Great news! CEF’s very own Michael Wood is being honored by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce during their 2013 Salute to Community Heroes!
Mike received the award for Volunteer of the Year from the Chamber. We are so proud and deeply thankful for Mike’s leadership within CEF and our community. He is such a gift and has had an amazing impact on many CEF members.
Join us at the celebration Thursday, December 12th from 6pm-8pm at the University Mall main stage.
CEF recently received one of the highest honors any organization could possibly aspire to achieve — one of the members of CEF’s program nominated us for an award! We were truly humbled by her nomination — first, that she thought highly enough of her personal experience with CEF to nominate us, and secondly, because the essay she submitted with her nomination is truly beautiful.
Beloved, a really and truly lovely member of the CEF community, wrote a nomination for the Lamplighter Award, a humanitarian award given annually by 103.9 FM “The Light,” a local gospel radio station. And still even more amazing, CEF was selected as a finalist for the award! Beloved represented CEF at the black-tie event on Saturday! We are truly and deeply honored by Beloved’s nomination and the opportunity to be considered for the award. The Rogers Eubanks Neighborhood Association won the final award for their great work for racial and environmental justice in Orange County. We are delighted to have been included in such great company!
Beloved’s beautiful essay is included in its complete form here. Thank you, Beloved, for your leadership, care and commitment!
“Community Empowerment Fund is a non-profit organization serving the people of Orange and Durham Counties. Co-founded by Jon Young and Maggie West, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduates, CEF’s foundation principle is preserving human and civil rights in the community. CEF connects current UNC and Duke Students who choose to volunteer their time in the organization, with individual members in the community who are seeking aid in any manner. CEF trains its advocates and volunteers, preparing them to serve people with the same dedication and principles it possessed at the opening of Community Empowerment Fund in 2009. Today, CEF is a thriving place, aiding folks of all ages and races, celebrating one another’s differences and empowering them to live above their circumstances.
“CEF is proud of people. People of all walks of life are welcomed. This organization offers a multitude of community resources to help and assist people in their time of need, whatever and however one may need. CEF is a place where individuals come to receive free services such as job seeking assistance, resume building, computer skills classes, cooking classes, sponsored plots in a local garden, along with the seeds and the necessary education needed in order to plant and harvest. CEF has weekly Opportunity Classes where several topics are out in the open, discussed across a meeting table, where coffee and pastries are served along with the uplifting, soul searching conversation. All input is welcome and received; it is a place to speak your mind and listen, a place to sit and build structure into one’s life. Papers are handed out on issues such as conflict at work, budgeting, among many other pertinent, life skill subjects, much needed in our society at hand. Once a member has completed the 8 sessions and reached their savings goal, they are eligible to receive a savings match in their CEF account of 10%. Community Empowerment Fund is built on providing people with the tools they need to be financially independent.
“The most powerful component of CEF is their belief that relationship is the starting point. Advocates are thoughtfully paired with individuals seeking membership and those relationships are brought together in concise ways, acting as friendships over a long period of time; multiple years. The relationships that are provided and strengthened offer peace and trust, where people have lacked it. Accountability is brought to the surface in a pleasant and mature process of ups and downs, and the acceptance therein. Support is offered, cell phone numbers are openly and easily exchanged. One wonders why they ever sought therapy and paid out of pocket for it, when human affairs are exchanged and treated so civilly. Likewise, attention is given foremost to the person who walks in, whether they are homeless, in a shelter, or in stable housing. Fare is given for those in need of public transportation to get to where they are going. Questions are not asked. Phone lines and internet lines are open and awaiting individuals who walk in who need them. Anything that would benefit a member is sought and found by their advocate or the founders.
