenges participants to look within to discover their career aspirations and goals. Since its inception, more than 11,000 high school students have completed the program.
Nelson-Rice’s husband, Derica, was introduced to CLD in 2003. From there, he stayed involved as a volunteer and now serves on the board of directors. Rice, former chief financial officer of Eli Lilly and Co., recently was appointed CEO of CVS Caremark.
In January, CLD received a historic donation from the Rice family for
$1 million. When asked why they chose to give this amount to CLD Nelson-Rice responded “Why not? If we had had the kind of organization and the kind of help that we’re giving now when we were these kids age, imagine the abundance of possibilities.”
CLD has more than a dozen programs reaching grades four through 12, free tutoring services and high school and college advisors on staff to prepare students for college and beyond. Their numbers prove they’re doing exactly that. The Indiana Department of Education reports an average high school graduation rate of 76.9 percent for Black students across the state. However, 95 percent of CLD participants graduate from high school. Furthermore, 70 percent of CLD participants enroll in postsecondary education and 40 percent graduate from college.
These numbers and their own involvement with the organization inspired and impressed the Rices so much that they decided to make a donation that would have a big impact.
When CLD President Dennis Bland first joined the organization in 2000, he never dreamed he’d see it receive such a sizable gift.
“This is not only uncommon, it’s rare,” he said. “There are 42 million Black Americans. I’d be interested to do a poll and ask ‘When have you been in a place when a Black family has stood up and said they were going to contribute $1 million to a Black organization not for rec or sports, but to help Black youth pursue their career goals?’ It just kind of shocks the system.”
Bland has always had big plans for CLD, with this new donation he says the plans remain the same, but the reality is much greater now.
“I talked about giving people in this community access to one of the most successful youth development programs in the country,” he said. “Our plan is to invest those dollars and try to make that vision a reality.”
More specifically, CLD wants to prepare more students academically for their future endeavors and make sure they understand the power of getting an education. Additionally, Bland would like to make the CLD experience accessible to more people by expanding to satellite locations. Currently, all of their programming occurs at 2425 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St.
“I’ve heard people say that CLD only serves students who are going to make it anyway,” he said. “My response to that is CLD is open to everyone. We want to help every young person succeed. If you want to succeed come and avail yourself to our programs.”
