| A people without
vision will perish...Catch the Vision! June 1997 A Community-Wide Informantion Source of the Blue Springs-Hoke County CDC Vol. 1, Issue 2 |
A steady stream of well-wishers including members, out-of-towners, and Hoke County residents visited the Blue Springs-Hoke County CDC office site at 112 East Elwood Street for open-house festivities on Thursday, April 17, 1997.
Lasting from noon until 6 PM, with a brief 3 o'clock formal program, attendees were introduced to board members and staff and given a general tour of the office and facilities.
Rick Barber, a board member in attendance, emphasized, "The event was a tremendous success at creating awareness in the community about the CDC." He added, "It was an outstanding turn-out."
More than 35 guests signed the registry. Attendees represented local residents, community leaders and dignitaries, and partnering organization. The list of well-wishers and supporters included :
the Hoke County Board of Commissioners Vice Chair, James Leach; Raeford/Hoke Chamber President Jackie Lynch and Manager, Lawanda Hayes; City Manager, Mike McNeill; County Manager, Mike Wood; Fidelity Bank Executive, John Jordan; and CP&L Field Director, James McPherson. Community leaders included Mrs. Kathryn McPhatter, Walker Oldham. Thurmond and Mary Patterson, and Darrell and Margaret Adams. BSHC CDC partners included Telemon Corporation's Ishmael Torres; Youth Development Foundation's Oscar and Josephine Adams; South Hoke Multicultural Family Resource Center's Helga Santiago; Hoke's Division on Aging Coordinator, Carolyn Allen; and the Educational Opportunities Center's Recruiter, Mrs. Alicia Richardson. Mrs. Jonetta Bond, with the NC Rural Center for Economic Development, also attended.
Thanks to a $3000 mini grant from the North Carolina Department of Human Resources Division of Youth Services, BSHC CDC will be able to launch the Hoke Youth Opportunities for Summer Enrichment (HYOSE) program in the county this summer from June 9th thru July 14th.
HYOSE partners, which include: Hoke Against Drugs (HAD); Youth Development Foundation (YDF); and the Shady Grove Community Builders; have committed (1) themselves and (2) their time and energies, and (3) their community-based facilities, toward providing positive alternative activities and interactive enrichment experiences to young people this summer. The program objective is to deter juvenile delinquent behavior in a county which has few educational and recreational activities for its youth during summer break.
A corner-stone of HYOSE will be a feeding program supported by the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources featuring the preparation and delivery of lunch meals at five community-based sites and two day camps in proximity to or at public schools. The five church sites are: Shady Grove Baptist; South Hoke Baptist; Full Gospel Temple; Buffalo Springs; and Mount Elim Baptist. The HAD day camp and the 4H nutrition camp will also be served as part of the program.
HYOSE will be available to Hoke County youth ages 5-17 and expects to reach 300 youth. For further information please call 910-904-0312.
IDAs...AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME FOR HOKE COUNTY
According to Assets, the quarterly publication of the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) based in Washington, D.C., "For the first time, Congress has passed legislation on Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). The landmark welfare reform bill passed by Congress and signed by the President includes provisions that allow states to create community-based IDA programs with state block grant funds and that disregard all money saved by the poor in IDAs from affecting their eligibility for government assistance."
BSHC CDC is in the process of developing the program for Hoke County while collaborating with state and local agencies and elected officials as well as banking interests and other financial and business institutions. A proposal was submitted to CFED on May 15 to serve as one of the IDA demonstration sites. There is also a statewide initiative building to implement an IDA demonstration as well through the Division of Community Assistance.
Christina Davis-McCoy recently elaborated on efforts of the CDC to heighten the awareness of the provisions to legislative representatives from this district, "We are well aware that this is one of the most economically distressed areas in the state needing vast amounts of resources for economic development. In contacting our elected representatives and others, we want to ensure that this county is on the cutting-edge of utilizing this opportunity as we move into the 21st Century."
