Happy Anniversary Team SCCA!!!
22 Jul 14 |
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You only get one “First Anniversary” and it is my extreme pleasure to announce that today 7/22/2014 the Smith Center for Community Advancement will celebrate a FULL YEAR of community service and action, working to inspire others, and striving to make a difference in the community and in the lives of every family that we are able to touch.
There are so many thoughts and emotions that are attached to this as we celebrate a year in the nonprofit world. The main thing I would like to highlight is that even though we are still working on launching our main branch of services which is the Family Workshops the Village Vibe Sessions, we have still accomplished so much by providing outreach services and resources to the community. All while developing our program curriculum and preparing to really get deep into what the Smith Center is all about and that is to elevate family stability, improve academic success, counteract negative behavior, and strengthen community pride and involvement in order to successfully establish a more socially active community environment.
As of now we have created 3 Programs that will focus on this goal:
Village Vibe Session – Interactive and Peer Driven family workshops designed to improve the accountability, communication, and overall community investment of the family.
RIGHT NOW! (Alternative Suspension Program) – A program designed to help decrease out of school suspension and keep students in the structured system of education and support while being held accountable for their behavior.
Project Fatherhood/Motherhood (In Production) – A Video Series that will serve as an educational, advocacy, and empowerment tool for expecting and new parents as a support system for parental accountability and family development.
We have also been able to provide service for almost 400 individuals in regards to our Community Action Projects:
1st Annual Smith Center Memorial Walk
Thanksgiving Turkey Drive
Christmas Toy Drive
1st Annual Smith Center Family Health Fair
And we are JUST getting started!!!
I want to personally thank my Board who have definitely stepped out on faith along with me to support this organization. I thank them for putting up with their enigmatic CEO and working with me and I can’t wait to see how much we will grow and how far we can take the Smith Center in the near future!
I want to thank all of my contributors for our projects! The money, the toys, the turkeys, the supplies, EVERYTHING! Even though the Board and myself are the main financial contributors to everything we do, your support has been so appreciative and needed and you have blessed us immensely!
I would also like to thank Goodcity Chicago for being our Fiscal Sponsor! Their tutelage and support as well as the 501c3 Title has been MORE than helpful these past few months and if anyone is ever interested in starting or working for nonprofit organization, please check them out, I highly recommend their program!
Last but not least, I want to thank my family for which this organization has been dedicated to and inspired by. My Sister, Robin Russell has been an outstanding support system, better than I could have even imagined, I honestly could not have gone far without her help! My mother, Sharran Smith-Russell and my grandparents on both sides (TC & Beatrice Smith / Alvin & Christine Smith) and my late father Derries L Smith and the entire Smith Family past, present and future. This organization is dedicated to the legacy of what it means to be a family, which is love, hard work and strong values, the corner stone of healthy families. One year down and many, many more to go!
30 second Video – Smith Center Anniversary
#wordsintoaction
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