“‘A tool shop for humanity,’ one could call it. An aversion from the norm. “True southern hospitality”, is perhaps what Community Empowerment Fund embodies. Biblical truth is what is represented and acted out. Works, works, and more works, all outlined in faith, though they are not a faith-based organization. Certainly, they attract many believers and probably turn more people into one than some churches. For one long time member whose iron count went low, a weekly box showed up at her doorstep, abounding with fresh produce from a local farm. Who made this happen? Her advocate and CEF’s co-founder, with their connection to a farmer food share. Another member with a medical issue and no transportation was supported to own her own car with CEF’s partnership with a local car donation organization and through building her CEF Safe Savings Account.
“All around, CEF enables empowerment among the peoples, and is always seeking out more ways to applaud their members who they so diligently support. Eradicating homelessness is their anthem, providing aid to live one’s life to its fullest is their mission.”
Malcolm pictured above after successfully saving to purchase a vehicle through Wheels4Hope!
This letter was written to CEF by Malcolm, one of the wonderful members of our Durham program. Malcolm is truly an inspiration to all of us and has an incredible story to share — one that beautifully demonstrates the value of both advocate relationships and community partnerships in CEF’s work. Thank you, Malcolm, for your leadership.
Dear CEF,
On the 14th of October 2012, I arrived at Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD). I was homeless, penniless, jobless, completely computer illiterate, troubled, angry, and battling a life of substance abuse.
I joined the Hope Recovery-Journey Outreach program at UMD in order to battle the substance abuse because I needed help to conquer the addiction to drugs and alcohol, for, at this point, my life was totally unmanageable and I knew that I was powerless over the drugs and alcohol.
While I was in the Hope Recovery Program at UMD, they introduced me to a few other programs, which have helped me tremendously along the way. One of those programs was the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF).
I first met with Janet, Chad and Alice [CEF student volunteers from Duke University], who introduced me to the laptop computer for the first time in my life. They told me to attend six classes and I could actually buy a computer for $130.00. So I started going to the classes every Saturday in the UMD cafeteria. The CEF staff were excellent teachers. They taught myself and the rest of the people in the class something new every week. At the end of the six weeks, I knew how to type, space, punctuate etc. By the time I was presented with my computer, I had learned enough to go to Durham Economic Resource Center (DERC) and enroll in college at Durham Technical College, where I took some advanced courses in computers. With the use of my new computer from CEF I was also able to sit with the CEF group on Saturdays and fill out applications online, surf the web, Google, text, email and things of that nature.
The honest truth is, because of CEF, today I am working at MERCK as Production Management Assistant/Logistics in Kanban. This deals mostly with computers. Sort of like a miracle, you know?
I still meet with CEF on Saturdays–not as often as I should, but I will improve on that. When we meet we work on things like employment income, barriers to income, finances, and health. For instance, they help me to find the proper health care provider and things of that nature.
Thank you CEF. You are truly a Community Empowerment. You have certainly Empowered my mind. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and because you have put something positive on my mind, I have one year and two months of uninterrupted SOBRIETY.
Thank You All at CEF. So many of you have given of your time and effort to help me, so many friends, too numerous to mention, your vibration is Positive. Thanks again.
Truly Yours,
Malcolm Clemens
CEF Member
All of us have been hearing about the cookie cakes that Erin and Kevin have been crafting up in the CEF office, so we decided to meet up with them and talk about their experience with CEF thus far and growth of their relationship since being paired.
How did you find out about CEF?
Kevin: I’m in a Freedom House and one of the things we have to go through is an orientation, and they tell you about the organizations that will help us, and CEF is one of them.
Erin: Somewhere along the line signed up for the listserv and was getting emails the whole semester while I was abroad, actually, and I was like “This sounds really awesome!” It’s the one [listserv] that I didn’t unsubscribe from, so I decided I’d check it out whenever I got back to Chapel Hill, which was last semester and I’ve been involved ever since.
What were your first impressions of CEF?
Kevin: I think it was a good impression because they helped me with my resume right off the top, and they were always willing to go above and beyond to help. Whatever I needed done, they helped me with it was.
