Temple Beth-El Earth Day Community Conversation Connects Local Food, Anti-Hunger Efforts
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining Little Savannah Co-Owner Maureen Holt, a slow food advocate, for an Earth Day community conversation with Temple Beth-El (TBE) members about local food and anti-hunger efforts in Birmingham.
Thus, I was challenged to connect eating local and fighting hunger. As I followed along with the day’s Torah readings, a passage from Leviticus Chapter 19 jumped out at me: “you shall not favor the poor and you shall not honor the great.”
Exactly, I said to myself. Locally grown produce and farmers markets should not just be for the affluent; in a just society, there should be choices available to all of us, regardless of income.
In order to build food justice, we need many different kinds of people, organizations and businesses within a community to work together to increase access to healthy, affordable, fresh food produced and processed locally.
Many thanks to TBE Community Conversation Co-Chair and APP Board Chair Joyce Spielberger for inviting me to speak to her congregation. Thank you also to her Community Conversation Co-Chair Toby Siegel and TBE Executive Director Bob Greenberg for coordinating the program.
We are especially grateful to have TBE join our faith partnership with a monetary donation. TBE’s Earth Day program was sponsored by Dalia & Keith Abrams, Suzanne & Howard Bearman, Chico Bomchel Memorial Social Action Fund, Barbara Bonfield, Barbara & Scott Brande, Cherie & Bob Greenberg, Sheri & Jimmy Krell, Vicki & Art Lewis, Esther Schuster & Allen Shealy, Gail & Abe Schuster, and Joyce Spielberger.
For information about APP’s anti-hunger work, or how your faith community can join APP’s Faith Partnership, please contact me at 205.939.1408 or kscott@alabamapossible.org
Above: TBE Community Conversation Co-Chair and APP Board Chair Joyce Spielberger, APP ED Kristina Scott, and TBE Community Conversation Co-Chair Toby Siegel outside Temple Beth-El.
The Common Core State Standards are rigorous academic standards that were adopted by the State Board of Education in 2010 after an extensive review process. They have already helped make tremendous strides in Alabama’s children’s teaching and learning.
Parents, educators, and business and military leaders all across the state have united in their support to continue implementing these standards — but their requests were ignored today.
This bill, SB403, will now move to the full Senate. If it passes, the bill would then have to be given favorable report in a House committee and passed by the full House.
Please ask your legislators to base their decisions on the facts, not a national campaign of disinformation. Click here for your legislators’ contact information and talk with them today.
I hope that you are enjoying Holy Week and Passover with your friends and family.
These celebrations, while very different, are defining holidays for Christians and Jews. As I reflected on the meanings behind them, I saw a common thread: freedom. We can put that freedom to work by being a force for good and a champion for peace.
Alabama is the second hungriest state in the country, and 19 percent of Alabamians – and 28 percent of our children – live below the federal poverty line.
The statistics can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, if we dedicate ourselves to truth, love, and God, we will be a part of something much stronger and more enduring than any negative power here on Earth.
I hope you share my faith that we can achieve a state of social justice where everyone has the opportunity to make the most of their potential, where they are not held back by where they are from, and every Alabamian is supported to succeed. Thank you for working with us to educate, engage, and advocate to reduce poverty in Alabama.
Wishing you a joyous Passover and a blessed Easter,
During the simulation, students experienced some of the challenges facing those living at or below poverty in the U.S. Students had to deal with maintaining employment, caring for children or elderly family members, seeking public assistance, dealing with transportation issues, and other challenges face by people living in poor urban areas in the context of constrained financial circumstances.
For many of these students, the simulation was a powerful and worldview-changing experience, and it showed them the emotional toll and frustration that individuals living in poverty face. One student said he had a better understanding of why people use “Quik Cash and Cash-24 places,” noting that “sometimes you have to pay the bills and these places are your only option.”
The Community Action Poverty Simulation was created as a way to help students and community members understand the realities of poverty. During the simulation, participants role-play the lives of those who may have fallen on hard times. Some will be TANF recipients, some will be disabled, and some will play the role of senior citizens on Social Security. They have the stressful task of providing for basic necessities and shelter on a limited budget during the course of four, 15-minute “weeks.” They interact with human service agencies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers, police officers and others.
AmeriCorps Weekwas held March 9th to 17th as a salute to AmeriCorps members and alums for their service, thank AmeriCorps community partners, and communicate AmeriCorps’ impact on communities and on the lives of those who serve. This year’s theme, AmeriCorps Works, reflects AmeriCorps’ triple bottom line return on investment — for the recipients of service, the people who serve, and the larger community and nation.
