Community Connection

The Southeast Missouri Area Reentry Team (SMART) is sponsoring a Reentry Conference titled “Bridging the Gap”. It will be held at Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau on March 26. Click here for a flyer which includes the registration form. For your convenience registration can be completed one of two ways. It can be faxed, or completed on-line. Simply follow the directions on the registration form. When your registration has been received, you will receive confirmation by email within 24 hours.

Registration is limited to 150 attendees, so register today! There is no cost for this opportunity to learn more about reentry in our region of the state.

The Reentry Opportunity Center continues to be open daily (M-F) from 1 – 4 pm. Offenders are welcome to come in and use the available resources to compose a cover letter and resume, search for job openings and explore further education and job training opportunities.

Call Randy Huffman at (573) 651-3747 x 117 for more information on the Community Caring Council’s involvement with the Missouri Reentry Process. Or drop in and see our Reentry Opportunity Center at 937 Broadway, Suite 104.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for Friday, March 19, 2010! That’s the date for our 2010 Annual Caring Conference. The location will be Glen Auditorium at Dempster Hall on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Click here for more information and for our online Conference Registration.

The United Way of Southeast Missouri convened the Education Solutions Team in February 2009. The Team has been chaired by Tom Davisson, the Executive Director of the Community Caring Council. The Team has begun to identify opportunities in the Cape Girardeau community to reengage the community with the schools and to identify individual opportunities that can impact the number of students ready for success in school, college, work and life. The current focus is the selection of goals and strategies that will hopefully improve school outcomes from Kindergarten through 12th grade. This is what will be presented for discussion and input at the Conference.

The title of the conference is Communities and Schools….A Model for Change. The key note speaker will be Martin Blank. According to the American Educator  Journal, “Marty is the president of the Institute for Educational Leadership, director of the Coalition for Community Schools, and author of numerous articles and reports on how schools and communities can work together to increase student learning.”

Joining Marty to lead one of the morning breakout sessions will be Brent Schondelmeyer, Communications Director at the Local Investment Commission in Kansas City, MO, and a proponent of community schools where “multiple partnerships work together to meet the academic, health and social services needs of STUDENTS and FAMILIES”.

The morning session will be from 8 – 11:45pm with a light breakfast provided. The lunch session will be a summary of the morning and will start at 12 noon and will include a sack lunch. Individuals should choose to attend only one session. Cost of either session is $10.00.

Please contact Kay at 651-3747 x 104 if you any immediate questions.

Join us for the Spring Session of Building Strong Families on Mondays in March –

WHEN?
March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, 2010

WHERE?
Cape Area Family Resource Center, 1202 S. Sprigg Street, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703

WHO?

• Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers
• Youth Included
• Ages 0-3 Childcare provided
• Ages 4-16 Youth Curriculum provided

WHAT?

• Light Supper
• Family Activity
• Adult Curriculum/Youth Curriculum/Childcare

TOPICS?

• Family Strengths
• Positive Discipline
• Stress Management
• Communication
• Money Matters
• Healthy Home
• Reading as a Family

COST?
FREE

Click here for a copy of our Brochure with a registration form. If you are interested in attending, please call Mary Gosche at 243-3581 to see if any slots are still available.

The THRIVE students from Jackson High and Jackson Jr High are participating in the Aeropostale Teens for Jeans drive.  They will be accepting gently used jeans (any brand or size) the week of February 8-12.  These jeans will be donated to homeless teens and children across America.

In exchange for your jeans, Aeropostale will give you a 25% off coupon for your next jean purchase.

For more information, please see the poster, watch a video clip by actor Justin Long at http://www.youtube.com , or go to www.teensforjeans.com

Please consider donating a pair of jeans to show your support for our THRIVE kids and their efforts.  If you are not able to take your jeans to Jackson, please get them to me and I will deliver them.

Remember, Service to Others is asset #9!

Stacy Taylor, Asset Coordinator

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for Friday, March 19, 2010! That’s the date for our 2010 Annual Caring Conference.  Plans are being finalized, and brochures will be ready in the near future.  The location will be Glen Auditorium at Dempster Hall on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

The United Way of Southeast Missouri convened the Education Solutions Team in February 2009.  The Team has been chaired by Tom Davisson, the Executive Director of the Community Caring Council.  The Team has begun to identify opportunities in the Cape Girardeau community to reengage the community with the schools and to identify individual opportunities that can impact the number of students ready for success in school, college, work and life.  The current focus is the selection of goals and strategies that will hopefully improve school outcomes from Kindergarten through 12th grade.  This is what will be presented for discussion and input at the Conference.

The title of the conference is Communities & Schools….A Model for Change. The key note speaker will be Martin Blank. According to the American Educator  Journal, “Marty is the president of the Institute for Educational Leadership, director of the Coalition for Community Schools, and author of numerous articles and reports on how schools and communities can work together to increase student learning.”

Joining Marty to lead one of the morning breakout sessions will be Brent Schondelmeyer, Communications Director at the Local Investment Commission in Kansas City, MO, and a proponent of community schools where “multiple partnerships work together to meet the academic, health and social services needs of STUDENTS and FAMILIES”.

The morning session will be from 8 – 11:45pm with a light breakfast provided.  The lunch session will be a summary of the morning and will start at 12 noon and will include a sack lunch. Individuals should choose to attend only one session. Cost of either session is $10.00.

Brochures will be in the mail and online at www.communitycaringcouncil.org within the next two weeks.  Please contact Kay at 651-3747 x 104 if you any immediate questions.

The Community Caring Council would like to welcome Sarah Ferber as our Social Work Intern for the spring semester. Thanks to the Department of Social Work at Southeast Missouri State University for providing this opportunity for students to gain clinical work experience in the field of social work before graduating in May.

A few words from Sarah:

I have lived in St. Louis all my life before attending college at Southeast Missouri State University I began college in Fall 2006 and will graduate this May. Starting college, I had no idea what my interests were and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Taking a social work class my first semester helped me to decide that this was the career for me. I have enjoyed all my social work classes and feel they have prepared me for real world situations as a social worker.

After graduation I plan to move back to St. Louis and return to college to get my Masters Degree in Social Work. Down the road my final goal is to receive a degree as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I now have so many interests and goals I can’t say that I really have a dream job. I think I would be happy in many different settings. I am excited to do my practicum at Community Caring Council and hope to learn as much as possible to prepare me for after graduation.

The Council appreciates the time and the work that the Social Work interns give to our agency and hopes that the upcoming months prove valuable to Sarah as she transitions from the classroom to the field.