Erin: It was awesome, with everything that’s happening here… a little overwhelming my first time in the office, just like all the things CEF does, which is what makes it so awesome, but at the same time it’s like, “Wow, we can help people get cell phones, transportation, housing, and all these things. How is it possible to do all this? I know nothing.” But then you learn it’s all a learning process and everyone is kind of in it together.
What kind of relationships have you built within CEF?
Kevin: That’s a good question that I can answer off the top. It’s like having a family, where you really cherish someone. I cherish the fact that I can come here and look forward to seeing Erin; she helps me out tremendously. As well as Jon, Sarah, Daniella, and everyone here is really helpful, and I look forward to coming here.
Erin: The same goes for me, both in the relationships that I have with other Advocates and Members as well. They’re so strong because they’re based on such deep compassion for issues… like helping people, and working through very real life problems, and the nature of those relationships is what makes them so strong and unique. Specifically, in working with Kevin, the things that we’ve been working through and talking about, I learn just as much from him as he does from me, so it’s mutually beneficial for sure.
Do you have any advice for Advocates and Members who come to CEF?
Kevin: My advice to anyone coming here would be to just lay down all your cards on the table, let them know what you want, what you’re looking for, what your goals are, and try to build a relationship from there. Do the footwork and everything else will fall into place.
Erin: I think Kevin said it perfectly, it’s all about the relationships really, and you kind of have to let your guard down sometimes and put it all out on the table. It’s all about getting to know the other person that you’re working with and seeing how you can help each other.
Do you have a favorite CEF moment(s)?
Kevin: Yes, I do. I think it was last week that I asked Erin to come to one of my meetings, as I’m in a recovery program. She told me she that would come and she shocked me and came up with another CEF participant… that overwhelmed me and I was filled with joy, almost having tears in my eyes. That was my favorite one by far.
Erin: Honestly, I think that’s been my favorite too. That was a really awesome experience to take things outside of the office and be present in a different space and witness other people that are experiencing different kinds of problems and it’s a whole different kind of support group. Like CEF is a support group, and it’s such an awesome thing to see the way that people are people are able to work together and help each other through their problems. There was a guy in the meeting that was clearly struggling a lot, and someone else in the meeting was like “Come talk to me after this, I want to help you, we can work through this, we’re here for you,” and that’s really what it’s all about.
Do you have any goals as you continue working with CEF?
Kevin: I’m open to new suggestions every day, and like I tell Erin all the time, I’m new here in Chapel Hill and any time I’m around people and they’re trying to help, I’m trying to better myself everyday. Only thing I can do is take good advice and I’m sure I’m in the right place with Erin. Erin has been my #1 supporter and my #1 friend, and she helps me line up jobs and applications because I’m clueless on the computer. My goal is to fix what’s broken in my life.
Erin: My personal goals are your personal goals and whatever you want to accomplish, I want to accomplish.
Kevin with his masterfully crafted cookie cake.
Sarah in her spiffy polo!
We got a chance to sit down with Sarah Cohn, CEF’s first AmeriCorps VISTA, to talk about the growth of her involvement and where she is now. We’re incredibly happy and lucky to have her, as she’s been an amazing asset to the CEF family!
How did you get involved with CEF, how did it all begin?
It all began when I was studying abroad actually, which doesn’t sound like it makes much sense. I got an email on the Spanish Minor listserv about doing CEF Latino and responded to it, planning to get involved with that once I got back. I met Linda over that summer and then I started doing CEF Latino business classes that summer and continued doing them that fall. Then I saw how cool the rest of CEF was and wanted to get involved in the bigger picture.
How would you describe your time with CEF while still an undergrad? How did your involvement develop?
At first I was just doing CEF Latino– at that point CEF Latino was not very connected to the rest of CEF and so I mainly just went to the small business classes and went to CEF Latino meetings every week. I started meeting with a member Sonya during business classes and that was pretty much it- it was something I was involved in, but wasn’t spending a lot of time on it.
