Harambee Teen Achievers Meeting

Saturday, January 15th, 2011
12:00 noon
KISRA Empowerment Center
131 Perkins Avenue
Dunbar, WV 25064

KISRA Micro-Loan & IDA
Information Session

Workforce of West Virginia
Room 100
200 Value City Plaza
Beckley, WV 25801

Session:
January 28th - 2:00 pm

KISRA Micro-Loan & IDA
Information Session

Workforce of West Virginia
195 Davis Street
Princeton, WV 24740

Session:
January 28th - 10:00 am

A Guide to Homeownership

Douglass Center
1448 10th Avenue, Suite 205
Huntington, WV 25701
304-529-0337

January 20th - 5:00 pm

Business Plan in 24 Hours

KISRA Empowerment Center
131 Perkins Avenue
Dunbar, WV 25064
304- 768-8924

January 24th, 2011
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

A Guide to Homeownership

KISRA Empowerment Center
131 Perkins Avenue
Dunbar, WV 25064
304- 768-8924

January 25th - 5:00 pm

MLK Day Craft Night and Coloring Contest

Ferguson Memorial Baptist Church
124 Marshall Avenue
Dunbar, WV 25064

January 11th, 2011
5:30 pm

MLK Day Craft Night and Coloring Contest

First Baptist Church
432 Shrewsbury Street
Charleston, WV 25301

January 14th, 2011
5:30 pm

MLK Art Exhibit

First Baptist Church
432 Shrewsbury Street
Charleston, WV 25301

January 14th, 2011
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

KISRA Empowerment Center
131 Perkins Avenue
Dunbar, WV 25064
304- 768-8924

Programs offered at this site: Harambee Child Development Center, Harambee Learning Center, Harambee Teen Achievers, Responsible Fatherhood and Offender Re-Entry

Douglass Center
1448 10th Avenue, Suite 205
Huntington, WV 25701
304-529-0337

Programs offered at this site: Responsible Fatherhood, Offender Re-Entry, IDA and Homeownership.

Region 1 WORKFORCE

West Virginia Career Center
200 New River Town Center
Beckley, WV 25801
304.890.9588

Program offered at this site: Offender Re-Entry

Region 1 WORKFORCE

West Virginia Career Center
195 Davis Street
Princeton, WV 24740

Program offered at this site: Offender Re-Entry

The Lewis House

214 Main Street
Oak Hill, WV 25901
304.890.8306

Program offered at this site: Offender Re-Entry

Harambee Child Development Center

The Harambee Child Development Center is proud to announce two Infant Room Teachers graduated in December 2010 with their ACDS (Apprentice Child Development Specialist) certifications.  We would also like to welcome two new staff members (Morgan DuBosque and Michael Smith) who came on board in early October: a Teacher’s Assistant in the Toddler 1 room, and a Teacher in the 3-year old room.

In order to better serve the community, HCDC continues to provide Pre-K classes as part of the Kanawha County Schools network.  Pre-K registration for the 2011-2012 school year will begin in January.  Call 304.768.4232 for more information or to register for Pre-K classes or to check availability in the other age groups.  You can also visit HCDC’s website at www.harambeecdc.com.

Harambee Learning Center

The Harambee Learning Center is off to a great start of another school year!  HLC continues to provide a safe, drug free haven for children who attend Kanawha County Schools.  Services include the following for K-5th grade students: Homework Assistance; Tutoring; Mentoring; Literacy Enrichment; Math Enrichment; Computer Literacy; Too Good For Drugs & Violence Curriculum; and Second Step Curriculum.  Supper is also provided to the students to help them better focus on their studies while at HLC. 

At the end of the first nine weeks, 5 HLC students earned a place on the “A” honor roll, 11 on the “B” honor roll, and 1 on the Principal’s List!  Congratulations to those students on their hard work!

Angela Dobson is the program director of HLC and she can be reached at 304.768.8929 or at angie@kisra.org for more information.

Harambee Teen achievers

The goal of the Harambee Teen Achievers is to equip high school students with the supplemental skills and resources necessary to complete high school and pursue post-secondary education. 

Harambee Teen Achievers held its first meeting of the year on November 20 at the KISRA Empowerment Center and will continue to meet on scheduled Saturdays.  A college tour to Washington DC is being planned for Spring Break week 2011.  A tour of the city including the White House is also being planned.  The next meeting will be held on Saturday, January 15 at 12 noon at the Empowerment Center.  Contact Angela Dobson at 304.768.8929 or at angie@kisra.org for more information. 

