Grant will fund new program at ? Best Choice Center CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT The YWCA of Winston Salem has received a $22,800 grant from the Marshall B. Bass Children's Fund. The grant will fund an innovative Asset Development program at the YWCA's Best Choice Center for children. The program was originally developed by the nonprofit Search Institute. It teaches 40 developmental assets, or positive experiences and personal qualities, that help young people grow up to be caring, healthy and responsible adults.' "We feel that our grant of $22,800 to the Best Choice Center will strengthen the chil dren's ability to look at the pos itive components of their lives as well as life's challenges," said Bass, a local philanthropic leader, whose fund strives to strengthen the management capabilities of organizations that serve children. "We are pleased with the potential posi tive outcomes of this new pro gram." The Best Choice Center, which Bass has generously con tributed to over the years, pro vides an academically focused environment for children work ing to discover lives beyond the barriers of their neighborhoods. Bass The center's after school and summer camp programming allow children to explore new worlds of science, math and cultures while also having fun. "We are so appreciative of this generous grant from the Marshall B. Bass Children's Fund," said Florence P. Corpening, CEO of the YWCA of Winston-Salem. "What makes this grant so special for us is that the Best Choice Center has been a grateful recipi ent of resources from with the Children's Fund for a number of years and Mr. Bass has personally been involved with the Best Choice Center for many years, as well. We are honored and humbled that his generous financial support shows his trust in the Best Choice Center to continue and increase the posi tive results on the children who attend the Center." Bass says the young people who take advantage of pro grams at Best Choice have the same potential of any other child. "I don't like to think of the children at the Best Choice Center as 'at-risk,'" Bass said. "They simply face challenges and we all face challenges in life. This center is here to help them overcome their chal lenges. That's what I want to see happen." SIDS from page A7 Black Nurses' Council to raise SIDS awareness," said Janice Freedmen, executive director of the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation. "Involving council members, nursing school faculty and members of the black nurses' sorority truly strengthens our combined abilities to help reach African American moms, dads, grandparents and other caregivers about the importance of providing safe sleep for babies." The North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation in partnership with the CJ Foundation for SIDS donated BESST materials to partici pants so they could carry on safe sleep education. More information can be found at www.NCHealthyStart.org . Goodwill from page AJ year's Graduate of the Year, Trina Johnson When she went to Goodwill in 1999, she was a welfare recipient who had only worked in low paying, low-skilled jobs. She took a nine month office tech nology class which landed her an internship at Wachovia where she updated clients' accounts. She's now an office assistant and supervisor for the Department of Social Services Adult Division. She's very grateful for the training that empowered her and elevated her all those years ago. Without it, she said, it would've been next to impossible to take care of the five children that she raises alone. Her advice to others who are down on their luck? "Don't give up on your self, there's always a way out but you have to make up your mind that's what you want to do," said Johnson. Johnson broke down in tears of joy as she made her acceptance speech. Showing the determination that got her this far, she still managed to finish her speech, tears and all, with her young daughter, Jaylyn Banner, in hand. Mayor Allen Joines was the keynote speaker at the event, which was held at Bridger Field House at BB&T Stadium. His speech touched on the challenges of the rapid ly evolving job market. He talked about recruiting employers to the area and preparing the workforce for the jobs of tomorrow. He said that Goodwill plays an impor tant role in preparing people for work who may not get the skills they need though tradi tional education. "We've got to improve graduation rates and impress upon them the importance of Photo* by Todd Lucfc Trina Johnson with her kids, Niyana, from left, Auyana, Jaysen, Jaylyn and Markowitz. having and honing the skills needed to compete for these types of jobs," the mayor said. "And Goodwill will play an ever increasing role in assist ing those individuals who don't graduate and don't nec essarily have the skills, to give (them) those skills that they'll need to be competitive in today's work force." Other award winners at the banquet included GMAC, which received the organiza tion's Corporate Partner of the Year Award for developing and sponsoring Goodwill's long-running employment fair. This year, the fair was attended by more than 100 employers and 3,200 job seek ers. It resulted in more than 500 people being hired. Rexam, a which makes cans for beverages, received Contractor of the Year Award for its positive involvement with Goodwill's contract services. Experiment in Self Reliance received the Agency Partner of the Year Award for the economic literacy classes the organization offers at Goodwill. The City of Winston Mayor Allen Joints speaks. Salem received the Employer of the Year Award for provid ing internships and employ ment opportunities for Goodwill clients. Other win ners included Tom Richardson and Mark Dinse, who got Volunteer of the Year awards; Winston and Rusty Pulliam. who were named Contiibutors of the Year; and special recog nition went to Goodwill sup porters Deane Schubert and Bob Cain. Homeless from page A7 $9 billion to support thou sands of local housing and service programs throughout the nation and is seeking a record $1.6 billion through the Department's Continuum of Care homeless assistance grant programs for FY 2008. This request of Congress rep resents a 41 percent increase over 2001 funding. Each year, local communi ties conduct one-night counts of homeless persons living in shelters. In 2005 and in 2007, local communities also under took a census of homeless persons living on the streets. Ed McNeal accepts an award on behalf of the city. in parks and other places not meant for human habitation. Combined, these comprehen sive shelter and street "point in-time snapshots" offer a powerful tool to gauge progress in meeting the home less challenge and creating innovative housing solutions in response. Earlier this year, HUD released a landmark report that sought to measure the scope of homelessness in America for the first time since 1984. The Department's first-ever Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress concluded that an estimated 754,000 persons are homeless pn any given night. chsr sets the standard for cardiac care. Vvronica Brady, RN CARDIAC INTENSIVE CMC li David Bohl?, MP INTERVENTIONAL. C At Forsyth Cardiac and Vascular Center, we are proud to provide pur patients with nationally accredited cardiac care. Our experienced staff are leaders in North Carolina in performing open heart and invasive cardiology procedures In addition, our dedicated chest pain unit in the emergency department ensures immediate attention and rapid diagnosis. 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