Meeting at Beaufort County SchoolsCentral Office

Partnership was formed

Beaufort County General Statistics• Total population is 47,759

• 21% live below the poverty level• There is no hard number for

people who live within the poverty level

• Median household income is $40,429

• Median age is 44.2• Estimated income without high

school diploma is $18,210• Estimated income for high

school graduate is $24,417

Where did we fit in as a Chamber?

• Workforce Development is one of our top priorities

• Our future is sitting in the schools• Both need & resources are in Beaufort County• As a Chamber, we had the ability to match the

resource with the need because of established relationships

Why did it make sense for us to partner?

• To ensure our future workforce• Because of the relationship we already have with

our school system• Because of the relationships we already have with

the business community• Because of our ability to plan events and bring

people together• We have different resources than school

personnel – school personnel are always asking for things from parents - We could tap in to the business community

Disparity in our county is key to success of Bright

Futures• The poverty rate among families in our school

system is very high • Growing retiree population with the means to

give. • Disparity in our community is one of the main

reasons that Bright Futures is a success. We have needs and resources!

• We also live in a generous community.

Statistics from Beaufort County Schools

• 66% of students in our districts are on free or reduced lunch

• This ranges from 40% at one school to almost 100% at another school

• One of our elementary schools has over 25% Spanish speaking students- growing population

• 4 year graduation rate in 2013/14 was 80.1%• Students in poverty are graduating at a lower

rate

Graduation & Drop Out Rates• In the past 10 years there has been a 70%

reduction in our drop out rate. We have gone from 165 drop outs in 2004/2005 to 49 (last year) drops outs last year

• This is due to a concentrated effort on pursuing these students in alternative learning environments – Beaufort County Ed Tech

• School system is providing many alternative support programs – child care, teen pregnancy programs, Pamlico Pals, etc. to get these students to stay in school

• Bright Futures is a great additional support program- We have a Proactive School System

Working Diverse Board • We were given guidelines from Bright Futures USA for

forming the board• We had people interested from the initial meeting with

Dr. Huff and Kim Vann• We met with the school system to get input about

potential board members• We reached out to other people in the community who

were passionate about helping children• Our Bright Futures Advisory Board Chair is a past

Chamber Board of Directors Chair

Board Training• Kim Vann traveled to Beaufort County and we had

our Board Training on December 3rd

• We established parameters for meeting students needs, now needs, created a mission statement and went on a community tour, including the Ed Tech Center (alternative school) and sheriff’s department

• Because of the Chamber’s experience in working with a board and event planning, many of the things that are normally planned at board training had already taken place. Our community breakfast was the day after board training

Our mission is to create partnerships inspiring educational achievement and

developing community success to enrich the lives of our children

Community Breakfast

•Community Breakfast/Kickoff Event was held on December 4•Over 150 leaders in the community attended•Bright Futures vision shared through teachers, chair of local advisory board, Executive Director of the Chamber, and Kim Vann•Testimony from previous teenage mom who knows the value of a program like Bright Futures •Partnerships with schools were presented to the group

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bright-Futures-Beaufort-County/501466126657125

Our Facebook page had been up and running with needs being met before breakfastWe displayed needs met at breakfast

We just received a need request for a middle school student who needs a winter coat. He wears a boys size large. It can be gently used or new. We need to get him a coat as soon as possible! If you have a coat or would like to provide one for this child please respond to this or call the Chamber at 946-9168. Thank you!!1091 people reached

There is a need for a young boy who is living in a family situation where the family has no furniture. The child does not have any furniture in his room - no bed, dresser, anything. There is also no other furniture in the home - the only furniture in the home is one dining room table. The immediate need is a bed frame and mattress and box springs and dresser for the child. A rug would be nice as the floors are plywood floors and are drafty. Other needs would be a couch and other furniture for the home. Call the Chamber at 946-9168 if you have any items or send a message.

