Newsletter – January 2018
CCT News
When All the Presents Burned, CCT Stepped Up
Two days after Thanksgiving,?Ms. Perry was cooking dinner for herself and her 11 year old granddaughter, Jo?Asia. Ms. Perry had been Jo?Asia?s guardian since she was a baby and her father, Ms. Perry?s oldest son, had been sent to prison. The day had started like any other day, but in a matter of seconds everything changed. Suddenly, the stove Ms. Perry was cooking on caught fire. The flames spread quickly. One of her other adult sons, ran in to put the fire out. The grease fire was not easy to contain. He yelled for his mother to leave the house with Jo?Asia and call the fire department. He finally managed to extinguish the flames just before the fire department arrived, but by then walls had been destroyed, the stove had melted, and the pantry behind the wall was completely ruined. It was in the ruined pantry that Ms. Perry had been hiding all of her Christmas gifts for her family. They were all destroyed.?<Keep Reading>
Warehouse 242?will host an event comprised of live jazz, refreshments, a panel discussion, and a book release surrounding incarceration and its affect on our city.?The book sale proceeds will be donated to our Families Doing Time program.The event is free and open to the public.
CCT’s FDT Director, Charis Blackmon, will be participating in the panel discussion and sharing?her insight on how this conversation affects Charlotte.?<More Details>
At CCT we rely on generous donors like you to provide the resources we need. Thank you to everyone who donated in the month of December.
Jordan Abshire
Elizabeth Anderson
Audra Atkinson
Frank and Helen Aycock
LP Bailey
Dianne Bailey
The Barr Family
Marian Beane
Catherine Bessant
Crandall Bowles
Benton Bragg
William and Barbara Branch
Sherry Browning
Laura Budzichowski
Kaky and Garland Cassada
Myra Clark
Alexandra Conway
Judith Cook
Jimmy and Allene Cooley
Morrison Creech
Pam Crown
Elyse Dashew
Barbara De Mase
Carlos Evans
Charles and Jo Ann Fernald
Patricia Flanagan
Mary Folley
Angela Forde
Rosemarie Gancer
Doris Gibson
Kari Giles
Robert and Kristen Henderson
Ann Hester
Sally Higgins
Betty Hong
Christopher Hummer
June Kimmel
Janine Lafferty
Luke Largess
KD and CA Lawler
Sherry Lee
Eva Lee
Catherine Long
Richard and Saundra McGee
Chris McLeod
David Meiers
Lindsay and Mark Merritt
Stephen and Mary Milan
William Mitchell
Mujtaba Mohammed
Lu Morrison
David Nance
Rachel Nemecek
Susan Oleson
R. Anthony Orsbon
James Plyler
Patricia Pye
Amelie Ratliff
Lisa Reynolds
Henry Rock
David Schilli
Gail Seaim
Randolph Smith
Tawnya Stommel
Marjorie Tate
Mary Ellen Theiling
Cynthia Turner
Keva and Juanita Walton
Keith West
John Wester
Velva Woollen
Bright and Robert Wright
Julian and Amy Wright
Joe Young
Sponsors
Arlington Baptist Church
Calvary Christian Church
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Junior League of Charlotte
Mecklenburg County ABC
Milton and Carol Childress
New Waves of Joy
Piedmont District Convention
Saint Luke Catholic Church
Selwyn Avenue Presbyterian
Share Charlotte
St. John’s Baptist Church
United Way of the Central Carolinas
Wells Fargo
Opportunities to Give
Warming Kids Hearts – Saturday, February 3rd
The Junior League of Charlotte is hosting a donation drive for new winter accessories to benefit our Families Doing Time families. They are accepting socks, mittens/gloves, hats, blankets, and small stuffed animals. All items must be new with tags. Contact Jess Dienna at?jdienna57@gmail.com?with questions.
Support CCT While You Shop!
If you’re an Amazon Prime member you can easily set up your account to donate a portion of your purchases to CCT. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is thatwhen you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to CCT.?Start supporting CCT today!
Volunteer Opportunities
The Center for Women
If interested contact Nyeshia Carpenter at?volunteers@centerforcommunitytransitions.org
Community Volunteer Sponsors?are needed to be trained to transport the women residents into the community for excursions to church and various other activities like shopping and entertainment, substance abuse meetings, etc.?Due to state regulations, volunteers must be female.
Skill building volunteers?are needed to assist the women with school tutoring, computer training, resume writing, cover letter writing, etc.
Families Doing Time
If interested, contact Families Doing Time Program Manager, Charis Blackmon at?cblackmon@centerforcommunitytransitions.org.
Empowering Kids with Incarcerated Parents (EKWIP):?We will need assistance printing and binding EKWIP workbooks for these school-based support groups. Additionally, volunteers that are consistently available during school hours on weekdays are needed to serve as group assistants during EKWIP groups. A background check would be required for all potential group assistant volunteers.
Data Entry:?As we shift to a new data system, we will need volunteers to help with data entry.
Chaperones?are needed to assist with our quarterly cultural excursions (Enrichment Institute) to be held in November, February, and April.
LifeWorks!
If interested contact Erik Ortega at?eortega@centerforcommunitytransitions.org
Mock Interviews:?Every Other Monday@?10:45 AM?&?Thursday?10:45 AM?(Schedule may vary with holidays) – Assist staff with conducting mock job interviews with clients participating in our employment readiness classes. Questions and evaluation tool will be provided and individual feedback from the experience is welcomed.
Resume Development:?Every other?Wednesday?@?10:45 AM?(schedule may vary with holidays) – Assist clients participating in the employment readiness program with the development/revision of their resume.
FRESH START Goal Setting: Schedule open but will need to be consistent – Assist clients with their goal setting and stability tracker – training will be provided.
Events
February 6 -?Warehouse Talks: Rethinking Incarceration
7pm-9pm, Warehouse 242
Warehouse 242?will host an event comprised of live jazz, refreshments, a panel discussion, and a book release surrounding incarceration and its affect on our city. The book sale proceeds will be donated to our Families Doing Time program. The event is free and open to the public.
CCT?s Families Doing Time Program Director, Charis Blackmon, will be participating in the panel discussion and sharing?her insight on how this conversation affects Charlotte.
February 17 -?JustLeadership USA’s Emerging Leaders Training
By Application Only
JustLeadershipUSA is dedicated to cutting the US correctional population in half by 2030. JLUSA empowers people most affected by incarceration to drive policy reform. On Saturday, February 17, JLUSA brings its Emerging Leaders program right here to Charlotte! All Emerging Leaders participants must have prior involvement with the criminal justice system (juvenile and/or criminal justice involvement is required to be eligible and includes but is not limited to: actual incarceration [served time in jail and/or prison], arrest with or without conviction, under community supervision, i.e. parole, sentenced to probation-only, and involvement as a client in the juvenile justice system).
March 8 -?Applause for a Cause
6pm – 8pm, Sugar Creek Charter School
Sugar Creek?Charter School will be hosting a student led open-mic night with all proceeds coming to the Families Doing Time program. The event will surround children of incarcerated parents and will highlight Families Doing Time?s work within the community.
Ticket info to come.
March 22 – Build People, Not Prisons
5pm – 7pm, Advent Coworking
SAVE THE DATE ? CCT is hosting its first ever Build People, Not Prisons evening event. The event will feature a live performance by?Playing for Others?teens, Hors d?oeuvres, and beer and wine. More details and ticket information to come.
May 10 – Spring Fling
SAVE THE DATE for CCT’s 6th Annual Spring Fling. Details to come.