CEF member Audrey Boyles takes Tommy’s blood pressure as Alex Almeter holds an informative blood pressure guide.

This past Friday, CEF members Audrey Boyles, Alex Almeter, and Matt Givens organized a blood pressure screening event in the office.

The event provided CEF with the opportunity to evaluation client’s blood pressure, educate about the importance of maintaining a normal blood pressure, and enroll attendees in a primary health care service.

We were able to screen 4 clients and discovered most of their blood pressures are normal. All 4 received a basic worksheet that defines blood pressure, details the consequences of hypertension, and answers common questions. As well, we recommended each attendee make an appointment with one of the health care providers below.

Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC) – free, accept undocumented immigrants

Home

301 Lloyd St.
Carrboro, NC 27510
5:30 – 8pm every Wednesday

Phone: 919-843-6841, expect to leave a message

Piedmont Health (Carrboro Community Health Center) – sliding scale, accept undocumented immigrants

http://www.piedmonthealth.org/carrboro

301 Lloyd St.
Carrboro, NC 27510
Monday: 8am – 8pm Thursday: 8am – 8pm
Tuesday: 9am – 5pm Friday: 8am – 5pm
Wednesday: 8am – 5pm Saturday: 8am – 1pm

Phone: 919-933-8494

For your first appointment with a sliding scale plan, you need to bring:
1. Proof of income for every household member (paycheck stub, copy of tax form, bank statement)
2. Proof of residence
3. Evidence of health/dental insurance (if any)
4. A picture ID

Once a Member, Always a Member: CEF Alumni Association
The CEF Alumni Association launched this month! The Association consists of members who have graduated from one or more of CEF’s programs and desire to stay involved. Our purpose is to keep building communities and to create a network of ongoing support for all of us as we strive towards our dreams. We are here to help, listen, support, advocate and connect with CEF members. We will plan social gatherings to keep the alumni connections strong, including cook-outs, group hugs, meet-and-greets, presentations, and outings. Together, we will keep each other informed and offer advice and positive reinforcement. The Alumni Association will help our fellow members to succeed. Become a member today! Contact co-chairs Equashia Mumeen and Tommy Owens

On Tuesday October 11th, CEF will be co-sponsoring a Candidates Forum (in partnership with CURB, EmPOWERment, The Jackson Center, NAACP and Neighbors for Responsible Growth). All nine of this year’s Town Council Candidates will be participating in this event, answering questions on issues ranging from race to affordable housing to homelessness. This is a great opportunity both to make our voices heard and to educate ourselves on the positions of those who may be making the big decisions in this town in the years to come.

All CEF Members and Advocates are highly encouraged to attend. The Forum will be held at St. Joseph’s (510 West Rosemary Blvd) from 6:30 to 8:30. We hope to see you there!

CEF sends our thanks to our beloved Duke summer intern, Janet Xiao, for sharing her experience with the Duke University community by blogging about her experience with CEF!

Read Janet’s whole testimony here. Once you have read it, I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to resist getting involved and joining the CEF team in Durham.

Here are just a short preview of her post…

“CEF devotes a sizable chunk of time to building community because we believe that true, meaningful empowerment requires more than dishing out a bundle of services. It is found in “deep, genuine relationships.” In practice this means just hanging out, catching up, encouraging each other, cracking (often bad) jokes, sharing stories, drinking coffee, partaking in monthly dinners, hosting lots of parties, attending memorials… basically, being a community.

“In CEF, I feel that I have found what I was looking for: a way to steward the resources that I have been given in a way that brings good to others, while simultaneously forming a meaningful friendship that extends so much further beyond a “client relationship.” I’ve heard stories that have inspired and saddened me, I’ve been forgiven seventy times seven, and I’ve witnessed some amazing selflessness and generosity.”

Thank you for all your work this summer, Janet, and for continuing your work with CEF throughout your senior year at Duke. It is going to be a great year!

The following beautiful letter was recently submitted by our dear and beloved CEF member, Ms. Aneice McClary. Aneice has been a joy to get to know through the savings program and is making incredible progress towards her goals. Aneice, thank you for inspiring all of us!

“The Community Empowerment Fund is a lifeline to financial freedom. I believe as my Pastor says, “When you know better- you will do better.” CEF’s definitive goal is to equip you with enough knowledge & resources to sufficiently aid in all efforts to create success/ security.

“Knowledge is indeed power. CEF has assisted in my empowerment beyond measure. My American dream is to epitomize the essence of self-sustainment. But I had to learn how. My very first lesson was to abandon my naïve notions regarding my debt, (ignoring them). Next it was necessary to dismantle my method of approach in dealings with my creditors (hiding from them). Finally, I simply had to mature. Through CEF, an eager sense of responsibility-accountability rose up within me—which prompted me into action. Hence, my ultimate race for the cure!

“I began my beloved financial “therapy” with CEF back in Mid-MAY of 2011. I continue to value our weekly classes. Each training course has become a catalyst for me to become efficiently sustained within the near future. Topics/ education on credit building/ re-building, budgeting, creditor negotiations, tracking cash expenses, pros & cons of credit card usages, pros & cons as consumers of banks & credit unions, debt ratios, overall financial planning that benefits our tomorrow- as in the importance of saving, (i.e. Savings Circle). Each class takes you one step closer to the realistic goal of debt relief and abounding financial health. Yet such a triumph could not occur without the assistance of the CEF staff & associates.

“The faces of CEF are remarkably dedicated to the individual client and their adjoining purpose. It is apparent within every interaction; their greatest concern is our success. I entered the program feeling helpless-believing my only viable solution toward debt relief would be to file bankruptcy. CEF gave me an alternate perspective; along with a second chance to clean up what was once defiled-my good name. For this I am forever grateful. Thanks CEF!”

*Sincerely submitted by:

Aneice McClary

By Swathi Sekar

I saw the picture below and it inspired me to blog! Proud of me, CEF Staff? (Making Swathi blog is like pulling teeth) I’ve been entirely spoiled with “CEF Love”. CEF has completely changed my perspective on how nonprofits should operate, and it’s going to make it really hard for me to find truly enjoyable work these next two years in Atlanta. I’m going to be searching for something that has as much collaboration, joint struggle, and shared successes as CEF, and it’s going to be hard. This summer was the first time, since the start of CEF in 2009 that I was able to stay in Chapel Hill and experience what a CEF summer is truly like. It’s overwhelmingly fun, sometimes emotional, and always a day-to-day learning experience. I learned how difficult teaching is; I learned the importance of being patient with seeing the results of hard work; I learned how CEF is much more than an organization, it’s a community. I’ve learned from my fellow Advocates and from all our Members at large. Everyone has a story, and CEF creates a safe place where people can share their stories, and grow. I’ve definitely grown, that’s for sure, and I have everyone who’s involved in CEF to thank for that. And, what college graduate gets the opportunity to work for an organization they LOVE, with people they LOVE, soon after graduation? This summer was an amazingly unique experience for me, and I will never forget it, and will miss it tremendously, but won’t be far away! I’m excited to hear about all the great things that come out of CEF in these next couple years, and I will forever stay a CEF Member Advocate.

By Amanda Abbott

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CEF client Amanda Abbott hard at work in the CEF office