The
M ountain The MaMzine of the Christian Appalachian
In T h is I s s u e
Student Essays
Job Start
Adult Learning
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Changes in Education
The Magazine o f the C H R IS T IA N A P P A L A C H IA N P R O J E C T
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Welfare reform will be M AY-JUNE
1998
VOL.
responsible for some of the most
G rowing A s th e Years Go B y
dramatic changes in Appalachia since the out-migration of the
by CAP Adult Education
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1950s. People who work in adult
W elfare:
education programs have doubled
E ducation in T ransition
their efforts to help people who are
by Margaret Gabriel
entering the work force — some for
A Return To The Classroom
the first time — to attain the education now being required even
by Beth Dotson______
F aced With Success
for entry level jobs.
Page 24, Job Start
CAP workers have learned that
by Ike Adams
while job readiness skills (“book learning,” one of the students called it) is very important, workers must also help students form networks and the bonds of friendship that will see them through the inevitably rough days ahead. This issue of The Mountain Spirit looks at the efforts adult students are making to achieve their goals. On page twenty-four, Ike Adams tells of the exciting work
Page 16, A Return To The Classroom
Page 27, Rainbow Respite
going on in CAP’S new Job Start program. On page sixteen, Beth
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Random Thoughts
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Around the Project
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Letters to the Editor
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T h e C A P Closeup
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Published by the Christian Appalachian Project E d ito r M a r g a r e t G a b r ie l G raph ic D esign K a r e n F r a n c e s S p iv e y C ircu la tio n L i n d a G r id e r E a s t
Dotson introduces CAP’s adult education in the Hagerhill region, one that has a great twist. On page four, you can read essays by adult
A dvisory Board: F a th e r R a lp h W. B e i tin g , M ike Sanders, Bill Begley, Ike Adams
learners. Several tell of their motivations, other relate warm stories of their days growing up in
The M ountain S p irit is published six times a year. The annual subscription price is $8.00. Subscriptions and other correspondence should be sent to The M ountain S p irit, Christian Appalachian Project, 322 Crab Orchard Street, Lancaster, KY 40446. Copyright, 1997, The Christian Appalachian Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Member, Catholic Press Association. The Christian Appalachian Project is a non-profit Christian service organization operating throughout Appalachia. The project operates on the philosophy that helping people help themselves is the best approach to Appalachian poverty.
the mountains. On the cover, Ruby Laney, an adult learner from Magoffin County.
A summary of the registration and financial documents filed by this organization can be obtained by contacting: in Maryland, for the cost of copies and postage, the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401; in Virginia, State Division of Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23209; in Washington, residents can call the Secretary of State toll-free within the state at 800-332-4483; IN NEW YORK, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, CHARITIES BUREAU, 120 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10271; IN NEW JERSEY, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY CALLING 201-504-6215; IN PENNSYLVANIA, DEPARTMENT OF STATE BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE, 800-732-0999; IN WEST VIRGINIA, SECRETARY OF STATE, STATE CAPITOL, CHARLESTON, WV 25305; IN FLORIDA, THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALL TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE AT 800-435-7352; IN NORTH CAROLINA, FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND A COPY OF THE LICENSE ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE STATE SOLICITATION LICENSING BRANCH AT 919-733-4510; or by writing to Christian Appalachian Project, 322 Crab Orchard Street, Lancaster, KY 40446. Our license number in Michigan is MICS 9933. Registration with any of the above government agencies does not imply endorsement by the state.
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t’s hard to overlook the importance of adult education when you’re touched by some of the folks who have been students in Christian Appalachian Project programs. Over a thousand adults have graduated from CAP adult learning programs, and the graduation ceremonies held every spring for those who have received a General Equivalency Diploma are some of the most inspirational and emotional occasions you’ve ever seen. Over the years, I’ve met people with varied motivations for improving and increasing their education. Some are looking for the job opportunities that open up to them after they’ve achieved high school equivalency. I’ve met elderly people who attend literacy classes so they can read the Bible. Some people say they sorely regret not taking advantage of high school when they were young. Others say they couldn’t wait to get out of school because they never felt they fit in, and don’t regret the route they’ve taken. It’s hard to believe that some people think they can’t go to school because they don’t have the right clothes, but I’ve heard that so many times that I surely don’t doubt its truth. Children are among the greatest motivators for adult students. Time and again, parents have said to their CAP teachers and others that they want to set a good example for their children, and it seems they do just that. Parents say they feel more comfortable participating in school activities and helping their children with classroom activities when they have a strong educational background of their own. I believe that parents who work hard for a GED set a powerful example for their children. I’ll bet that in the coming years we won’t see anywhere near as many youngsters drop out of school after they’ve seen moms and dads work and struggle to get an education. Those same moms and dads won’t be so willing to let teens drop out of school, either. One of the most touching aspects of adult education is explained by Roma Prater, a student in the Magoffin/Hagerhill program, in an essay she wrote for an anthology of students’ writing: “I can read to my kids. That is something I couldn’t do MAY-JUNE
1998
before. Not being able to read to your kids when they bring a book, and you have to say no, hurts.” Elementary education teachers say that reading at home and reading aloud is one of the best ways to promote literacy in children. Families reading together can pay great dividends for years to come, when children who share reading time with parents grow up to share reading time in turn with their children. The “cycle of poverty” we’ve heard so much about will become a cycle of literacy. Many teachers feel that education has really taken it on the chin in the welfare reform regulations. After one year’s work, education becomes an “allowable but not countable” activity, meaning that in order to continue receiving cash assistance, a student must also work at least 20 hours a week. Teachers say the regulation sends a mixed message to people struggling for independence and selfsufficiency. Organizations like CAP and the Homemaker and Single Parent Career Development Program at Prestonsburg Community College will help people achieve their education goals while they struggle through changes and reforms. The brightest light we’ll see at the end of the education road, though, has little to do with pay scales or job opportunities. Ultimately we will find that education is much more than just a way to better jobs. The emphasis on education will result in better thinkers and better leaders for the Appalachian region. M argaret Gabriel is the editor ¿/'The Mountain Spirit.
