Archive | Events

CEF Graduation and 10 Year Celebration at the Northside Festival!

By on 3/31/19 in Events, General, Highlight
RSVP Here!

Come together and celebrate graduating CEF Members and Advocates and all that is Northside—past, present, and future. All are welcome, free for the whole community! All members of the CEF and the greater community — Members, Advocates, family, friends, supporters, fans, partners, and neighbors. Join CEF graduates, enjoy delicious food, and sing-along and dance-along with the CEF community!

At 2pm we’ll gather in the St Joseph Church at 510 W Rosemary St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Rides Available: Chapel Hill, call (919) 200-0233

Sew your square into our community quilt, plant spring annuals to take home, enjoy old-school field games—and kick up your heels to Bubba Norwood and Harvey Dalton Arnold rocking out the blues, the revival of the Jr Weaver Gospel Singers (featuring knock-your-socks-off recording artist, Sheila Caldwell Evans), and a surprise banjo picking guest—

Bring a chair, lend a hand. For more info, call or write the Marian Cheek Jackson Center at 919-960-1670, contact@jacksoncenter.info.

FOOD
Rev. Troy Harrison Honorary Pig Pickin’ w/ Parrish Bros. Farm

HOMEGROWN TALENT
— Rockin’ Blues w/ Bubba Norwood & Harvey Dalton Arnold
— The Jr. Weaver Gospel Singers on stage again!
— MEGA Praise
— St. Paul’s Step Team
— OC Jammers
— CEF Advocacy Choir

FUN AND GAMES
— Community Quilting
— Spades Tourney
— BIG TRUCKS
— Old Fashion Field Games!
— Dancing in the street!

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SUMMIT ON HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY 2019

By on 2/3/19 in Chapel Hill, Durham, Events, General, Highlight

March 01 – March 03

CEF student Advocates at UNC and Duke are working together to convene the Abundance: Summit on Homelessness and Poverty 2019 on March 1-3. The Summit is bringing together over 100 students from across the country to think critically about the intersections of homelessness and poverty in the U.S., share experiences and workshop our organizational impact in our communities, and ultimately build a coalition of student organizations dedicated to addressing and dismantling systems that perpetuate hunger, homelessness, and poverty. The full Summit is at capacity but two keynotes and two events are open to the public!

Events Open to the Public

  • March 3rd 12:00pm – Jillian Johnson – CEF Summit Closing Keynote
    Jillian Johnson is giving the closing Keynote at the Summit! She is the Mayor Pro Tempore of the city of Durham, the co-founder of Durham for All, an organization working to build a multi-racial, cross-class, political vehicle in Durham, and a long-time community organizer and activist.  Click here for more details!

Last year, students at Brown University held the first inaugural Summit on Homelessness and Poverty. In doing so, they brought together a coalition of student organizations from across the country dedicated to dismantling systems that perpetuate hunger, homelessness, and poverty.

This year, CEF is partnering with UNC and Duke to host the Summit.  We look forward to welcoming students to our campus from across the country to engage in these critical topics.

Learn More
Students from the 2018 Summit!
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CEF Holiday Parties

By on 11/18/18 in Chapel Hill, Durham, Events, Highlight

You’re Invited: 9th Annual Holiday Parties in both Durham and Chapel Hill.

Who: All members of the CEF (extended) family — members, advocates, family, friends, supporters, fans, partners, and neighbors

Rides Available: Chapel Hill, call (919) 200-0233; Durham, call (919) 797-9233

RSVP for Durham Party!

Wednesday, December 5th from 6pm – 8pm
Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church, 927 W Trinity Ave, Durham, NC

RSVP for Chapel Hill Party!

Saturday, December 8th from 5pm – 8pm
Chapel of the Cross, 304 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC

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CEF Hosting 2019 Summit On Housing & Homelessness

By on 11/7/18 in Chapel Hill, Durham, Events, Highlight, Housing

MARCH 1-3, 2019

Last year, students at Brown University hosted the inaugural Summit on Homelessness and Poverty in Providence, Rhode Island—bringing together a coalition of student organizations from across the country dedicated to dismantling systems that perpetuate hunger, homelessness, and poverty.

