History
A lot has changed since 1964. Arnold Palmer no longer dominates golf. The Beatles will never again have 13 hit records at once. A gallon of gas doesn’t cost 30 cents anymore. And these days, families never gather around the black and white television to watch Sing Along With Mitch.
But there’s one thing that has stood the test of time since 1964 – SER National.
Originally called Operation SER, SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc. started in 1964 as a partnership between the American GI Forum, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Department of Labor. President Lyndon B. Johnson thought Operation SER was such a great idea that he included the program in his landmark War on Poverty legislation, and SER opened its first center in Houston, Texas in 1965.
Since its founding almost 50 years ago, SER National has fulfilled its promise of transforming lives and communities through education, employment and empowerment. Through its extensive network of world-class grassroots affiliates, SER has grown to serve over one million people each year, positively impacting the lives of pre-school children, youth, high school dropouts, dislocated or otherwise unemployed workers, and seniors.
Advancing equal opportunity for all segments of American society – that’s what SER has stood for from Day One. Watch our history unfold by clicking through the timeline.