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Growing A s The Years Go By Some o f the most
difficult, but most
satisfying, aspects o f study fo r the
GED
(•General Equivalency Diploma) are the
writing exercises. GED students, like m ost
beginning writers, tend to “write what they know,” sharing
childhood memories
and frank disclosures o f the struggles that have brought them to adult education classes. We hope these stories will give readers o f
The Mountain Spirit insight into CAP s adult education students. E xcerptsfrom
CAP A du lt Education E ssays T h e
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Growing Up I always looked forward to getting grown and getting big enough to have a boyfriend. Later on in life I found out dreams are shattered. Sometimes you dream of having a family and a home and all the things in life. But sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way and everything falls apart. You think you are never going to get back on your feet. But little by little you grow as the years roll over your head. Things in life are up and down. Sometimes it gets very depressing. But don’t give up! There has got to be a bed of roses on the other side. Life is a bowl of cherries and I love cherry candy. And then I go to pound away! Lillie Ward
Starting Over When I was nineteen, I met a wonderful guy named Willie. We fell in love. A couple of months later I was pregnant. I had a miscarriage. I was heart broken. Luckily by the grace of God, I was pregnant again. Willie and I had a beautiful son, Aaron Blake. When Blake was about one and a half, Willie became sick. Willie was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was there through thick and thin, always being by his side. Eventually, he became mentally abusive to me. I thought nothing of it, I blamed it on his illness. I started doing drugs heavily to relieve myself of the pain. Later, he started smacking me. I would
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do more drugs. Finally, he was okay. All the cancer was gone. I left and moved in with my father. I got into a lot of trouble with the law. I lost my son. That’s when I knew I had to get off drugs, that my son was more important. My social worker helped me get into a drug rehabilitation center. I was there during Christmas, but I did get to see my son a couple of hours. After rehab, I went to the Family Life Center. The staff and friends I met helped me improve my self-esteem and confidence. I received custody of my son after being there about a month. We stayed there until May, when I became engaged to a long-time friend. I loved this man with all my heart, l we got married. My son started calling him “Daddy” and his real father “Willie.” I thought this was the marriage I had always dreamed of. Everything was great until my husband started drugs heavily. Same cycle again: mental, then physical abuse. I am now separated from my husband. I have a DVO (domestic violence order) on him. I am in the process of getting a divorce. I know I can’t let my son or myself go through this pain again. My son and I are now attending church regularly. I have a strong faith in my Lord, Jesus Christ. I do not
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need a man in my life except my son and my Lord, Jesus Christ. I am now receiving K-TAP [Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program], and I am attending Job Start. I have only been in Job Start a month, but I have learned a lot. I eventually hope to get off welfare, find a job, then go to college to be an accountant. I may only be twenty-three, but I have learned a lot in my life. One, that my son and I come first. Second, to keep my strong faith in my Lord, and everything will be fine. Darlene Durham
Speckles This is about my dog, Speckles. She is a black and white Jack Russell terrier. Speckles is an odd dog, I’ve never seen any dog like her. Sometimes when we are at home and I spank Speckles for something she has done, she pouts like a baby. Speckles is a smart puppy. She knows how to chase a ball. You can throw it and she’ll run and get it and bring it back to you. But, then she holds it in her mouth and jerks and pulls on it. Sometimes Speckles is just trouble. Once I gave her a stuffed animal and she pulled all the stuffing out of it. Once, I went to the store and put Speckles in my
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bedroom, so she wouldn’t tear up the furniture in the living room. When I came back, my sheets were ripped to shreds and she had tom up a pair of shoes and a pair of my jeans. But at least Speckles is housebroken. My son, Anthony, housebroke her. When Speckles needs to go outside early in the morning, she will lick me on the face, and keep licking until I get up and let her out. Speckles is a very special puppy to us. I wouldn’t take anything for her. Speckles is one of the family. That is why I shared this story with you. Brenda Cain
Growing Up on the Farm As a young child, I spent most of my time on my grandmother’s farm. My grandmother grew up in a four-bedroom house that is still standing till this day. My father and his brother and two sisters grew up there as well. As the years went on, my Uncle Claude lived there and was the last person to live there. My sister, brother and I used to spend most of our younger years there, playing a over the farm. We used to go for walks through the fields. One of the fields had big deep gullies that we used to slide down and play hide and seek through them. We had a little play place in the pine thickets where we used to sit and play house. Sometimes we would spend our time playing in the corn crib. It
had a loft in it where my family would store furniture that they weren’t using. One day we went up to the com crib loft. There was a mattress leaning up against one of the walls. We started hitting it, but what we didn’t know was that was the home for a lot of bees and we started to hear them buzzing. That was the first time you saw us leave the loft of the com crib fast! My grandmother had a spring house down below her house. The water would make a creek for about a mile until it got to the holler. We would walk down to it. It was such a beautiful place with the creek mnning cool, clear water. There were trees as high as you could see. Squirrels, rabbits, and other animals went scampering around the ankle-high green grass. We would swim and have picnics. We even fished in the creek. I used a stick with a string on the end of the stick. I would put a safety pin on it. I didn’t catch anything but a few minnows. No matter where we were on the farm, when dinner time came, my grandmother would blow the car hom for us to come and eat. Most of he time we had soup beans and com bread. After we ate dinner, my sister, brother and I would take another of our adventures. We would take a walk out to the old house my grandmother grew up in. Down below that house was a rock-made spring house. Water would mn through it. There was a tin dipper
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hanging on an old rusty nail. We would take the dipper and get us a good cold drink of water, we would walk on our path to my randmother’s Uncle Vick’s house. This ^ house was as old or older than the house my grandmother grew up in. It was falling down. The cellar of the house was practically buried. There was a big tree in front of it that had names carved in it. But now the names were way up high, because the tree had gotten bigger. Being on the farm wasn’t all fun and games. We had to do our part in helping my father and Uncle Jerry work in the fields. We did things like pulling tobacco plants, setting them, hanging, stripping, topping and cutting. Also we helped work in the garden. As I look back into the past on my grandmother’s farm, and what we did with the family all together, it just makes me want to go back and live it all again. Toni J Baker
Weather Predictions These are old sayings that I have heard about the weather. When you hear the katydids, there will be a frost six weeks later. If hornets build their nest up high, it will be a cold winter. If the nest is built low to the ground, winter will be light. If the shucks on com are thick, it will be a bad winter. If the woolly worms are dark, winter will be cold. If the woolly worms are light, winter will be mild. If animals grow a heavy coat of hair, winter will be bad. M yrtle Potter
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“M y Life At C A P ’ I’m a 27-year-old mother of two. I came to Kentucky in 1992 with my husband. I had a bad marriage of four years when I found myself with no place or no one to turn to. That’s when with just one phone call to Family Life Abuse Center I found a friendly, helpful person that gave me an outlet. The Family Life Abuse Center gave me a place for me and my children to go and helped us grow into a loving, caring family. They taught me how to get my anger and bitterness under control, so I could take care of the most important things and people in my life, without taking it all out on my kids. We were also started in some much-needed counseling that helped me deal with the problems of my past. It also helped my kids adjust to the changes in their lives as well. The staff was wonderful. They were always there to listen to anything that I needed to talk about. One of the most important things they did for me was, believed me. No one has ever truly did that in my life. Through their example to me, I feel I have become a good listener and friend to all the women I have met in the time I was there. The story doesn’t end there though, from FLAC I moved to the Family Life Services. FLS is where I met some new
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people and ran into some old friends too. They helped me and my kids feel welcome in a new environment. The staff here too, was very nice and helpful. They helped me a little more with not only achieving my goals, but realizing what they are. I’ve continued in counseling while I have been here. I also started in a part of CAP called Job Start. There I have learned a lot of good positive ways to handle conflicts with people in authority over me and the day-to-day problems with my kids. Job Start has also given me a chance to meet more wonderful people that I can learn from and maybe in my own small way help them too. To sum it all up, CAP and all the opportunities it has to offer is a really wonderful organization. I hope my I story will help others, by letting them know they are not alone. There are places that can help when things look gloomy in life. I know I will never forget the experience nor the people I’ve met here in the nine hardest months of my life. Rebecca Tolliver
Rocksprings School Rocksprings School was built in the early 1800s. The school was a one-room building with one door and four windows in each side. There were wooden shutters by each window. Rocksprings School was made of logs with