A need request came in for an elementary aged student with

cerebral palsy who needed “good” shoes for walking. Someone who

grew up in our community but now lives in Richmond, VA saw this need

request. It was near and dear to her heart as she has an 18 year old

son with cerebral palsy and understood the importance of

having good shoes. Within 1 hour of the Facebook post she replied that she wanted to buy shoes for

the child.

Stuart N Joyce Herring I want to say Thank You so much to who ever got these shoes for my little boy. He received them this morning at school by his principal. I was actually going to take him out this afternoon to get him some new shoes and some new school clothes, but his shoes was already taken care of and we are so Thankful for whoever done this. Seeing this picture made me cry because the look on our faces this morning when the principal told us to come with her. I am a full time student at the Beaufort Community College and we received our checks today and I already made up my mind to take him shopping for some new shoes and some new clothes. He has actually been looking at those shoes in Shoe Show, and his wish came true before I even had the chance to take him shopping. Thank You and Thank You... God works miracles all around us!!!!

An urgent need request just came in. A family in Beaufort County lost everything in a fire. They have four children in school. Twin preK boys who wear size 5 pants and 5T shirt and size 12.5 shoes. A kindergarten boy who wears size 6 pants, small boys shirts and size 13 shoe and a 1st grade boy who wears size 8 pants, medium shirt and size 3.5 shoes. While Bright Futures is designated for school aged children, the parents are also in need of clothes. The mom wears size 11 pants, large shirts and 7.5 shoes. The dad wears 38x34 pants, 2xl shirts and 11.5 shoes. Clothes may be gently used or new. Thank you for helping meet the needs of this family!1,415 people reached

We had a need request come in from a single mom who works full time at our local hospital. Her 2nd grader was diagnosed with cancer in kindergarten. They have traveled back and forth to Duke Hospital (100 miles) for treatments. Due to damage done from her chemo treatments the child recently underwent heart surgery at Duke. The mom is out of vacation time and sick leave as she is with the daughter at Duke so often. The need request came in for money to help pay rent, electric bills, insurance, car payment and other living expenses. The hospital has responded to this mom as well as many others individuals in the community. An added advantage is that due to Bright Futures, another organization whose main mission is helping children with cancer, found out about this family and hopefully will be helping out.

Ongoing Need

Visited Schools• Lack of emotional stability• Mental Health Issues (Co-Morbidity)• Lack of parental involvement• Need more mentors/volunteers in schools• Basic Needs

The Board identified the top 4 basic NOW needs from the school visits:

Volunteers/MentorsPartner each School with businesses and faith based

organizations

Basic Needs

Mental Health Component

Successes•Met all needs received•2 families were adopted for Thanksgiving and Christmas as a result of Bright Futures •Our superintendent says that if nothing else comes out of Bright Futures, just the awareness that we have brought to our community about the needs in the schools has been huge•6 firm partnerships are in place•Regular general donations

Challenges• Some other organizations feel threatened• It has taken a lot more staff time than we initially

thought• Getting our Facebook notifications seen by people

that like the page• Some schools think they don’t need our help (want

to pretend they have it all together)• Teachers still paying out of pocket for students

needs because we are still new• Organizing partnerships and explaining what they

mean

•Make sure you have good working relationship with your contact in the schools•Realize that everything can’t be done overnight•Use your connections – it’s all about your relationships•Targeted giving- People like knowing exactly who and what they are giving to. Bright Futures responds to this increasing need in our culture. •The School System has been meeting student needs for years. Bright Futures is an additional resource.

•Chamber Partnerships are positive. Our school system says that having the Chamber take it over is much better than they even thought. It brought in so many different resources. So often schools are always asking parents for things and this is the group that often does not have the resources. The partnership was a wiser decision than they initially realized because we are a neutral non-partisan entity. (Chamber behind program gives it credibility)•Tell the Bright Futures story over and over•Be passionate about your story •A strong and diverse WORKING board

People liked to be THANKED!

We display these stickers on business doors and give to anyone that supports the program with

donations etc.

Like Bright Futures Beaufort County

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