Building Bridges Out of Poverty - UMFS

1 WINTER 2 0165 467 Where Are They Now? Chris BanksInnovation Insights: Integrated CareSystem of Care Supports Families in CrisisEncouraging Others to Give WiselyOfficial Newsletter Building BridgesOut of PovertyOUR CHAMPION:BRENDAMOSS2 THE CHAMPION Winter 2016 THE CHAMPION Winter 2016 3 The tragedy of my son s death, as painful as it was, gave me the courage to change the way I lived. It didn t matter to me anymore what anyone else thought I decided that life was worth living and that I wanted more for myself, Brenda explains. Brenda was ready to make a change in her life, but unsure where to , last February, she came across a flyer that advertised UMFS Bridges Out of Poverty program. Getting Ahead, a 15-week-long class, engages people living in Poverty and provides them with inspiration and tools for success. Brenda contacted Jamesia Harrison, UMFS community liaison and program facilitator, who helped her enroll in the course.

2 From the moment I picked up that phone and called Jamesia, I got nothing but unconditional support, Brenda says. Jamesia s goal was to give us another view of what our lives could be. She ingrained in us that failure is not an option. UMFS offers Bridges Out of Poverty in collaboration with the Park View Community Mission, an initiative that assists local families with food, health care, support groups and other community resources. The mission is a ministry of the Lynchburg District of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist was one of 14 students to participate in the initial Getting Ahead class. The group worked with Jamesia to investigate the impact pov-erty has had on them and on their community. Participants have access to a mentor during the 15-week class who supports them as they work through the curriculum. This program is designed for indi-viduals who are ready to see change and ready to do the work, explains Jamesia.

3 It s not just come in and sit down, have someone teach you. They do the work, they investigate, they do the research. Jamesia assigned one exercise to Brenda and her classmates early on in the class that required them to BRENDA MOSS WORKED ALL her life in Lynchburg, Virginia to support her three sons and one grandson. Over the years she worked as a nursing and medical assistant, a sales person for a large retailer, a factory worker and a line worker at a paper mill. She had always wanted to pursue a career path that gave her joy, but instead found herself focused on the daily demands of feeding her boys, paying the bills and keeping a roof over their heads. For so long I had to put my dreams on the back burner to take care of life it s just the way it was, Brenda August 2014, after she started a new job as a machine worker, Brenda began reading a book about the power of prayer.

4 That s when things started to come into focus for her. I slowly began to realize that this was not the life I had envisioned for myself, Brenda explains. Work-ing 12-hour shifts was not what I wanted to do anymore. Now that my children were grown, it was time to do something for me. Two weeks after she started her new job, tragedy struck. Her oldest son, Shawn, was shot and CHAMPION: BRENDA MOSS2 THE CHAMPION Winter 2016 THE CHAMPION Winter 2016 3 use clippings from magazines and newspapers to help visualize what their lives would look like in the future. Brenda explains, I remem-ber cutting out a nice chair, a chair that represented to me that I would be at rest when I finished the class. For the first month of the program, Brenda was still working long shifts as a machine operator by day and attending class at night. Brenda de-cided that while others were seeking to change their lives by finding a job, the changes she wanted to make could only be realized if she quit hers.

5 She did just that in March and began to focus full time on her new life. All of my life I ve been a person of great creativity, Brenda explains. I ve wanted to write books and express myself through different projects. Bridges provided the atmo-sphere for me to explore how I could turn my creativity and ideas into the life I wanted to lead. Since graduating from Getting Ahead last May, Brenda self- published two books and started a blog. She has pushed forward with entrepreneurship, starting Wear the Word T-shirts and The Lunch Run lunch and dinner service. She even developed her own class to teach program participants how to shop smart using coupons. Brenda now returns to the program as a graduate to teach current participants her Clippers Couponing also founded Shawn Moss Wellness and Growth, or SWAG, in honor of her late son. The founda-tion helps cover bills and expenses in the wake of a loved one s untimely death.