weather boarding outside. Inside the school were three rows of wooden benches for the children to sit on. On the front wall was a big blackboard that the teacher used for each child’s work. There was only one teacher for all the grades in the school, which were one through eight. When it was time for school to begin, the teacher called one class at a time. The children came and sat on a big bench. Then the teacher called them by name to the big blackboard to do their work. When all the children were done, they went back to their seats. My name is Ruby Marler Alcorn and I went to Rocksprings School. My classmates were Darrell Cress, Sally Owens, Delora Noe, Kenneth Bradley, Jewell Bradley, Fanny Cress and Jack Noe. There are just a few that I remember. The teacher that I liked the most was Earnest Bullock. He taught at Rocksprings School for many years. He was the kind of person who wanted all his pupils to do their best. The school is still standing, but is in bad shape. However, my happy memories of this place will never fade. Ruby Alcorn
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by Margaret Gabriel
WELFARE
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Don ’/ listen to people when they say it s useless going back to school. They are the quitters and losers, not me. M y teacher, George, influences me. He tells me that I ’m doing good and a ll that. When I was going to grade school, nobody ever told me that. N otfo r the whole time I was in school. by Anita Brady CAP Adult Learning Center Some of the most dramatic changes to occur as a result of welfare reform are in the area of adult education, both secondary and post-secondary. At the Christian Appalachian Project symposium on welfare reform in May of 1997, the
importance of post-secondary education was explored by Bill Owens, president of Pikeville College, who told the group, “I dropped out of the eighth grade and stayed out of school for two years, went back, and I’ve been in
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education ever since.” Owens expressed a concern that despite the need for reform in the welfare system, it was important to continue to focus on people and the circumstances that are beyond their control, and said that the “safety net is represented by the people in this room.” Carol Stumbo, a teacher with the Floyd County school system currently on loan to the Kentucky Department of Education, introduced to the assembly adult students who have been assisted by alternate forms of adult, post-secondary education. Many adult education students, including those involved in CAP programs, have left high school, married and started families early in their lives. These, frequently, are people that will be affected by welfare reform, and are working now to prepare themselves to face the limits established on assistance. As a secondary school teacher, Carol sees the need to educate Appalachian students to problems of the region beginning in elementary school. “We can educate people who can live elsewhere, but if they choose to stay they can solve problems,”
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she said. In a later interview, Carol said work currently being done in adult education could also change the role of the public school system, with the addition of a concentration on work skills. Many adult educators and service providers find the provisions for post-secondary education one of the most unworkable parts of welfare reform legislation. “Welfare reform, as written by federal and state legislators, does not provide a support net for people in post secondary education,” said Rose Price, CAP’s director of human development. There is a great deal of advocacy going on at the state level to extend the limit on post-secondary education beyond one year. Current regulations require a student receiving cash assistance to get a job, even if he or she continues to advance educational pursuits. “If they have a typical school schedule, no car and a work assignment at the other end of town, they really can’t pull it off,” Rose said. These students frequently do not have the same resources as middle-class students, and are more likely to give up, Rose said. “Middle-class assumptions pervade the plan,” said Jean MAY-JUNE
1998
Rosenberg, director of the Homemaker and Single Parent Career Development Program at Prestonsburg Community College. Her program provides support, continuity and networking for men and women with few resources. Jean tells of a student in her program who was invited to join Phi Beta Kappa. Not having the $45 it cost to enroll in the honor society, the student passed on the invitation, not realizing that membership would open doors and introduce her to people she might otherwise never meet. “People need to learn that networking is based on contacts, not on wealth,” Jean said. Officials at Prestonsburg Community College would like to see the definition of work expanded to include class-related laboratory and clinical assignments, so that students can remain in school and continue to receive modest cash assistance, Jean said. For many, that assistance means the difference between having to take a lowpaying job that will keep them at the poverty level and achieving the education needed for a more substantial salary. Jean believes that through advocacy, the needed changes will come about in legislation. “Two things that hold [this area] back are an under-educated work force and computer illiteracy,” Jean
said. By seeing that workers have not only secondary, but post secondary education, as well as computer training [see The Mountain Spirit, March-April 1998], the Appalachian region can and will begin to compete. Adult educators also agree that when parents concentrate on secondary and post-secondary education, it sends a powerful message to children. “The kids know that Mom wants more than just welfare,” Carol Stumbo said. Parents are likely to place a value on education that leads to greater leadership qualities in young people, as well. While the current welfare legislation seems to deemphasize the importance — indeed, even the need — for education, educators and service providers stress the need to find a way to see that post-secondary education is possible for lowincome people, Rose Price repeated. A collaboration between students, teachers, employers and government will see to it that a good education is possible for anyone with those aspirations. “I don’t know what the government thinks is going to happen to people after one year [of support for post-secondary education],” Rose said. “They’ll be working, but will they ever be able to finish their education?”
The M ountain Spirit is exploring the effects o f welfare reform on the people served by the C hristian A ppalachian P roject and discussing in greater depth the topics that were presented at its symposium in M ay o f 1997.
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Respite Participants Attend Chapel Services Since September of 1997 the staff of the Rainbow Respite Care Center has been working to increase the spiritual element of their program which provides relief for family caregivers of people with disabilities. Manager Carolyn Butt and the Rainbow Respite staff decided to attend mid-week Bible study groups at area churches, and to conduct their own worship services, consisting of Bible reading, prayer and music. “A couple of our volunteers play musical instruments, and a couple of volunteers who aren’t with respite come once a week,” said Ray Giudice, a Rainbow Respite resident assistant. The most ambitious aspect of the increase in spirituality, though, are the periodic 25-mile trips that staff and residents make to attend prayer services at CAP’s headquarters in Lancaster. “That’s been a really good experience for our people,” said Ray. “Traveling to Lancaster and meeting new people gives them an opportunity to share, and they don’t often have an opportunity to do that.” At a recent daily chapel service Virgil Smith shared a song of praise he had composed. Ray said that he has seen selfconfidence grow in the Rainbow Respite folks and that they enjoy interacting with the Lancaster office staff. Debbie Nunemaker, who works in CAP’s information systems department, finds the frequent visits from the Rainbow Respite folks refreshing. She said she has never had much interaction with people with disabilities, and has learned about “the importance of
Participants from the Rainbow Respite Care Center settle into the chapel in CAP’s Lancaster office to share in se n ’ices.
their lives. The effort that they make to come to prayers is really inspirational,” she said. Ray said that while many of the adults who participate in Rainbow Respite’s program belong to and
are active in church communities, the attention given to religious matters gives residents an opportunity to express their spirituality more fully throughout the week.
A ssistin g CAP in O ther Ways Not long ago, the Christian Appalachian Project received an e-mail from a supporter who asked about the availability of CAP volunteer opportunities for a family. We replied that because of housing limitations, different opportunities are open for married couples and families than those available for single people. There are other ways for families to volunteer, however. For instance, they might volunteer to tell church and school groups about the problems in Appalachia they have learned about through The Mountain Spirit, Father Beiting’s books and other CAP
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publications. We are happy to make additional copies of those publications available for distribution. For more information about contributing to CAP through volunteer assistance in various forms, please contact The Mountain Spirit, 322 Crab Orchard Street, Lancaster, KY 40446. Our most powerful form of assistance, however, is prayer. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, volunteers and supporters of all descriptions, can have a mighty influence by praying at least one minute a day for poor people in Appalachia and throughout the world.
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E lderly S ervices H olds R eunion fo r Em m aus R esiden ts The Christian Appalachian Project elderly services program recently sponsored a reunion luncheon for people who were residents of the Emmaus Christian Life Center. Emmaus served as a long-term residential facility in Berea, Ky., for elderly people from 1983 to 1996. Several of the former residents still live in and around Berea, and participate in CAP’s elderly services program, according to manager Zayda Hurd. Zayda collaborated with the Berea Senior Citizens’ Center and Virginia Morris, the activities
coordinator of the Berea Hospital, in planning the event. Twenty-four former residents and five former Emmaus workers shared a potluck meal and many warm memories, Zayda said. “It was wonderful — the place was full.” Although several residents have left the area to live closer to children and other family members, a half dozen people live independently in apartments and three live in the extended care unit of the Berea Hospital. “We keep in touch with them and encourage them to keep in touch with each other by phone,” Zayda said.