This year, CEF advocates at UNC and Duke are excited to welcome student organizers to North Carolina for the second Summit on Homelessness and Poverty. We see Duke and UNC as partners in addressing poverty and gentrification in the Triangle, and we hope that our two schools can be at the forefront of national student action to prevent homelessness. We are looking forward to continuing the conversations we started last year at Brown and to strengthening relationships with student organizers across the country.

Interested in learning more about the intersectional reality of poverty in the United States? Want to learn more about the anti-poverty work of other student organizations around the country?

Join us by:

  1. Registering: Click Here
  2. Purchasing Tickets: Click Here

More information at  https://summitatcef.wixsite.com/abundance

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CEF’s Night Out – Nov 14th!

By on 11/2/18 in Chapel Hill, Events, Highlight
RSVP Here

CEF’s Night Out — Nov 14th, 5pm-11pm!

CEF Members have saved $1,000,000 collectively(communityef.org/1-million/), and we’re continuing the celebration at Steel String!  Join us for a benefit night at Steel String for an evening of amazing food, drinks, discussion and musical guests!
Proceeds from the night go to CEF ( $5 suggested donation!)

5pm – Community Philosophy Time!
6pm – Rachel Despard
7pm – Kate Rhudy
8pm – Tain

Come to Philosophy Time at 5pm to join a community discussion about issues connected to CEF’s work. We will be discussing Housing First, and its implications nationally and locally. Check out these articles for background reading:

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$1,000,000 Dollars Saved!

By on 10/31/18 in Awards, CEF Advocacy Choir, Events, General, Highlight, Savings, Videos

🐖One giant pig. One million dollars saved.💰

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the Piggy Bank Bash to celebrate CEF Members’ amazing accomplishment last night. We’re proud to be part of such an amazingly supportive community and extremely thankful for all of the warmth and encouragement shared and received last night. We’re also filled with gratitude at the generosity of Grub, who generously hosted and fed us all for free, and all of our West End neighbors and friends, who pitched in with raffle prizes ( Pauli Murray Project, The Cookery, and Steel String  ) and supplying a sound system (the Durham Co-op Market 🎤).

Partners from Families Moving Forward, Self-Help, Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, Vimala’s Curryblossom Café also came out and shared their support in full force! If you want to continue partying it up with CEF this year, we hope to see you at Steel String on Wed, November 14 at CEF’s Night Out at Steel String

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2018 Orange County Affordable Housing Summit Report

By on 10/28/18 in CEF Advocacy, CEF Research & Publications, Chapel Hill, Events, Highlight, Housing

In February, over 175 community leaders showed up to the Orange County Affordable Housing Summit last to learn about the state of the affordable housing crisis! It was an amazing opportunity to build a shared understanding and collaborate in developing real solutions to increase housing access and affordability in this community!

This month, the official Summit Report was released by the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition. It’s an amazing resource that summarizes learning from the 2018 Summit, including the current state of affordable housing in Orange County, potential solutions to the affordable housing crisis, and information from community partners on affordable housing projects! Learn more at  housingorange.org .

Download the Summit Report!
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Piggy Bank Bash – 2018 Celebration

By on 10/3/18 in Events, General, Highlight

When: Monday, October 29th, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Where: GRUB Durham, 1200 W Chapel Hill St, Durham, NC 27701

Ticket Price: $30 (100% donated to CEF)

Your $30 donation gets you a ticket to:(discounts for Members/Advocates/Students)

🥘A delicious GRUB Dinner (w/ vegan options) & 1 drink!
👂A chance to learn more about CEF’s work in housing and economic justice!
🎶Songs by the CEF Advocacy Choir!
🎉Hang out and celebrate with the CEF crew!
⁉ What’s in the box?! Find out the secret!
💸The best part? 100% of ticket proceeds go to CEF!

The first 30 folks to use “EARLYPIG” get $10 off the regular price!

