by Mark Gregory Originally published November 20, 2016, in The Hot Springs Sentinel-Record. Ninety days after being hired, four graduates of the Bridges to Hope program who were employed by Oaklawn Park have a 100% success rate, Oaklawn’s general manager, Eric Jackson, said Friday. “Of all the things that I…
Mothers in Houston’s South Park community complete Getting Ahead and begin plans to improve their community. Thirteen women living in the South Park community of Houston, Texas, completed the 16-week Getting Ahead course. All of the women in the group are residents of Sunflower Terrace Apartments or the area surrounding…
When even public transportation fares seem out of reach, who fills the gap? People in dire poverty still need to get themselves and their children to school, work, and appointments. “My day to day was walking,” says Adrian Stanley, president of Getting Ahead Transport. “I had a 2- and a…
In Maryland, Howard County Executive Allan H. Kittleman and the Department of Citizen Services honored Getting Ahead program graduates and supporters at the first annual Getting Ahead Awards Gala held on Friday, May 20, at the North Laurel Community Center. The awards gala was created by the Getting Ahead graduate…
The Bridges Out of Poverty community in West Burlington, Iowa, is strong. In the fall two teachers at West Burlington High School will bring Investigations into Economic Class in America to high school juniors as a night offering. Students who enroll will receive elective credit. The course, to be co-facilitated…
by Brian Fowler, RISE On April 28 the RISE 2016 Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World Spanish class celebrated its graduation. The class started with 11 students, and all 11 graduated. This 100% Getting Ahead graduation rate is a first for RISE. Congratulations to Angela, Bonnie, Renee, and Krista for…
by Betsy Foos The following was inspired by Kelly Bays, Jordan Harmon, Danae Hicks, Cathy Joslin, Roscoe Lofton, Thomas Mathers, Aristel Nopee, Laura Oatman, Justin Shinn, Ashleigh Watson, Rick James Wieland, and L. J. Williams. I would like to thank everyone—family, friends, and community leaders—for supporting my fellow Getting Ahead…
With two mentors for every participant in the first graduating class of Peoria’s Coming Together to Get Ahead program, building social capital with people outside poverty was relatively assured. As a bonus, the six women who made up the group started out as “crybabies at first” said one, but they…
When the advisory board of Getting Ahead in Cedar Valley secured funding for their pilot program, members George Karnik, Carole Freking, and Tom Marrah didn’t think they would need a waiting list. The nine-week offering of Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World has been so effective, though, that there is…
In this blog entry, Renee Weeks, Director of Shelter & Clinical Services at Upper Valley Haven (VT), shares detailed results of her organization’s Bridges and Getting Ahead initiatives circa May 2014. The Upper Valley community straddles the Connecticut River in northern New England, encompassing approximately 45 small towns in Vermont…