Last Monday, Montevallo High School juniors got a taste of college life when they visited APP Higher Education Member University of Montevallo.

The 40 Blueprints College Access Initiative students attended college classes, explored the historic campus, enjoyed lunch in Anna Irvin Dining Hall, and talked with faculty and students about the college experience.

MHS alumnus Dr. Jim Day welcomed the students to campus and shared his personal journey from high school to military, college, and career as a UM history professor.  Student Government Association members Rachael Swokowski and Shelby Mays also spoke to the students about their pathways to college.

Many students had graduated from the Blueprints early awareness program as 9th graders.  The 11th graders focused on specific details of the decisions they are making about their futures, including upcoming financial aid and college application deadlines.

Christina Morris was the Montevallo Blueprints valedictorian when she was a freshman.  After completing the college coaching program, Christina said that “as you go through life, you have to forge your own path, even though sometimes you have to go it alone.”

Mentor Ashley Humphrey, a Mass Communications major, said one of the lessons she learned was that “to get respect, you have to treat others with respect.”

The field trip concluded with a graduation ceremony to celebrate the students’ completion of the Blueprints college coaching curriculum. Kirklynn Hamby, who completed the most independent enrichment activities during the semester, won $50 to celebrate her achievements.

Thank you to Montevallo High School and the University of Montevallo for their work promoting a college-going culture. In addition, special thanks to Dr. Laurel Hitchcock, assistant professor of social work, and the students of her Human Behavior class for their service-learning partnership and to the Office of Service Learning and Community Engagement for coordinating the day.

Perry County, known as the “Athens of the South”, has a rich history as an education center.  Marion is home to APP Higher Education Member Judson College along with Marion Military Institute. APP Cornerstone Members Alabama State University and Samford University also trace their roots back to Marion.

However, it is a community with tremendous needs.  Nearly 40 percent of Perry County children live below the federal poverty line.

As part of their professional training, Gwen’s students volunteer at local schools, including Albert Turner Elementary School. During their service, her students noticed that their students needed books to read at home.

Thus, a book drive was born. Gwen works with Principal Marshae Pelt and Perry County Schools Superintendant John Hurd to provide culturally and educationally appropriate books for young readers.

“We work to have a reciprocal relationship with local school leaders, and getting their input on books just makes sense,” Gwen said.

This effort is but one reason why Turner Elementary School was recognized in the Center for Rural Alabama’s Lessons Learned from Rural Schools report. With grant funding, Turner Elementary provides a Virtual Health Science Classroom, video conferencing equipment, Reading First, Black Belt Arts initiative, HIPPY and 21st Century extended day programs.

As a result, Turner Elementary students, who nearly all receive free or reduced lunch, score well above state averages on the third-grade reading test.

APP also partners with Judson and Perry County Schools on the Blueprints College Access Initiative.

You can support Judson and Perry County Schools’ efforts by attending a fundraising concert by noted Pianist Michael Dulin next Sunday, May 5, at 2 p.m. at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church.

For more information, please contact Gwen at gmccorquodale@judson.edu

Above: Turner Elementary School fourth grade students holding books in honor of Dr. Seuss Day. 

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.

Alabama has the second highest rate of hunger in the country, and Birmingham has the 12th highest rate of food hardship amongst major metro areas. It is also nationally known for its local food scene.

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.

While many Birmingham residents are familiar with the Pepper Place Farmers Market, WE Gardens and the Eastlake Farmers Market also host regular markets. Eastlake accepts SNAP/EBT and Senior Nutrition Coupons. To find a farmers market near you (or in a community you would like to explore), check out this list from the Year of Alabama Food and this one from the Greater Birmingham Community Food Partners.

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.

Thank you in advance for using your voice.

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,

Kristina Scott

Executive Director, Alabama Possible-Alabama Poverty Project

On March 13^th, 94 Samford University students participated in a Community Action Poverty Simulation. APP teamed with the Samford University Sociology Department and the Samford Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement and the Corporation for National Service to sponsor this unique experience. AmeriCorps VISTAs from APP, HICA, the Alabama Red Cross, NRSMBC Community Support Corporation volunteered to help make the event a success.

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 Week was 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.

Through a collaboration with the Alabama Department of Education, members of its higher education alliance, and local school districts, APP’s Blueprints College Access Initiative is aiming to boost Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion by 20 percent in Chilton, Franklin, Perry, and Shelby Counties.

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.

Further resources can be found  at www.blueprintsalabama.org and http://studentaid.ed.gov/.

Dr. Bernie Ronan delivering the luncheon keynote address.

On Friday, February 8, 2013, over 75 faculty, staff, administrators, and students from 16 community colleges around the state joined with community partners for a summit on civic engagement in Alabama’s Two-Year Colleges.  The summit was held at Jefferson State Community College, Shelby-Hoover Campus and was sponsored by APP, Auburn University Outreach, the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, and the Alabama Department of Post-Secondary Education.

The event included presentations by keynote speakers, Mary Elizabeth Tyler Boucebci of Georgia Perimeter College, and Dr. Bernie Ronan of Maricopa Community College, as well as sessions highlighting best practices at Alabama’s Two-Year Colleges. The summit explored community colleges’ role in inspiring a strong civic society by building and maintaining relationships with their community and some of the innovative ways Alabama’s Two-Year Colleges are embracing civic engagement.

To read more about the summit and some of the exciting ways that Alabama’s Two-Year colleges and building relationships in their communities please visit the David Mathews Center for Civic Life’s blog.

APP would like to thank Jefferson State Community College, Shelby-Hoover Campus for hosting the event and Jefferson State’s Culinary & Hospitality Institute for providing catering services. Special thanks to Mary Elizabeth Tyler Boucebci and Dr. Bernie Ronan for sharing their research and experiences with everyone and to our Breakout Session Presenters Amy Langley, Magen Campbell, Haley Blackburn, Gage Prince, Kristen Allison, John Clements, Glenda Colagross, Liesl Harris, Libby Holmes, Geri Albright, Jeff Patterson, and Crystal Roskam.  Thank you also to Dr. Humphrey Lee, Dr. Mark Heinrich, Dr. Judy Merritt and to our conference facilitators Ralph Foster and Christopher McCauley for making the conference a success!

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.”

By Stan Diel | sdiel@al.com

on January 29, 2013 at 3:14 PM, updated January 29, 2013 at 3:20 PM

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Four of the 20 winners of new grants awarded by the Los Angeles-based nonprofit The Perlman Foundation are in Birmingham.

The foundation created by GHC Housing Partners President Gregory Perlman awarded a total of $111,000 to charitable organizations that serve low-income communities. The “Bridge the Gap” grants range in size from $1,000 to $10,000.

The awards were made in communities in which GHC does business. The company, which specializes in owning and operating low-income housing, owns Forest Hills Village, Summit Ridge and Valley Brook Section 8 family housing in Birmingham.

“We were overwhelmed by the quality of the Bridging the Gap applicants and the importance of their work,” Perlman said in a prepared statement. “Upon reviewing the applications, we decided to more than double our grant funding for this cycle and increase the number of awards from 15 to 20.”

The Birmingham organizations awarded grants:
–Alabama Poverty Project, Inc.
–Heart Gallery of Alabama
–Milo Group, Inc.
–New Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church Community Support Corp.