If you are interested in hosting a poverty simulation at your workplace or house of worship, please contact us at 205.939.1408 or email Kristina Scott.
APP AmeriCorps*VISTA, Kevi Martin acting as a service provider during the poverty simulation.
HICA Americorps*VISTA, Matt Butler, volunteering as a service provider during the poverty simulation.
APP’s Blueprints College Access Initiative sponsoring FAFSA completion events in Chilton, Franklin, Perry, and Shelby Counties.
University of Montevallo Financial Aid Officers Kim Miller and Maria Parker, Blueprints Mentor Ashley Humphrey, AmeriCorps*VISTA Courtney Bennett, Blueprints Mentor Darlena Garner, Blueprints Program Coordinator Hannah Selles, and Blueprints Volunteer Jay Causey at a FAFSA completion event in Montevallo.
FAFSA completion helps students and their families access federal and most state financial support, including grants, scholarships, the lowest-cost student loans and work-study opportunities. Studies show that 9 out of 10 students who complete the FAFSA go on to postsecondary education.
Blueprints held FAFSA completion events in February in Birmingham, Marion, Montevallo, and Phil Campbell. We are working with Judson College, Northwest-Shoals Community College and the University of Montevallo on intensive efforts in Chilton, Franklin, Perry, and Shelby Counties. Over the next month we will host additional FAFSA completion events, provide individual assistance, and host FAFSA follow- up events where professionals and volunteers will help students and their families interpret financial aid packages offered by postsecondary institutions.
Blueprints works to increase educational attainment and create a college-going culture in the state. Alabama ranks 44th in educational attainment, which is closely liked to personal and economic well-being.
If you are an educator, parent or student at a public high school in Chilton, Franklin, Perry or Shelby Counties and would like to host a FAFSA completion event or need assistance with completing the FAFSA or interpreting aid awards please contact us at 205.939.1408.
Taylor Bell is a senior sociology major at APP Cornerstone Member Samford University. He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and is in his fourth year volunteering as a tutor and mentor with APP Faith Partner Baptist Church of the Covenant’s Leadership Southtown program.
We recently sat down with Taylor for an introductory conversation. Here’s what he had to say:
You are in the final semester of your career at Samford. Why did you choose to study sociology?
“I chose sociology because of my genuine passion for understanding both society and how we as individuals find our place within it. Coupled with my passion for justice and equality, I find sociology a means to further understanding why society is structured the way it is, and most important how we can fix it. The ‘human element’ is always presenting us with new opportunities of study.”
How did you get involved with Alabama Possible?
“I got involved with Alabama Possible because I needed an internship for my spring semester. I found out about APP and connected to the staff through Mrs. Cassandra Adams, the Director of Cumberland School of Law’s Mediation Center and Public Interest Project. I pursued the opportunity to intern at APP because I believe in their mission of combating systemic poverty.”
You have lived in Birmingham for four years now. What are some of your favorite places in the city?
“I love Saw’s BBQ, especially the one in Avondale. I also enjoy Urban Standard or O’Henry’s for a cup of coffee and Mountain Brook for a good run.”
Are you reading any books right now?
“I just finished Paul Tillich’s Dynamics of Faith for my ‘Theories of Faith Development’ course. Tillich’s premise is that faith is central to who we are; no one can be faithless.”
What is your favorite movie?
“It is a tie between ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘The Soloist.’”
What is one issue in Birmingham that you would like to see changed?
“The huge disparities among the Birmingham metro area’s public schools.”
In 2013, the Alabama Poverty Project will continue to highlight individuals in the Alabama Possible movement whose work affects change in the dynamics of poverty in our state. Our January spotlight features Blueprints College Access Initiative Mentor, Ariel Smith, a sophomore in our higher education partner UAB’s Global and Community Leadership (GCL) Honors Program. Ariel recently shared with APP staff what her involvement with the Blueprints program has meant in her own life and how the experience has shaped her personal and vocational goals for the future.
Ariel Smith, a Human Resources Major at UAB, first learned about Blueprints in her freshman Exploring Birmingham course taught by APP Executive Director Kristina Scott.
“I had made it very clear in our class discussions that my area of interest would be poverty and education,” said Ariel.
Today, Ariel leads the UAB mentors at Woodlawn High School and said she is “addicted” to the work.
Ariel is a Birmingham native. She was raised in a low-income, single-parent household and graduated from Cornerstone Academy and John Carroll High School. Ariel said she values the chance to extend a hand to students with whom she shares a background, but who might not have the same resources and relationships she had.