Exactly what are IDAs ? Essentially, they are savings accounts set up in the name of individuals, initiated as early as birth, and restricted to high-return investments such as college education, starting a business, or buying a first home. For the poor, who cannot take advantage of tax deductions, savings would be matched on a sliding scale.
In many respects, IDAs would be similar to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), but there would be three important differences: IDAs would be available to everyone; they would serve a wider range of purposes; and they would rely on more varied sources of deposits, including public and private matching funds for the poor. More information on IDAs is forthcoming. Keep an eye out!
The first quarter report to the Rural Economic Development Corporation, whose grant of $30,000 is pivotal to the CDC's goals and objectives, was submitted the end of April. The following is a synopsis of the organizational activities during the first quarter of BSHC CDC's operation.
Amy Shepard, CPA was retained to provide accounting services,
The CDC established physical office space in downtown Raeford,
Community Building News, the public information and community instrument of the CDC, made its inaugural appearance in late March 1997.
A series of meetings began with "identified" community leaders to hear their perspectives on strategic planning initiatives for economic development issues in Hoke County.
Board and staff hosted an open house event on April 17th.
The Leadership Development Training Initiative is undergoing revision. Curricula design has begun and will be completed during the second quarter.
As part of LDTI, the CDC hosted a workshop with the Interagency Council on April 16th at the Cooperative Extension Center with Tema Okun of Durham, N.C. serving as consultant and Christina Davis-McCoy assisting as co-trainer. Twenty-seven attendees represented fifteen agencies and organizations.
A Community Leadership and Board Development Training was hosted by BSHC CDC on May 31 with Bertina Morris-Anderson serving as Trainer/Consultant. The services of Morris-Anderson was provided by the NC Rural Center as part of a T/A proposal to emerging CDCs, which was funded by a HUD grant to the Division of Community Assistance Participants, and included BSHC CDC Board Members and Board members from Kingdom CDC in Fayetteville. Additional Board members and organizational leaders attended from the Hoke County Civic League, 4-County Community Action Agency, Shady Grove Community Builders, Youth Development Foundation, R&V Associates and NC Mutual Insurance.
The Blue Springs-Hoke County Community Development Corporation (BSHC CDC), serving as a Local Recipient Organization (LRO) for the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program-Phase XV, submitted an interim report to the Virginia National Board Program offices on April 18, 1997. That report detailed expended funds of the initial $1,250 award allocation and requested the second portion of $1,250 to complete the total award of $2,500. All persons served were referred by the Department of Social Services (DSS).
To date, the total grant of $2,500 has been received and expended. The results of that funding has been realized in assistance to sixteen (16) families in Hoke County who were threatened with discontinuation of utility services, were faced with service restoration issues, or were dealing with housing displacement or homelessness issues.
In collaboration with the newly established Hoke County Council on Aging, Blue Springs-Hoke County Community Development Corporation (BSHC CDC) designated a $500 allocation for seniors in Hoke County. Though meager, this amount was earmarked out of the stark reality that there is currently no specifically designated funds in Hoke County to serve such emergencies for seniors. While emergency funds are contributed to the county by Carolina Power and Light and the Lumber River Electric Membership Cooperative, they all go directly to the Department of Social Services (DSS) and are dispensed according to DSS guidelines to serve families with children.
Feedback to BSHC CDC staff, has been tremendously supportive and overwhelmingly positive from families assisted. There has been strong interest concerning how allocations might be expanded next year, especially among families the organization wanted to help and could not.
WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Neighbor:
Once again, it gives me a great deal of pleasure to greet you from the pages of the Community Building News-- newsletter, published by the Blue Springs-Hoke County Community Development Corporation (BSHC-CDC). As you noted from our inaugural issue of March 1997,
the BSHC-CDC is in full operations and vigorously serving the needs of the citizens of Raeford/Hoke County, in many ways.