CAP Explores Need in West Virginia As the Christian Appalachian Project’s newest direct service area is only the width of the Big Sandy River away from a bordering state, human development workers have started to investigate the possibility of offering outreach services in the Wayne and Mingo county region of West Virginia. Outreach worker Owen Wright has taken the lead, researching the size of the area, the population, the poverty rates, the number of children in poverty and the number of people receiving public assistance in north Mingo and southern Wayne counties. “There’s an area shaped like a horseshoe that’s very isolated,” Owen said. “It’s far from both county seats, where you find most of the GED and parenting classes. There are lots of services in both counties, but that area kind of falls through the cracks. If I were going to make a recommendation, that would be the area to target.” MAY-JUNE
1998
Owen said that if CAP was to offer outreach programs, adult education programs would also be needed, in order to support the “partners” aspect of outreach, which works to offer whatever is needed for people to achieve selfsufficiency. Owen said he enjoyed meeting individuals, as well as merchants, the postmaster and other people with a knowledge of the area. He observed many similarities between the Breeden-Dingus area, as the region is called, and eastern Kentucky. Kentucky/West Virginia border
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“There aren’t a lot of jobs, but there seems to be more ethnic diversity. The coal industry stayed in West Virginia longer than it did in eastern Kentucky, and that made a difference,” Owen said.
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Teens To Help Plan ’98 Leadership Camp The Christian Appalachian Project will sponsor its third youth leadership camp the week of June 15-19, 1998. Program manager Lauri Eiselt has assembled a committee of young people from Jackson County and CAP’s Rockcastle Youth and Teen Center to assist with planning and organization of the camp. “We’re going to meet four or five times over the next couple of months to figure out what they want to get out of the camp,” Lauri said. She said the teens should have a good perspective on the types of speakers and activities their peers will find valuable and interesting. The committee will look at the camp’s budget and determine the best ways to spend it, Lauri said. The youth action committee will participate in the June camp, determining whether they want to remain in leadership positions or participate in activities led by others. During the planning stages, though, the committee will help to recruit the 75 to 80 youth who will participate, decide on the activities they’d like to see and make the contacts necessary. “If they decide they’d like a particular speaker or band, they’ll make those contacts, and take as much responsibility as possible. “I want to empower them as much as I can,” Lauri said. “The big thing is to get them to feel good about what they’ve done.” To lay groundwork for the summer program, Camp AJ hosted twenty-six teenagers from six surrounding counties to meet, play and explore leadership
Camp Andrew Jackson w ill host 75 to 80 teens fo r leadership camp in June. A group o f teens from Jackson County and CAP’s Rockcastle Teen Center are involved in planning.
opportunities, said CAP outreach manager Peggy Hancock. “Most of the kids had never been together before so we did some ice-breaker activities, and some beginning leadership exercises,” she said. As a result of the weekend, all of the teens said they would like to attend the leadership camp
that CAP will sponsor in midJune. “We hoped that the weekend would pull in kids that might not have gone to leadership camp,” Peggy said. “Everyone had a really fun time. About two-thirds of the kids had been to camp before, and they want to do another lockin before summer.”
F orm er V olunteer M em orialized B y F am ily an d F riends The Christian Appalachian Project volunteer department recently received a letter from Brian Hough, telling them that his wife, Andrea Rose Hough, passed away. Andrea served as a Camp Andrew Jackson volunteer during the summers of 1992-94. She and Brian met and fell in love while they worked at camp during the summer of 1993, his letter said. “It was here that we both began to find ourselves and to
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come to know the Lord and His Will in a unique way.” The letter also contained memorial donations from friends and relatives of Andrea. “Please accept them as a token of thanks for all the blessings that you have showered on us as well as on the people of Appalachia.” The Christian Appalachian Project extends heartfelt sympathy to Andrea’s family and humbly thanks Brian for his gracious gift.
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E m ployees View “The C olor o f F ear” Mildred Bailey, director of minority affairs at the University of Kentucky, recently conducted a workshop addressing racism and diversity for Christian Appalachian Project program managers and members of its Peace Committee. The workshop focused on “The Color of Fear,” a documentary which observes a group of eight men with a wide variety of racial and ethnic groups that spent a weekend together discussing and exploring their attitudes concerning race relations. The managers who attended the workshop work with children in CAP child development centers, camps and youth and teen centers. Assistant director Brenda Riddle invited Ms. Bailey
to make the presentation to teach program managers the importance of valuing the differences among people of all races and cultures. Brenda said that viewing “The Color of Fear” “changes people personally,” and those changes are then carried into the workplace. “The ultimate goal is to implement those changes in CAP programs, especially in the child development centers, with the children and parents,” Brenda said. Awareness of diversity will also encourage people not to tolerate racial and ethnic slurs. “They can make it known in an assertive but gentle way, that a comment is degrading.”
Father Beiting Honored By Northern Kentucky University Christian Appalachian Project founder Father Ralph Beiting is a recipient of the seventh annual Northern Kentucky University Lincoln Award. “This award represents a commitment to service, fidelity to noble causes and a sense of turning challenges into opportunities,” said NKU president James Votruba. The Lincoln Award was established in 1992 to honor area individuals who have a tremendous and positive influence on their community and the people who live there and who exemplify the qualities of outstanding citizenship, notable achievement and distinguished MAY-JUNE
1998
What You Don't Know About Wills Can Hurt Your Heirs. . .
Find Out Why. Request 4 Your * Free Copy.
Much of what you know about wills may be misinformation that has been floating around for years. If you think, for example, that wills are primarily for rich people, or elderly people, you may be the victim of a common misconception. The helpful book let offered here will explain how your will can save your heirs from costly delays and confu sion. Send for your copy today. Clip and Mail
Christian Appalachian Project 322 Crab Orchard Street Lancaster, Kentucky 40446 Please send without obligation your booklet, “37 Things People ‘Know’ About Wills That Aren't Really So.” Name _______________________
CAP founder, Father Ralph Beiting.
service in their profession and in contributions to their communities. Father Beiting is a native of Highland Heights, Ky., in the northern part of the state.
Address _ C it y ____ State,ZIP
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CAPRICE Participants Work Toward Self-Advocacy When CAP moved its Operation Sharing warehouse to Corbin, the administrative offices for CAPRICE moved to Corbin as well. The town’s location in southeastern Kentucky is in the middle of an area with a great need for services to adults with disabilities. Christian Appalachian Project Resources for Independence and Community Employment (CAPRICE) provides independent living skills and supported employment for adults with disabilities. The program also provides support to parents and other family members, recognizing that advocacy for one family member affects the
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entire family. Drew Olson has been hired to develop community contacts for the program. “He works with local businesses to find volunteer placements for participants,” said program manager Gloria Jordan. Drew also works with the Clay County school system to help eleventh- and twelfth-grade special education students acquire job readiness skills. “Drew works to increase the involvement of families of students that are in transition from school to work,” Gloria said. Drew reinforces the things that he teaches CAPRICE participants with a mothers’ support group called “Moms on the Move,”
Gloria said, and he also sponsors an advocacy group called “Southeastern People Who Care.” The group recently participated in a rally in Frankfort, the state capital, at which Kentucky Governor Paul Patton was asked to increase funding for supported living programs. The group has also been learning to talk with representatives about such issues as accessibility for people with disabilities, Gloria said, stressing that selfadvocacy is an important step toward independence for CAPRICE participants. In the past year, 93 people with disabilities have received job training through CAPRICE and 109 have participated in the independent living skills program.
Short Term
Long Term Impact
The CAP volunteer program needs summer camp counselors, nurses and life guards
to staff three camps in Eastern Kentucky. We are seeking high-energy men and women, age 18 or older for the months of June, July and August. We would like a commitment of at least two months, but a 3-7 week stay can be arranged. Room and board is provided. For more information about volunteering fo r summer, or fo r a year or more, contact:
Christian Appalachian Project Volunteer Program 322 Crab Orchard Street, Lancaster, KY 40446
Call 800-7^5-5322
Email: volunteer@chrisapp.org___________ Visit our website: www.chnsapp.org T h e 14
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Sm okey B ear Visits E agle C hild D evelopm ent Center Eagle Child Development Center, the Christian Appalachian Project child development center in McCreary County, recently entertained a visitor from the deep woods — Smokey Bear. He came to teach the center’s pre schoolers about fire safety at home and in the forest. As 80 to 90 percent of McCreary County is part of the Daniel Boone National Forest, education about forest safety is crucial to a McCreary County student. The four-year-olds learned they should never play with matches and they should always have an adult present when they add wood and coal to their fire at home or roast marshmallows at a campfire. Smokey told the children how to “stop, drop and roll” if their clothes ever catch on fire. Chaos resulted when the children all
tried to practice this at once, their teachers reported. Eagle Child Development manager Jean Barnes said that the teachers like to include input from the community for various teaching units. “It gives the community the opportunity to share with us, and shows parents what the community has to offer,” Jean said. At least once a month, family literacy students have a session on health and nutrition with representatives from the county extension office, and the unit on bike safety ended with a trike-a-thon to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “They also talked about the importance of giving back some of what you’ve been given,” Jean said. “We got a real good response from the families.”