“We give them testimonies. We connect them with people they do not have in their families, they do not have in their neighborhood, and they are desperately looking to see. And for me, I’m a chance to be that image of a person that they either want to meet or want to become,” she said.
Ariel’s leadership with Blueprints also impacted her personal goals.
“Blueprints made me try to define where I wanted to go. I’ve realized that I can make an impact on education not so much by always being in the classroom, but on the administrative side. There is legislation that has to be passed, budgets that have to be allocated properly, and people that have to provide basic leadership training and development, where a person with a human resources background can be very helpful,” she said.
Ariel has decided to pursue a Masters of Public Administration after finishing her undergraduate studies at UAB and intends to pursue a career in education policy.
During 2012, faith communities, local businesses, and individuals like you contributed $16,786 to the Alabama Poverty Project.
Montevallo High School 9th graders visited the University of Montevallo at the conclusion of this fall’s Blueprints early awareness program.
. Thank you!
We are immensely grateful to partners like you. You inspire us and constantly remind us that, together, we have the power to end poverty and hunger in Alabama.
We hope that you had a chance to join us at one of our programs this year. The highlights included:
• The Blueprints College Access Initiative, which worked with more than 500 students at eight high schools across Alabama. Through a combination of early awareness and college coaching, Blueprints increases college access by supporting families in college and career planning, financial aid literacy, and ACT preparation. Thank you for helping students pursue their college dreams.
• Bringing together leaders from the social justice and business communities for a conversation with APP Founder Wayne Flynt and retired Energen CEO Mike Warren on the issue of poverty and the potential for the business community to facilitate social change. Thank you for helping us bring together unusual partners to achieve Alabama’s potential.
• July’s Summer Workshop and September’s Lifetime of Learning Conference, which brought together students, educators, and community partners to learn about ending poverty and working in diverse communities. At both events, we learned that listening to each other is what makes magic happen. Thank you for giving us the chance to listen.
As supporters of Alabama Possible-Alabama Poverty Project, you hope that together we can reduce, and one day end, poverty in Alabama.
That hope comes from the conviction, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach, work, and fight for it.
You can give the gift of hope with our 2012 gift membership premium.
This year, we teamed up with Camden’s BlackBelt Treasures and Lowndes County Artist Andrew McCall, who works with wisteria, Kudzu and grape vines he harvests from the backwoods of the Black Belt to make unique wreaths. No two are alike.
For your donation of $50 or more, we’ll mail your honoree a gift box with artisan-made wreath adorned with burlap flowers (natural or Alabama Possible Blue) along with a special note acknowledging your gift and their membership in APP supporting of our work engaging, educating, and advocating to reduce poverty in Alabama.
Blueprints mentors from both NWSCC chapters of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society planned and hosted the campus visit for 22 10th graders. The PCHS students visited history, nursing, sociology, English, and machine shop courses throughout the morning. Afterwards, many students said they learned something new about their intended major while observing the lectures. One student who attended the machine shop course proudly showed off his handiwork, a medallion emblazoned with his football jersey number.
PCHS Sophomore Breeona Baker said that she wants to work in a health care field because “I have always enjoyed helping people . . . I have all of the skills and desires to stay on task and achieve my dreams.”
Breeona was named the Phil Campbell Blueprints valedictorian by earning the most points for her Blueprints portfolio by completing extra-curricular assignments with the help of her teachers, parents and mentors.
PTK officers from the NWSCC’s Muscle Shoals campus led workshops on resume building, professional interview skills, and etiquette. Students then created their own resumes.
Dr. Humphrey Lee, NWSCC president and APP board member, added to the excitement about college when he awarded students who successfully completed the Fall 2012 Blueprints program a scholarship for three credit hours at NWSCC. This scholarship can be added to the Spring 2012 three-credit Blueprints scholarship for a total of six credit hours.
As Dr. Lee said, the students “have money in the bank.”
Dr. Lee also announced a special Leadership Scholarship Essay Contest available only to Phil Campbell Blueprints students who submit essays on what the Blueprints program has meant to them and why they desire to continue their education at Northwest-Shoals Community College. The winner will receive a half-tuition, renewable scholarship to NWSCC.
Thanks to APP Higher Education partner Northwest-Shoals Community College, Dr. Lee, Nora Lee, and members of the two NWSCC Phi Theta Kappa chapters for their leadership.
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining Little Savannah Co-Owner Maureen Holt, a slow food advocate, for an Earth Day community conversation with Temple Beth-El (TBE) members about local food and anti-hunger efforts in Birmingham.