Linda asked me to apply for an open admin position as CEF Latino Co-Coordinator, because she was working a fulltime job at that point, had graduated, and was very overstretched. I started getting a lot more involved when I started coming to admin meetings, which I previously didn’t know existed and [began] learning about the rest of CEF.
Clearly you’ve had a good time with CEF since you’ve decided to continue your work after graduation. What motivated you to work for CEF full time and were there any hesitancies?
Last year, my senior year, was the first time I started spending a lot of time in the CEF office and I just really liked it. I wasn’t that fearful working full time for CEF, because I know it was something I love doing… spending time in the office, working with Members, and working with other people in CEF.
I really wasn’t that worried about it. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after graduation. For a long time I did not want to stick around and anyone who knew me last year knows that I preached a lot about leaving Chapel Hill. It kind of dawned on me one time that I could do the AmeriCorps position with CEF and it was just a great opportunity
Did someone bring up the possibility of working for CEF?
People did– I remember people joking about it. I was one of the few people graduating that did not have plans. They told me I should do it and I literally laughed in their faces the first couple time, saying, “No, no I’m leaving.” I don’t know what happened it was seriously one day I was like “Wait I could do this!” It went from being a joke to a possibility, then reality.
What is your position within CEF?
My position is Member-Advocate Coordinator, and that means working to support Members and Advocates and their relationships. There are two other student volunteers who are also Member-Advocate Coordinators and the three of us work together to pair members and advocates and follow up with those relationships and make sure they’re going well. My job is to spend a lot more time in the office and keep an eye out for possible pairings, and also just provide structure and support to teams and everything that involves Advocates.
What are some goals you have for the year?
Technically I have a VISTA Assignment Description that lists the goals that I have to accomplish this year, which they call a VAD. So my main goal for CEF is to accomplish everything on my VAD. A big part of that is redefining the Advocate program, especially in terms of training and support for advocates. So, one of my main goals right now is to create a better training for Advocates, and throughout all of that make what I’m doing sustainable for the next year. One of the main goals of VISTAs anyway is to build capacity, and make it so that they’re not needed within a couple years.
I definitely want to develop myself professionally, just because this is my first full time job. Just working on skills that are necessary for lots of jobs like speaking, grant writing, and things like that.
Do you have a favorite CEF moment(s)?
One thing I love the most about CEF is that a lot of things that you would expect to be awkward aren’t awkward. So, working with people that are older than you, that have a lot more experience than you, and offering them financial advice, you’d expect these interactions to be awkward and sometimes offensive, but 99% of the time it’s not. Members are really open too since they came to CEF for advice like that, so I’m always impressed with Members.
I don’t know if there is one particular moment- most of the things that I’m thinking about are when Members find jobs or something exciting happens for a Member and everyone in the office is really excited. It’s an accomplishment for everyone and people are so genuinely happy for the person, like when people meet savings goals and that’s cause for celebration.
By Olivia & Chiraayu
Over the weekend of October 10th to 12th, five brave CEF-ers took a fateful journey into the heart of Pennsylvania to meet some of their institutional role models. After seven hours in the car together (during which Chiraayu caught up on lots of sleep, Jon caught up on lots of Bo-Berry biscuits, and Emerson, Maggie, and Olivia engaged in enriching conversation) the group of five arrived first in Lancaster, the charming town that TABOR calls home.
TABOR is a non-profit organization that has been working in the Lancaster community for several decades, performing many functions such as financial education, housing assistance, and saving services. CEF has had its eye on TABOR for a few years now, primarily because of their well-developed and successful protective payee system and IDA savings program. The kind employees at TABOR gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of their facilities, shared their philosophy with us, and more than anything else, provided us with a concrete vision of what a young organization like CEF can become.