DOUBLE Your Dollars! If you are a CAP donor, or are considering becoming one, you may be eligible to double your gift through your employer’s matching gift program. Many companies today match monetary support to non-profit community service org, tions that are supported by their employees. Many of these companies match the gifts that are made by their retirees as well. Please write for your brochure “Double Your Dollars,” which lists participating companies and instructions. Send correspondence to:
Teresa McAnly, CAP 322 Crab Orchard Road Lancaster, KY 40446 Respecting the wishes of deceased loved ones, or in honor of them, fa m ilies often req ue st that memorials be sent to us. Memorial gifts live on to benefit others. Many also specify memorial gifts in their wills. Any size gift is welcome. Contact us for more information.
Is there a CAP program that you don’t see in this issue of T h e M ou n tain S pirid. CAP’S
web site includes information about all of CAP’s human development programs, planned giving and major gifts and the volunteer program. Please visit the site at w w w .ch risapp.org and be sure to sign our guest book!
MAY-JUNE
1998
Students from Garrard County High School participated in a nine-county clean up day, p a rt o f P.R.I.D.E., an initiative o f US. Representative H arold Rogers (RKy.), who visited workers in a ll nine counties. CAP workers helped with the clean up, and Operation Sharing provided bags and gloves. Students from left to right are Sarah Ball, Ashley Sims, D aniel Edgington, Scott Barnes, M elody Austin and M ichael Condon.
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T he C LASSkOOM CAP offers education opportunities to adults who want to graduate the second tim e around.
• Story and Photos By Beth D otson • T h e
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hey dropped out of school years ago, but they still remember why. “I got pregnant.” “I didn’t have any clothes to wear.” “I got married.” “They didn’t take the time to help me.” Today, these four women, who have children of their own in school, are once again students. Every week, they walk up the steps of a bus, not to ride to a school but to enter their classroom in the Keith-Miller Education Center. The center is a school bus that Vanessa Tackett, CAP adult education teacher, leaving her office, also known as the has been converted to serve “L ittle R ed School Bus. ” as a classroom. “It’s got all the materials month. The students see other This allows students to get the and everything you need right advantages, the main one being individual instruction and support there on the bus to teach an that the bus is small (it could hold they need. effective GED class,” said Bill 10 students at most) and classes “The bus is real small and it’s Tussey, program manager for have an average of three people. real personal,” said Vanessa adult education in the Christian Tackett, who teaches on it Appalachian Project’s five days a week. She Salyersville office in Magoffin repeatedly talks about how County. Besides the books much she admires the customary for classroom use, it strength of the women she also has a fax machine, computer, instructs — women who WANTED T O GO / printer, and even a small have survived family abuse, coffeepot. “Once we have met the seemingly unending needs in an area, or if things don’t personal crises and the work out in an area, we can pull up humiliation that comes stakes and relocate that bus with growing up in poverty easily,” Bill said. without a good education. The Keith-Miller Education AND THEY JUST When they recall the pain Center opened in 1994 and is now of leaving school, it is in its second location — Garrett obvious that those days are in Floyd County. CAP’s first carved deeply in their classroom-on-a-bus is called The memories. Little Red School Bus. Teachers Deb Hopkins has two began working there in 1992 and teenage daughters who it is now located in Falcon in help her with schoolwork, Magoffin County. but she didn’t have help T O GET Besides having the ability to when she was younger. “I easily relocate, Bill said the bus hated it. It just seemed like KID OF ME also makes good economic sense the teachers didn’t teach. Connie Evans, GED Student for CAP. Rent for the lot on Like, I’m slow to learn and F loyd County which it is located is only $40 a if you’re slow to learn it MAY-JUNE
1998
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Connie Evans (foreground) and Barbara M oore complete an assignm ent on self-esteem.
because she was pregnant and Sandy Powell quit to get married. Connie Evans is a mother of three who says her family was poor when she was in school and it felt like the teachers were more interested in helping the wealthy students. “I didn’t have clothes to wear. I wanted to go,” she recalled. “I was slow to learn, too, and they just pushed me in Kevin Feliciano, Adult Education Instructor o a comer and just passed me on any way just to has merely forgotten some of get rid of me.” On CAP’S bus, all what she studied, the three other the women feel like they have students in the room recall their found a place where they can own difficult days in school. leam. “I feel more comfortable Barbara Moore left school
seems like they’re not going to take the time. They’re always working with the faster students.” While Vanessa reassures Deb that she is not slow to learn but
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with Vanessa,” Connie said. “I’m not as nervous to come here as I would be around 12 people.” “It’s quiet here and you get more study time,” Deb added.
Alternatives for Adults The students work on the same subjects any school teaches. To earn a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) in Kentucky, students must pass tests in writing, literature, math, social studies and science. Vanessa and fellow teacher Kevin Feliciano, a volunteer who has been teaching with CAP for nearly three years, both prefer the External Diploma Program, an alternative to the GED that requires three tests and take-home tasks. Students leam practical skills, such as how to balance a checkbook and how to calculate an annual percentage interest rate at the bank. Only students over
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Kevin said. age 25 who test in at a seventhreally slowed up the educational grade level are eligible to study He recalled one student with process for her,” Kevin said. for it. whom he was working was making “Unfortunately, with so many “It’s a lot more focused on good progress at the beginning. other things on her mind it’s hard utilizing community resources Then she started working from 8 for her to learn something and and then they’re also assessed on a.m. until 1 p.m. at a day care then be ready to come in and take center, so she is not able to make some employable skills,” a test on it.” explained Kevin. Those skills are it in for morning class. She has While he acknowledges these important to the students, who three children, a husband, and a sorts of problems, Kevin also large extended family that often know that the welfare assistance says he saw his own mother raise they receive is going to be cut drops in. She and her husband are a family, work a job and put through welfare reform and they also trying to rebuild their home. herself through college at the will have to get a job. Those who “Any time she can squeeze it in same time. “I know it’s do-able. have already been into the she’ll do a little studying, but it’s It just depends on how much you marketplace looking for a job found that most employers will not hire someone without a high school diploma or its equivalent. Yet, welfare reform has caused hardship for teachers and students alike. Reform requirements vary according to counties and personal circumstances with some people being required to work 20 hours a week, even if they have yet to earn a high school equivalency diploma. Kevin said some of his students are now squeezing in classes and studies when they can between family and work obligations. “The students are just as frustrated with it as I am because they know that you really can’t get a decent job to support a family without a good education, but at the same they’re just being put into these minimum wage type jobs and there’s not a whole lot of chance for Kevin Feliciano, CAP volunteer and adult educator, takes a moment to recall a fe w o f any upward mobility,” his students and the obstacles they face. MAY-JUNE
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rather for the self-esteem. want to do. But I think a TA U G H T MY CHILDREN IT A lot of the people around lot of people don’t have here, when they know they that as a role model in WASN'T W HAT PEOPLE can achieve this, it kind of their life. They don’t see opens the door to let them a lot of it going on know they can achieve around them,” he said. TH O U G H T OF THEM, IT other things that they want Attitudes are difficult to work toward. They can to change with laws. be more than what they are Kevin would like to see schools and churches TH O U G H T OF THEM, FIRST right now. They can do more than what they’re working to infuse a doing right now,” Kevin better work ethic in the OFF, AND W HAT THEY said. “They can do what it region. He also takes to move ahead. It’s recognizes, “I haven’t TH O U G H T OF THEMSELVES” . more important than just lived in their shoes. I the piece of paper.” don’t know what kind of B arbara M oore; GED Student Connie recognizes that family they grew up in. F loyd County about her classes. “It’s just And I understand that something that gives me sometimes there are more confidence, I guess, in things in life that just take mind.” myself to know that I did this,” precedence over your education. The teachers and students all she said. Education is a long-term thing recognize how pursuing an “Yeah that’s me,” agreed Sandy. and a lot of these people are just education can improve a person’s “If you can do one thing, you can trying to meet immediate needs, self-concept. “I’ve probably come do another.” day-to-day crises, so sometimes to realize that education is not so “That’s right. I’ve set my mind that stuff just gets in the way and much important for the sake of to it this time and I’ve said I’m not it’s hard to keep the big picture in education and getting a job, but
Within the confines o f the renovated school bus, Vanessa Tackett takes her students to new levels o f achievement and educational success.