As we celebrated the opening of our downtown offices, we were absolutely surprised and very pleased by the huge number of well wishers from the community who stopped by to say hello. We would like to thank each one of you for your enthusiasm for the work we do by the CDC and request your continued support. Many of you commented on the various programs being developed and implemented by our Executive Director, Ms. Christina Davis-McCoy and the positive impact being realized throughout the county. In that regard the BSHC-CDC is very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable, experienced and committed staff person serving as our operational leader.
In an effort to reach out to as many Raeford/Hoke citizens as possible, we really want to hear from you. We are interested in your ideas, concerns and possibilities for volunteer community service with one of our community based projects. In the months to come there will several new initiatives announced; involving skills building opportunities, leadership development and other community empowerment programs. Please get involved!
On July 19, 1997, the BSHC-CDC will host our annual membership meeting. This event will be held at the Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church-- located at 7348 Laurinburg Road, Raeford, NC. Ms. Susan Perry-Cole, Assistant Secretary, NC. Department of Commerce will be our keynote speaker. In planning for this event we have invited all of our state and federal legislators who have expressed interest in attending the annual meeting, if their respective legislative venues are not in session. Hopefully, many of you can also clear your calendars and come to this very informative membership meeting.
Chartered membership with the BSHC-CDC will end on July 19th. We are actively seeking membership support and encouraging your participation. Annual Membership dues are: Corporate Donations $250.00; Business and Civic Organization Donations $50.00; Community Group or Club Donations $25.00 and Individual Donations $5.00. All of these membership donations are tax deductible and assist with the day-to-day program delivery of the CDC. Please join the BSHC-CDC today and be a part of history in the making, as a Chartered Member.
Thank you again for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Jim Davis
Youth Computer Camp
Fayetteville State University will hold a youth computer camp under the guidance of the Center for Continuing Education June 28, July 12, 19, and 26. Class limit is 20 for children in grades 6 to 8. For more information call 910-486-1226.
CDC Annual Meeting
The Blue Springs-Hoke County Community Development Corporation will hold its second Annual Meeting on Saturday July 19, 1997 from 2-4 PM at Shady Grove Baptist Church. Keynote Speaker will be Ms. Susan Perry-Cole, Assistant Secretary, NC Department of Commerce. The public is encouraged to attend. For further information call 910-904-0312 or 904-5948.
Hoke County's home page on the World Wide Web is located at http://www.foto.infi.net/~amitch/hoke.html. Check it out. The CDC will have a home page within the next two weeks. Be on the look-out for it.
The Hoke County Commissioners meet every first and third Monday of each month. Please plan to attend these meetings. Decisions affecting your future are made here and you can participate.
Hurricane season is in and the National Weather Service is expecting lots of activity. Don't be caught off guard. Remember Fran? The NWS suggests that folk in hurricane areas begin to store water, have an alternative electricity source, and extra gasoline on hand-- among other items--in preparation for hurricane emergency.
BSHC CDC NEEDS YOU!
Bring your skills, your time, your energy, your ideas and your knowledge about what's happening in the Raeford/Hoke community and volunteer at the CDC. Call 904-0312 to sign up or ask how you might help.
Board of Directors
The Blue Springs-Hoke County Community Development Corporation Board of Directors represents a capable cross-section of the county's population. From entrepreneurs; educators; consultants; and ministers, to program directors and corporate employees--they are a tremendous community resource. Stay tuned for individual profiles as this site continues to develop. These dynamic individuals are:
Rick Barber James A. Davis Dr. J.W. Gorham
Regina Carpenter Satana Deberry Renee Guerrero
Harry Hodges Tony Hunt Charlotte Kelly
Johnny Kershaw Henry Lloyd Rebecca McNeill
Shirley McRae Allen Mitchell Doretha Purcell
Blue Springs Hoke County CDC is a 501(c)3 organization.
1997
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