Following an afternoon in Lancaster, we headed north to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to attend the annual Lend for America Summit, where we had the opportunity to engage with fellow campus-based microfinance organizations. This year’s summit brought over 200 people from 53 universities across 26 states. Lend for America was started in 2010 to provide more support to students practicing microfinance and community development. CEF was one of the original members of Lend for America and sends students to present and collaborate with fellow students at each yearly gathering. This year, Emerson and Jon gave a presentation titled “Unbanked in America, while Maggie discussed community assets as an integral component of community development. Jon also had the opportunity to talk to tech nerds about Salesforce.
The weekend involved as much learning as it did teaching. We had the opportunity to learn from our peers from universities like Fordham, Yale, and Tulane about recruitment, retention, taxes (getting excited about them!), and organizational identity. The conference gave us the chance to connect with other students from the South and develop greater potential for collaboration. We loved conversations with students from UNC Greensboro and Elon, who are looking to start their own community development organizations, as well as with University of Alabama representatives who have a well-established MFI. There were many chances for reflection on CEF’s direction for the future and new programs that align with our mission.
Furthermore, we had the chance to reunite with CEF’s 2012 summer intern, Peter Woo, who has since started a campus microfinance initiative at Notre Dame. We’re pleased to report that Peter seems to be doing splendidly, and JIFFI (Jubilee Initiative for Financial Inclusion) is off to an excellent start. (And what would a conference be without good food? The food was dope. A huge shout out to the delicious cupcakes, soft pretzels, pizza, and wings that were enjoyed this weekend!)
A monthly column by CEF’s very own:
Mike Wood
Mike recognizing Olivia for her commitment to Opportunity Class
I thought it might be a good time to speak on something that I really should know a little something about. That would be the Opportunity Class, for which it has been my supreme good fortune to be involved with right from its very inception. The goal for the class then as it is now is to give our members the information we think helpful in the transitioning out of poverty and homelessness.
Any successful endeavor requires a vision of how you wish for things to turn out. Mine was to use the principals set forth in the 12 step programs and adapt them in a way that might achieve our goal of transitioning our members from the fringes of society and back into the mainstream. In other words to help them to acquire the knowledge and the motivation to seek a more meaningful and abundant life. Financial independence, self-reliance and enhanced self esteem being chief among the many goals I had established for the group.
Having overcome poverty and homelessness in my own life I have always been keenly aware of the need to keep the topics and curriculum relevant to the members and where they are collectively in their personal lives. Though my results have all been positive I am mindful that others may require a different strategy for their own recovery. I would like to think that the results for the majority of our members have all been positive.
As in the 12 step model we place great emphasis on honesty and personal responsibility because I believe that only by confronting the mistakes of our past can we hope to take full advantage of the present. There is great power that is unleashed when a group of people get together to try to help one another. I have also come to believe that no one can help a homeless person as much as another homeless or formerly homeless individual. But having said that, the real secret to the success of the class lies in the many advocates that give of their time to support and encourage the members through what can be very discouraging and challenging times. To that end I am always trying combine what we do in the class with the efforts of the advocates.
I can report that we have gone from averaging about 5 members a class to now when the average is better than 15. I would like to presume that this growth is indicative of the fact that my vision was correct. I know that we have helped an awful lot of people but none more than me. If all our members get as much out of the class as I have then I guess that we soon will become famous. But before I prepare for my interview with 60 Minutes I will continue to be open minded about ways that we can improve the effectiveness of the curriculum and how I deliver the message of optimism and empowerment.
Lately I have placed a greater emphasis on discussion and hearing the members share their experience strength and hope for the future. I am confident that the class will continue to evolve and become even more relevant to the needs of our members. It has certainly been the greatest privilege ever bestowed upon me to take part in helping to develop this program.