6 The foundation also is working to develop a fund to help send local students to science programs outside of Lynchburg so they can imagine what life looks like on the other side, as Brenda puts it. We just want the kids to know that there s a whole world out there for them and that anything is possible, she continues to support the program as it grows, impacting more OUR CHAMPION: BRENDA MOSSB ridges Out of Poverty is designed for individuals that are ready to see change and ready to do the work. Jamesia Harrison, UMFS community liaisonand more lives throughout Lynch-burg. She recently spoke on behalf of the program to the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce, saying, I learned through Bridges Out of Poverty that before I could change my life, I had to change my thinking. My thinking changed when I said I no longer want to work just to sur-vive I want to work to live.

7 Isn t that the American dream?Brenda Moss (left) shares a lighter moment at a Bridges Out of Poverty meeting at the Park View Community Harrison (left) with Brenda offers the Getting Ahead program three times a year. To see a video or learn how you can enroll in the program or sponsor a participant, visit 4 THE CHAMPION Winter 2016 THE CHAMPION Winter 2016 5 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Former Foster Child Pays It ForwardCHRIS BANKS FIRST CAME TO UMFS in 2010 as a participant in Project LIFE. He credits Project LIFE with teaching him how to advocate for himself and for his peers, and how to cooperate with people with backgrounds far different from his own. Project LIFE taught me how to speak my mind and how to help others. It gave me a new outlook. It helped me realize that my life, with all of its challenges, is not that bad and that I have the power to control my future, he returned to UMFS recently to talk to a group of boys at Charterhouse School.

8 His purpose with the talk, as he describes it, was to share some realities with the boys. These kids don t have the chance that often to hear directly from people who were in the same position they re in now, Chris explains. They don t get to see how they, too, can be successful and make a difference when they become adults. A Bright Future Ahead Chris is currently working two jobs to support himself. He s a greeter and server at Mission Barbeque and a front desk assistant at Crunch Fitness. In his free time, Chris trains people at the gym and plans to become a certified personal trainer. If that s not enough, Chris even has long-term plans to give back to the community. When I was growing up in the system, we used the word flex to describe what someone did when they were about to get into some kind of fight, Chris explains. It s my dream to turn that word on its head and start UFlex Athletics, an athletic pro-gram for at-risk youth to provide them a safe and constructive way to express themselves.

9 High School Senior Helps Students Fight BullyingMAGGIE LAUGHLIN ISN T A stranger to bullying. The 17-year-old senior at Central High School in Woodstock, VA has been the subject of rumors and bullying to the point where you have to understand that words do hurt and I was hurt a lot, Maggie said. Rather than focusing on the negative, Maggie chose to ignore the gossip and turn her experiences into something positive. She s been stopping by Charterhouse School Edinburg since September of last year to teach students in grades K-12 that bullying doesn t have to be tolerated in schools. Her lessons help the students understand the different kinds of bullying, including physical, verbal and cyber bullying. I think there is good in every single kid. All of them have a purpose. I want to help them find that purpose and help them realize that they are not alone and they all have a future, Maggie said.

10 Maggie Laughlin and Charterhouse School student, Kagen : Rich Cooley, The Northern Virginia Daily4 THE CHAMPION Winter 2016 THE CHAMPION Winter 2016 5 serves the social impact. She says these are things to look for when evaluating nonprofits for addition to challenging others to give to UMFS, Nancy also has some advice about donating. When we give money, we have a responsibility to give it in a place where it can be used well. Do your due diligence around whether the gift can cause new a real return on your investment. Make sure it s a place like UMFS with solid leader-ship, a great mission and a proven track record of getting things done. NANCY EBERHARDT HAS A 10-year connection with UMFS. She first came to us as a supplier of services, serving in a variety of roles and a variety of different strategic projects. Nancy recently made a stock gift to UMFS, with the hope of inspiring others to give.