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Students fe e l comfortable and a t ease in the close quarters and quiet sanctum o f the bus. Equipped with a computer, printer, copier, telephone, bathroom and even a coffee maker, the educational fa c ility m akes use o f every available inch o f space.
dropping out,” Connie said. Vanessa added her encouragement with a smile. “And remember, Connie, I know where you live.” The students laugh at the thought of Vanessa going out to hunt down her student.
“I’m glad,” Connie said. “I don’t think you have to worry about that because I really want to do it this time.” “I know that you will,” Vanessa replied.
“ T h e b u r d e n is ON THEIR. SHOULDERS . . . WE ARE PROGRAMMED T H A T WAY.” Vanessa Tackett, Adult Educator Floyd County
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Women and their children Part of the reason that Vanessa has confidence in these students is because they are women. Although she teaches a few men, it was the women who were willing to talk about their experiences, and the women who often most feel the responsibility for their children. “The burden is on their shoulders,” Vanessa said. “We are programmed that way.”
Besides cultural influences that make women feel the responsibility for their children, the welfare system has also reinforced that in the past. Vanessa pointed out that many women not married to the father of their children received a check from Aid to Families with Dependent Children, putting the financial accountability into the woman’s hands. Now it is the mothers who are looking for jobs and ways to help their children avoid the traps they fell into. “Whatever they seek to do, I want them to accomplish it,” Deb said about her kids. “I want mine to go to college,” Sandy said. “I want her to have something. I want her to do something with herself.” While Sandy has hopes for her 14-year-old daughter, Natasha,
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Sandy Powell quit school the fir s t time around to g et married. She is determ ined to make this tim e count, as well as see that her children g et the m ost out o f an education.
she fears that her son will end up in her position. He is 12 years old and cannot read. “I try my best, it’s just something that won’t kick in,” she said. “But you put that child outside and tell him to do anything he wants to do and he can do it. When it comes to a book, he can’t. I don’t know why.” That is precisely the problem that some adult students encountered when they were younger. Their natural talents and interests didn’t fit into the regular school curriculum and no one was able to figure out how to channel their intelligence into the academic subjects they needed to graduate. Connie says her three children all do well in school and have an extraordinary talent in art. Speaking of her son, she said, “The school where they go doesn’t help him follow through with his talent and I can’t figure that out.” Barbara Moore did figure out
some of what she had to do with her daughters to help them succeed in school. She said that when she learned this, it was too late for her, but she was blessed to be able to share it with her daughters. “I taught my children it wasn’t what people thought of them, it was what God thought of them, first off, and what they thought of themselves. And I told them not to listen to what people say. And that God knows best,” Barbara said. Apparently it worked. Her oldest daughter graduated from college with a degree in nuclear medicine. Her next daughter will soon graduate with a degree in social work. While the parents encourage the children and do what they can to make life better for them, they also work to improve themselves. Of welfare reform, Deb said, “I think it’s to give us a chance and to give us that extra push that we need.” Bill Tussey wants to be sure
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that these students have the academic knowledge they need, as well as the work force skills that will help them survive on the job. “W e’re trying to do more handson stuff with our students. We’re trying to get them involved in making decisions for themselves and having them go out and get hands-on experience,” he said. Whether doing that in a classroom with Kevin, on the bus with Vanessa or with one of the other teachers, CAP’S adult education students are focusing on the future. They want to overcome the problems they had the first time around in school, and they want to ensure that the next generation graduates. Sandy said, “It might be too late for me, but it won’t be too late for Natasha. I’ll raise her and teach her and tell her to do that, to learn all she can learn.” •
Beth Dotson, a free-lance writer, is a form er CAP volunteer.
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Letters to the Editor We read The Mountain Spirit, every word. It’s so heartwarming to know there are still so many compassionate people out there. Their reward is awaiting them in heaven. Anyhow, we are so privileged to be a small part of this missionary work. Mr. & M rs L. P. Derington Bradenton, Fla.
I enjoyed reading The Mountain Spirit. I’ve never lived in the mountains, but people are the same everywhere. I grew up as a poor little girl. My parents had twelve children, six of each. They were farmers. They taught us to be truthful and honest. 1 find in reading The Mountain Spirit, these people are like that too. Mrs. Dorothy Balle Eaton, Ind.
I read The Mountain Spirit from cover to cover. I truly enjoy the reports on what CAP is accomplishing in the Appalachians! I wish I was young enough to volunteer and help and meet those good people! I’m over 82 years old, so I’ll do the best I can — pray and send a donation now and then. Have a beautiful, giving day! Mrs. Lillian V. Janega Chicago, III.
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1998
The Mountain Spirit keeps me connected with the people of Appalachia and makes me proud of their accomplishments. My grandmother was from Tennessee. A le the a Northrup y, San Jose, Calif.
T The Mountain Spirit has become a lifeline to CAP’s wonderful work in Appalachia. As a volunteer for four months in the CAPRICE programs, I met so many dedicated workers, and appreciated my time with participants and their families, a special time of being loved and loving for the Lord’s sake. Of great interest to me was the article with pictures on the “Awesome Vacation” trip. Never will I forget the energy that getting ready for it all expended. You all remain in my thoughts, prayers and, of course, as I can support. Barbara J. Chiappetta Harwich, Mass.
What a wonderful publication! What a wonderful reminder of the spirit of the human body and the Holy Spirit of God working together to living new life to an area of our country so poor materially speaking, but so rich in faith and hope and trust in God. Please continue to pray for us and our intentions. Know that all of you are in our prayers daily. Mr. & Mrs. D avid Lonergan Cranston, R.I.
Keep up your holy and beautiful work! I especially enjoy your stories about the volunteers, both short term and long-term and it is very uplifting to hear about the volunteers who stay for an extended length of time. Your organization must be doing a lot of things right to inspire them. My continued prayers are with you. Pamela Murphy Collegeville, Pa.
I sure enjoy reading about people and places I knew when I was a volunteer ten years ago in Martin, Ky. Our girls are 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 now and keep us quite busy. Please greet Mike Sanders for us. M arie & J e ff Winker St. Paul, Minn.
I enjoy reading the magazine very much. It keeps me in touch with a different part of the country I have never seen. I am elderly and can no longer get about very much. Ms. Lillian Petersen Laverne, Calif.