Responsible Fatherhood Program

Since it began in 2006, the Responsible Fatherhood Program has served over 600 fathers and families.  At the end of 2010, the program was highlighted in KISRA’s Impact Statement, where supporters can see their return on investment in helping fathers reconnect with their families and maintain meaningful employment.

The Responsible Fatherhood Program has expanded services to the South Central Regional Jail and Kanawha Day Report Center in Charleston.  Staff continue to offer programming at KISRA’s Dunbar, Charleston, and Huntington sites, as well as at the Huntington Work Release and the Slayton Work Camp at Mount Olive Correctional Complex.

Program enrollment is ongoing.  Contact Carl Chadband at 304.768.8924 ext. 208 or at chadband@kisra.org for assistance. 

offender re-entry program

The KISRA Offender Re-Entry Program has expanded services to Mercer and Fayette counties, and continues to serve Kanawha, Cabell, and Raleigh counties.  Classes have begun at the Kanawha Day Report Center, South Central Regional Jail, and Western Regional Jail since the end of October 2010.

KISRA sponsored a Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) Assessment training late this summer, and a number of staff are now certified to administer this assessment of an offender’s risks and needs.  KISRA also became an Offender Employment Specialist (OES) certified agency in October, and received an appreciation award from the Charleston Work Release Center for services offered at their location.

Re-Entry staff attended the International Community Corrections Association’s 18th Annual Research Conference on “What Works” in Louisville, KY from October 31-November 3.  Spending time with leaders in the re-entry field affirmed KISRA’s plans to continue pursuing evidenced-based practices and effective risk assessment to provide the best possible services to those in our Offender Re-Entry Program.

KISRAWorks!

The KISRAWorks! Program offered a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training beginning in November, in partnership with the Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College.  Four students will complete their training in December and will take their certification exams in January.

A Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Training will begin early in 2011.  For more information or to register, contact Traci Johnson at 304.768.8924 ext. 200 or at tracim@kisra.org.

IDA Program

KISRA continues the WV Individual Development Account Initiative (WVIDA) in partnership with the WV Coalition Against Domestic Violence and its member programs.  The goal of the WVIDA Initiative is to equip low-income citizens of West Virginia with skills and resources to acquire appreciable assets as they travel on the path to becoming economically self-sufficient.  

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are matched savings accounts designed to help low-income and low-wealth families accumulate savings for high return investments in long-term assets such as a home, higher education and training or a business. In an IDA Program, participants learn about budgeting, saving, banking and more when they open an IDA. Participants also attend financial education classes and also receive one-on-one counseling and other training with their IDAs. A person can participate in the program for up to two years.

Homeownership

KISRA continues to offer pre-purchase counseling, homebuyer education workshops, credit counseling, mortgage pre-qualifications and foreclosure prevention counseling.  Homebuyer Education Workshops are scheduled for January 20 in Huntington, and on January 25 in Dunbar, both from 5pm-9pm.

KISRA is a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) and is currently taking applications for homes in Kanawha and Putnam counties.  CHDO homes are for income-eligible citizens.

The homeownership program receives funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the WV Housing Development Fund.  To participate in this program please contact Patricia Scott at 304.768.8924x203 or patricias@kisra.org.

Micro-Loans

KISRA remains the only US Small Business Administration micro-lender in West Virginia.  Loans up to $50,000 are available to businesses all around the state.  We look beyond your credit score.  Loans may be used for working capital, inventory, supplies, equipment, furniture, fixtures, machinery and renovations.  Applications are being accepted!

A Business Plan Development class is scheduled to begin during the latter part of January 2011.  Also, Micro-Loan/WVIDA Information Sessions will be held in Mercer and Raleigh counties on January 28.

Contact: Patricia Scott at 304.768.8924x203 or patricias@kisra.org.

COMPEER OF KANAWHA VALLEY

KISRA’s Compeer of Kanawha Valley initiative is one of two Compeer chapters in West Virginia.  Compeer is a research-based model with chapters around the world.  Ten AmeriCorps members have come on board since October 2010 to assist with the Compeer program.  A number of other volunteers are also waiting to be matched with friends.

KISRA AmeriCorps

KISRA received an AmeriCorps grant from the WV Commission for National and Community Service to support the Compeer of Kanawha Valley initiative, and 10 AmeriCorps members have joined KISRA since October 2010.  In addition to working for Compeer, the AmeriCorps members will also be performing other community service activities.

KISRA AmeriCorps members have organized a Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute for January 14, 2011, from 5-7pm, at First Baptist Church on Shrewsbury Street in Charleston.  Also, they have scheduled a Community Awareness event for March 23, 2011, from 10am-12pm, at the Switzer Center in North Charleston to highlight local community services available.