As always I will continue to suggest to our members that they consider making changes as opposed to excuses. And although there is no way that we can hope to carry the message to all that need to hear it, it sure has been fun trying. We can’t hope to get to every member that attends but maybe we can plant a seed that will bare fruit later on down the road for them.
by Krunal Amin
In a series of conversations with CEF members during the past few weeks, I was surprised to learn just how large of a delivery gap there is between the healthcare resources offered to those who are financially disadvantaged and the number of people who are actually positively affected by these resources. One member, who recently moved to the Chapel Hill community, told us that she often has no choice but to go to the emergency room whenever she has issues with her asthma – a common chronic condition that can usually be well controlled with drugs. When asked about her medication, she reported that the Piedmont Clinic in Carrboro filled out a prescription for her – but the medication ended up costing her around $90 so she never even bothered to pick it up. As for the cost of her multiple emergency room visits? She has a stack of bills from the hospital adding up to over $5000 that she simply can’t afford and doesn’t know how she plans on paying off. Had she known about the UNC Health Care Pharmacy Assistance Policy, she could have completed an application to prove that she qualified for financial assistance and ultimately could have reduced her $90 prescription to a much more manageable $4 co-payment, thus allowing her to not only have access the to the medication she needs to stay health but also potentially saving her thousands of dollars in medical bills. Unfortunately, applications to programs such as UNC Charity Care and Pharmacy Assistance are not always the most user-friendly forms to fill out as there are often many hoops to jump through to prove that you qualify. Additionally, many of the members we spoke with were unaware of other avenues they could be using to get better care.
In his bestselling novel, The Checklist Manifesto, surgeon and healthcare reform expert Atul Gawande points out that “medical innovation is less about discovering new inventions than it is about properly executing the ones we already have.” CEF Health is an initiative that aims to do just that by employing advocates to better connect our members to the resources they need to stay healthy. Over the course of the semester, our team has been working to compile all the healthcare resources available for financially disadvantaged members in the community. Our goal in the coming months is to train advocates in what resources are out there and how to access them in order to use them as health navigators for CEF members who are struggling to get the quality, affordable healthcare they deserve. We are excited to get this initiative off the ground, and hope that anyone interested will join us!
|
||
by Quinn Holmquist
CEF-Durham Co-Coordinator
Ricky, a CEF-Durham Member and Drew, an Advocate, hanging out at our end-of-year celebration last spring
Of all the weather-related metaphors I could make about my work with CEF this year, a rainstorm seems most pertinent – sometimes heavy, always reminding me that life is neither fair nor comfortable, and refreshing for precisely those reasons.
In August, Anne Yeung (Duke ’14) and I became the Co-Coordinators for CEF-Durham. Since then, we’ve settled into something of a rhythm: weekly meetings with community partners and various members of our Admin Team, outreach into the Duke community, fielding calls to the CEF-Durham phone line, hanging out with Members and with one another. I’ve never really had a “job” before, but my position right now is as close as I’ve gotten. How fortunate am I, to have my first job experience doing work that I actually want to do with my life!
Wait, what? you might be asking. There’s two different CEF’s? How is CEF in Durham different from CEF in Chapel Hill?
Good questions. Let me catch you up on what’s been going down at CEF-Durham.
CEF: A Short History
…which brings us to today.
Where We’re Going
Outsiders think we’re kidding, but you all know that I’m not when I say that the coolest people in town hang out with CEF. CEF-Durham is composed of Members, Advocates, Board Members, an Admin Team, and community partners, all of whom both push CEF-Durham forward and encourage us to step back and reflect.
A few examples:
What Guides Us
We naïve, visionary idealists (some call us college students) at CEF have a tendency to move forward with lots of ideas, lots of enthusiasm and only a little bit of a plan. As such, at CEF-Durham, we’re engaged in continued conversation with the whole CEF community, reflecting on what we do well already and how it can be made even better. From these conversations have sprung our overarching goals:
It’s with these goals in our minds and in our hearts that we at CEF-Durham find direction.
It’s from these friendships, in community, that we derive our strength.
It’s from one another that we learn
And it is the rainstorm of CEF-Durham – the sometimes-overwhelming struggles we take on with our Members, the frustrating delays, the hard-fought successes – that puts our existences in the Duke bubble into (or blows them out of) perspective.
It’s from the rainstorm of CEF that we grow.