Letters to the editor are welcome. They should not exceed 150 words in length, and we resen’e the right to edit them fo r space. Address letters to: The M ountain S p irit C hristian A ppalachian P roject 322 Crab O rchard S treet L ancaster, K Y 40446
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When most people are asked to give an explanation or description of education, the typical answer will have something to do with institutions and academic skills such as math or science or social studies. Education tends to be measured by counting the number of years of formal schooling or by diplomas and degrees in specific disciplines. However when the folks at CAP’s new Job Start program are asked to talk about education, they insist that learning is a life long process that goes far beyond anything found between the covers of a book or diagrammed on a chalk board. In fact, they will suggest that “book learning,” as one staffer recently called formal education, is not nearly as important as a number of other fundamental skills that also can be learned. “Self-confidence is more important than any diploma hanging on a wall,” said Judy Dillingham, who has been with Job Start since its inception as a pilot program in the summer of 1997. “It doesn’t matter how much formal schooling you have. If you don’t believe in yourself you’re not going to have much success in the world of work.” And the world of work is what Job Start is all about. Last summer several people in CAP’s human development programs decided to pool their talent and resources to find ways to help folks get off welfare and into the work force. The initiative was the initial response to the realization that the Federal Welfare Reform Act posed dire circumstances for many of the people CAP serves. CAP employees and volunteers from outreach and MAY-JUNE
1998
adult education programs were joined by staff from child development centers and human development administrators. After some brainstorming they developed a “job readiness” curriculum and decided to implement it at two separate sites in Berea and Lancaster, communities where CAP operates a variety of programs. Thirty-six individuals, mostly women and mostly welfare recipients, Sob Start classes include reading, discussion and hands-on ,, , • experience. enrolled in the y Job Start pilot human development for CAP. programs which ran from 5 to 10 “We had hoped that about 33 weeks, 8 hours a day, 5 days per percent would be able to find jobs week. The original notion was to so we were pleased with the initial focus on improving basic math results.” and reading skills, learning to use So pleased, in fact, that Brenda various business and office and Paula Woodman, manager of machinery, adjusting to computer one of CAP’s adult education technology, learning to do job programs, immediately set about applications and interviews, preparing a grant application to developing listening and Kentucky’s Cabinet for reasoning skills, building self Workforce Development that esteem and working toward other would not only enable the personal goals that would make continuation of Job Start but also the program participants more help it tackle a much more employable. ambitious undertaking. Last fall “Of the original 36, eleven have the cabinet announced that it full-time jobs and twelve were would grant CAP $389,000 to pursuing additional training or expand and continue the program. education goals two weeks after “During 1998 and 1999, our the program ended,” said Brenda goal is to run a total of 347 Riddle, assistant director of
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practice to become a permanent CAP volunteer and who has also served as a Job Start teacher and facilitator since its first days as a pilot program. “Many of these women have been beaten, cursed, and convinced that they are worthless for most of their lives so it’s only natural that they believe it. What we discovered is that they are starved for love and affection and that more than anything else, they need to know that somebody else cares for them,” said Sandy. Sandy Spaulding, a fa m ily dierapist, jo in e d the CAP “Caring is probably volunteer ranks and serves as a Job Start teacher what we do best and and facilitator. what’s most needed,” participants through one of echoed Judy Dillingham, who several 12-week sessions that will previously worked with CAP be held in at least four different Child Development in Berea for locations,” Brenda said. “We are several years and who insists that spreading the sites out so that putting a one- or two-word title they will be easily available to on her position wouldn’t do residents in six counties and there anything to explain the work she is the possibility that we may be does. “You have to be an able to add a couple understanding of other sites and friend, “M any o f th ese mentor, sister serve additional counties. I think we women have been and mother learned enough in and you can’t beaten, cursed, the pilot program fake it. It has to demonstrate to to be real and an d convinced the state that we’re it’s the very th a t th ey are on to something.” thing most of “The teaching our women w orthless fo r staff learned a lot need. When m ost o f th eir more in the first that kind of go-around than any lives, so i t ’s only bonding of the students,” happens, the n atu ral th a t th ey classroom said Sandy Spaulding, a family w ould believe it. ” work is therapist who has almost second Sandy Spaulding, given up a 30-year nature. JO B START Teacher professional “Many
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women have husbands or men in their lives who don’t want them here,” Judy added. Some men feel threatened when the women in their lives start showing a little independence and find out they can do things for themselves. “And these are the women who really need close, caring friends,” she said. “W e’ve found out that this is not something that can be done in bits and pieces,” said Sandy. “We concentrate on the ‘whole person,’ body, mind and soul. People have to learn to eat right, sleep right, dress right and get medical attention to make their bodies feel good. They need to develop an inner spirit of faith and confidence in themselves before any real learning can set in, so it’s a continuous process of different parts of the whole person growing at the same time. One part reinforces the other which reinforces the other and the cycle keeps on going. When it’s working right, the whole person gets stronger and stronger.” “We learned right off that most of our people are scared to death of computers,” said Sandy. “One of the things we try to do now is get them on a computer within the first hour of the first day they enter Job Start. We assure them that there’s nothing they can do to break it unless they physically pick it up and throw it on the floor and that there’s absolutely nothing it can do to them. It’s such an easy fear to overcome and they go home at the end of that first day realizing that they’ve done something they’ve never done before and there’s one less thing in life to fear. Within a day or two they can’t wait to get back on the computer.” Sandy spreads the credit around to at least half a dozen other
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A Job Start Success Story Toni Baker completed the twelve-week Job Start course at the Renfro Valley site early in March and learned a job had just opened up at CAP’S Rainbow Respite Center which provides residential care for people with disabilities. She applied for the job, interviewed and was hired. “I’ve been here eleven days and I still can’t believe I’ve got this job,” she said. “I love it so much.” As a resident assistant, Toni provides personal care to people who need help bathing, dressing, eating and with other personal needs. “I enjoy helping people,” she said. “Job Start taught me to believe in myself and I made so many friends while I was there. And not just the staff. There’s about a dozen of us who were in the program at the same time and we talk to each other almost every day. I know I’ve made some friends that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
people but she has been the person who has taken it upon herself to make sure that every Job Start participant has access to a computer at least two hours every day. Since there was no money in the budget for more than seven laptop computers, Job Start staffers started accumulating machines that other organizations considered obsolete and were ready to trash. Many of them use old five-and-one-quarter-inch floppy disks. “Some of them came from Cumberland College, the Jackson County Board of Education and CAP’s warehouse. We really just had a big pile of parts and pieces and cables so we started mixing and matching until we came up MAY-JUNE
Toni Baker (right) with a Rainbow Respite participant, Sharon Morris, to whom she provides service, care and friendship.
with a complete unit that worked. Then we’d start over. We must have come up with at least 15 that way,” said Sandy. Job Start students now have access to older and intermediate models of computers, which many small businesses still use, as well as current technology. “Actually it’s sort of nice that it worked out that way,” said Sandy. “Now our students not only begin to understand how the technology has advanced over the last fifteen years or so, they also know how to run the old machines as well as the new ones and that’s something that isn’t being taught much anymore. If one of our people finds a job opportunity in a small business with an old computer
they could very likely have an advantage in the application process.” Rachel Dickerson, the personal computer wizard in CAP’s information systems department, somehow managed to come up with educational software that is compatible with all the computers in Job Start. As a result, students can develop typing skills, increase their math and writing ability, and study numerous other subjects at their own pace. Most Job Start staffers insist, however, that while the old computers are better than nothing at all, the most crying need in the program is for modem technology and for all Job Start students to have access to the
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Internet. It is very doubtful that anyone would miss the old machines if they could be replaced with new equipment. Tom Conner, director of human development, glows with enthusiasm when he talks about Job Start. “At our Annville site in Jackson County, the community has bent over backwards to help make this program a success. Businesses are allowing our students to come to work with their employees so that they can get first hand experience with what a job is all about. They’ve even made a nice, modem classroom available to us and there are 600 manufacturing and service jobs within 200 yards of the classroom. I believe that many of our graduates will be able to walk out of the building and go to work next door.” While students are encouraged to complete the entire 12-week program, several have found jobs after only a few weeks in the program. “We’ve had one woman who actually found the job of her dreams in a local doctor’s office. She was here several weeks — long enough to get up the confidence and courage to apply — and she still can’t believe she’s been hired,” said Anne Elkins, a teacher at the Renfro Valley site. “Now she’s in a position that she really enjoys and she
will have the opportunity to study and grow professionally.” “We’ve had one man — in fact the only man who has attended the Renfro Valley program — find a job with a local carpenter where he can increase his skills and do something he enjoys,” said Judy Dillingham. “Two of our graduates have even gone to work in CAP programs. So far we’ve had nine people get full time jobs and a few others have interviews scheduled.”
