The late Reverend Leon H. Sullivan founded OIC in 1964. The “sixties” was a turbulent time in the history of Philadelphia and other urban cities as African-Americans and other minorities voiced their anger and staged visible protests about the lack of opportunities in their communities. In response to this unrest, Reverend Sullivan and 400 ministers researched the situation and determined that companies in Philadelphia were refusing to open their doors to minority applicants, thus triggering what was then termed “selective patronage”. When those same companies realized the economic impact the boycott was having, they “modified” their positions.

However, access did not automatically ensure success as it was realized that in order for people to take advantage of the job opportunities, they first had to be qualified educationally, vocationally, motivationally and attitudinally, thus the concept of OIC and the “holistic” approach to training and personal development was born. Even without government funding, Reverend Sullivan was able to open the first training site at 19th & Oxford Streets in North Central Philadelphia. From that modest beginning in an old abandoned jailhouse, OIC evolved into a national and international education and training model of demonstrated effectiveness, boasting of having served over 3 million people worldwide and 60,000 in Philadelphia since its inception. Under the philosophical banner of “Helping People Help Themselves”, OIC has been moving people from welfare to work, from tax dependent to taxpayer and from homelessness to homeownership for 40 years. The legacy of Reverend Leon H. Sullivan and the concept of OIC is alive and well in Philadelphia and throughout world communities.

This is no more evident than in Philadelphia where the “prototype” maintains its fidelity to the founding mission and philosophy as promulgated by Reverend Sullivan. Our mission is to assist the unemployed, the underemployed, the homeless, and disadvantaged youth and adults to achieve self-sufficiency and empowerment, primarily through education, training, job placement, and through supportive human services, housing and economic development.