We have an exciting secret to share! Join us on Monday, October 29th to support the innovative work of the Community Empowerment Fund through a fundraiser hosted by GRUB Durham. This will be a night of education, food, drink, and camaraderie. There will be ample opportunities to learn about CEF’s work and mission at the event while meeting CEF members, supporters, West End neighbors, and more.

100% of the ticket proceeds benefit CEF. Purchase tickets here. The GRUB Durham team looks forward to celebrating and supporting CEF’s continuing work with you!

About CEF: CEF supports over 1,000 Members in Durham and Orange Counties experiencing homelessness or financial insecurity to gain jobs, secure housing, and build savings. Founded in 2009, CEF coordinates hundreds of trained volunteer Advocates, primarily from area universities, to work alongside CEF Members towards achieving their personal goals.

Can’t make it to the party?

Sponsor a ticket for a CEF Member / Advocate! 

$

Event Location

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Financial Independence Day 2018

By on 6/24/18 in Chapel Hill, Durham, Events, General, Highlight
RSVP Here

Celebrate Community and Financial Independence

You are invited to CEF’s annual Financial Independence Day, Saturday, July 7th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Umstead Park in Chapel Hill! It’s a community cookout with fun activities to acknowledge and celebrate the fight for freedom from financial burden. We’d love for you to come and be a part of the:

  • Community Cookout: Chilli, Pasta Salad, Hot-dogs, Veggie Dogs!
  • Raffle with Prizes
  • Beautiful Crafts
  • A Showcase of talent! (poetry, song, dance, or anything else)
  • Expressing what financial independence means to you!

RSVP here: https://goo.gl/forms/oyBKbBNBXSJbXizI2

Photographs from Last Year’s Party!

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Maggie-We-Love-You Party

By on 6/5/18 in Advocate Story, Events, General, Highlight

“I just want you to hold on for a minute and live in the fullness of what it is to be a part of community—an endless and abundant family, with unbounded opportunities for connection. And to feel the way that each of our hearts is so connected, and that each of us is just so ready, to be loved and to love. That feeling is what I take away from my time at CEF and it’s the greatest gift of my life.”

— Maggie West, CEF Co-Founder & Co-Director 2009-2018

It was hard to find a dry eye at the “Maggie-We-Love-You” Party! On Saturday, June 2nd, CEFers gathered to celebrate almost 10 years of deep dedication and vision that Maggie has shared with the CEF community as Co-Founder and Co-Director.

The day was filled with so many mystical moments, imbued with meaning and drenched in love. Here are just some of our favorites:

  • A Community Yard Swap organized by Maggie’s family! Many of us brought treasures to share, and walked away with a bag or basket full of treasures that was new to us.  🎁
  • We co-created community art projects to chronicle beautiful time shared together—one a gift for Maggie, and one for display in our Chapel Hill office. We also put together a scrapbook with notes of appreciation and blessing for Maggie.  🎨
  • The Advocacy Choir sang one of Maggie’s favorites (Lift Every Voice and Sing), and wrote a special new song (based upon Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road”) to share our special blessing with Maggie!  🎶
  • The helpers of an anonymous Elf delivered to Maggie a gift from 30+ friends, family, and co-workers: a plane ticket to Peru! There, we hope that Maggie can get some well-deserved R&R, share time with her community there, and continue discerning the next steps in her journey!  ✈
  • We shared good food, including all kinds of offerings brought by guests, as well as some CEF party staples (like Maggie’s coleslaw recipe)!  🌭
  • In honor of the creative savings initiatives that Maggie has ideated at CEF, a real-life pig named Sugar made a celebrity appearance! 🐷
  • Maggie invited us to join hands, to be present with the fullness of CEF as a community. (See the video above!) 🧀❤

There is no greater way we can say thank you to Maggie for all that she has done at CEF, other than to lean into her invitation to “live in the fullness [of] what it is to be a part of community—an endless and abundant family, with unbounded opportunities for connection.” Thank you and we love you, Maggie! 

 

Special thanks to the Jackson Center, Bread & Butter, and to the countless people that showed and contributed to make this celebration so unforgettably special!

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CEF: Community Empowerment Fund
Chapel Hill: 919-200-0233 Durham: 919-797-9233

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