Ike Adams is CAP’s director o f marketing.
The A nnville Job S ta rt site is located in a fa n n er conference room made available by Jackson County Rehabilitation Industries (JCRI). Workers here are assembling sophisticated telephone wiring that will be used by Sprint Communications. Some Job Start graduates may be able to walk out the door and go to work in this plant. Job Start students are able to “shadow ” workers a t JCRI. Shadowing involves follow ing a worker through his or her routine and duties, in order to enable the student to understand what the jo b entails. In the meantime, on a daily basis, JC RI workers assure students, “I f I can learn to do this, I know you can. ”
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Several Job Start students plan to either complete requirements for a high school diploma or enroll in college. Some already come an hour early and stay an hour late to work on GED courses at the Annville site where teacher Richie Kincaid says, “They’re working me to death. They may be on welfare but anyone who tells you these women don’t want to work doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” •
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“F or them to say tom e, ‘w edon ’t n eed you here ’ is th e greatest com plim ent th at they cou ld g ive to me. To me, th a t’s what it’s a ll about. ” Kan DelRe
When Kim DelRe was growing up in Chicago, she knew there had to be a different life, something that would suit her better than the bustle of city life. “Somehow, all those years growing up in Chicago — and we were right in the city, we didn’t do the suburb thing — I always had the feeling that there was something else, a kinder, gentler place to live.” That kinder, gentler place to live turned out to be Somerset, Ky., and a few years later, Kim found that working for the
♦ MAY-JUNE
Christian Appalachian Project gave her the opportunity to involve herself in work that suited those feelings, as well. Kim was introduced to CAP when she began working at a CAP spouse abuse shelter, but found her current calling when she was hired as head teacher at a CAP child development center. Although Kim had no experience working with children, she felt suited to the job and quickly became experienced with the educational needs of children in
their early years. Today Kim manages the CAP Child Development Center in Berea, where she works with families as well as their children. Kim has seen a shift in family involvement during her years in child development. “We continue to learn more and more about how to [involve families],” she said. During her days as a head teacher, parent involvement meant parents coming to work in the center during regular school hours, Kim said. Teachers and
by Margaret Gabriel ♦
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parents alike found the contact valuable. The moms and dads were able to relate to their children differently from the way they did at home, and were able to gain new appreciation for their children’s capabilities as students. They were also able to observe a different model of discipline than that which they might have experienced. Because parents — particularly mothers — today are having to work outside the home because of changes to welfare regulations, parent involvement and instruction is taking a different route. “We still have some families coming in to work, but that’s not always possible now,” Kim said. “We do more home visiting now, and once a month in the evening we get together for classes.” Kim is particularly excited about “Families Growing Together,” a family literacy project at the center that has a weekly attendance of seven to eight. “It’s the highlight of their week for many of them,” Kim said. “We do a lot of really neat stuff with that. I can’t begin to express how much that group has grown with their own relationships as a group. They’ve become quite self-sufficient, in that often they lead it, and I don’t even have to take care of it. We provide the child care, and sometimes I lead the group and sometimes another parent leads.” For example, one mother recently led a discussion and demon stration of low-fat, low-cost cooking. “For them to say to me, ‘we don’t need you here’ is the greatest compliment that they could give to me. To me, that’s what it’s all about.” Kim’s reference to “another parent” speaks of her relationship
with her 24year-old daughter, Samantha. Kim proudly reports that Samantha has gotten to the other side of the “mean teen years,” and has emerged as a daughter who relates to Kim on an adult level, and “feels comfortable talking to me about anything.” The parent group at CAP Child Development frequently Kim DelRe takes recess with some o f her students. spends a part of each certainly not planning to give up meeting making craft items to the work with children and market at an annual sale. Kim families that she enjoys so much. began to connect more closely When she began her work with with this enterprise when she the Christian Appalachian Project began a craft business out of her in 1985, Kim was excited about home, Lace Wing Silks, which the things she had to share with produces hand painted silk. “I’m the people she began working having a lot of fun with that, with. She had been a single mother trying to explore what to do.” She has participated in a few of for several years, and was anxious to demonstrate the kinds of things the many art shows featured in that women can do with love and Kentucky’s communities, is a encouragement. But the women member of a juried guild in she worked with at Bethany House Somerset and was recently juried had much to share, too, she into the Kentucky Craft realized. From them, and now Marketing Program, which will from the mothers she meets at the help her to explore the marketing child development center, “I have options available to her. learned so much more than I can “I’ve got [displays in] a couple ever hope to give them. I’ve of shops, and I’m looking for a received so much from people few other things, too, but with who are much stronger than they working full time, I really can’t ever know that they are. I am just plunge ahead and do a big continually amazed by that.” wholesale effort.” And Kim is T h e
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“Never Give Up” Attitude Inspires Achievement Anita Robinson has a quality that Bill Tussey respects more than just about any other. “No matter what happens to Anita, she keeps on trying,” says Bill, manager of the Christian Appalachian Project’s adult education program in the Hagerhill region. Knowing that literacy skills are an important foundation for her family, Anita began to work on the reading she would need to study for the General Equivalency Diploma. “Anita has been able to use us as a sounding board through a lot of family problems,” Bill says. Her husband is unable to work now due to a disability and her son has dropped out of school, but Anita now works as an aide for the local school system, which also motivates her to continue working on her education. When her son insisted on
B ill Tussey, mauager o f CAP’s adult education in the H agerhill region.
dropping out of high school, Anita stipulated that he must work on his GED “if he wanted a roof over his head. She also insisted that he get a job to help pay the bills and his own way,” Bill says. Bill believes that Anita has a high level of trust in the teachers she has met through CAP because of the high level of respect that they have paid her. “No matter what happens to her, Anita keeps on coming to class,” he says, “and we really respect her for her hard work.” Anita has had a difficult time achieving beyond the Adult Basic Education level, but she keeps on trying, Bill says, continuing to work as an aide for children with disabilities, as she provides love and nurturing for her husband and children. Hard work from Anita and the trust and respect from Bill and other CAP adult education teachers will combine for Anita’s success. The love and support of CAP donors is the last essential ingredient. Your gift of $25, $50 — even $100, if you are able — for use where it is needed most will assure that people like Anita will be able to continue working toward that success.
• In 1990 45 percent of the adults over the age of 25 living in CAP’S direct service area had completed high school. The poverty level in those counties was 30 percent. • In 1995 the largest group of adult learners was between the ages of 25 and 44. • In one area served by the Christian Appalachian Project, fewer than 30 percent of the high school graduates go on to college. Nationally, 77 percent of graduates continue their education. • Future jobs will require that workers continuously learn new skills nad adapt to newtechonology. Data references available upon request. Shaded area indicates the boundaries of the Appalachian region
CHRISTIAN APPALACHIAN PROJECT 322 CRAB ORCHARD ROAD LANCASTER, KY 40446 THE MOUNTAIN SPIRIT
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