NCWorks-Centralina Staff Give Back to Our Local Communities During 3rd Annual Centralina Day of Giving

On the afternoon of Friday November 16, 2018, all eight NCWorks Career Centers in the Centralina WDB region were closed in preparation to serve the community in which they live for the Third Annual Centralina Day of Giving.

Ken McCoy, NCWorks-Centralina Project Director said the Centralina Day of Giving event was created by the NCWorks Career Center Leadership team in 2016 to connect with their local communities.

Each NCWorks Career Center in the Centralina WDB region choose a local non-profit organization or community group to partner with and volunteer their time.

“Having the Center staff out helping others in a very personal way provides insight to both the staff and the local areas that the NCWorks Career Centers are invested in the communities that they work with every day. We are privileged to be allowed to have this event and appreciate the support of the Centralina Workforce Development Board and staff,” said McCoy.

He added that this initiative is effort to move beyond the old perception of the NCWorks Career Centers as just being the ‘unemployment office.’   “We are the talent development and delivery system for this region," said McCoy.

 NCWorks-Centralina staff from the NCWorks Career Center in Statesville (Iredell County) spent the     afternoon  at Special Treasures cleaning, stocking pricing and sorting the merchandise. Special     Treasures is a   non-profit thrift store that supports foster teens and young adults and is affiliated with     The Children’s   Home of Iredell County. 

Over in Stanly County, NCWorks-Centralina staff from the NCWorks Career Center in Albemarle were split into two teams, one helping with Christmas decorations in downtown Albemarle with the Albemarle  Downtown  Development Center and the other working with staff at Carolina   Farms building and   painting various projects for the property. GHA Autism supports Carolina Farms, a new and innovative program in Albemarle designed to enable additional individuals from the autistic population to realize a dream of living and working in a farming environment in beautiful Stanly County.

Not too far away in Anson County, NCWorks-Centralina staff from the NCWorks Career Center in Wadesboro volunteered at the Anson County Partnership for Children where they unpacked and labeled boxes of books to    be distributed to the children within the community and assembled a table for the center.  The Partnership’s mission is to help ensure that all children enter school healthy and   ready to succeed. The Partnership is responsible for developing collaborative strategies   to meet the needs of children and families in Anson County. 

In Cabarrus County, NCWorks- Centralina staff from the NCWorks Career Center in Concord visited the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital and brought with them various holiday themed arts and crafts for the young patients to enjoy as well as interacting with their parents.  Jeff Gordon Children's  Center, part of Atrium Health, provides expert pediatric care in Concord, NC and the surrounding areas.

NCWorks- Centralina staff from the NCWorks Career Center in Monroe (Union County) spent the afternoon  granting wishes at the Union County Christmas Bureau. Local children and families submitted their   wish list during the event and Center staff gathered and prepared/packaged the items requested,   including many, many sports items!   The Union County Christmas Bureau is a service of the Union County Department of Human Services in partnership with HOPE for Union County, the Salvation Army, Kiwanis Club of Monroe, and the Marine Corps Toys for Tots.

In Lincoln County,  NCWorks- Centralina staff from the NCWorks Career Center in Lincolnton volunteered at Communities in Schools in Lincolnton. The organization had a new teachers resource center that needed supplies stocked so Center staff got busy stocking shelves with donated school supplies as well as help to organize and clean the space. The mission of Communities in Schools is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. By bringing caring adults into the schools to address children’s unmet needs, CIS provides the link between educators and the community. 

Back in Iredell County, the NCWorks-Centralina staff from the NCWorks Career Center in Mooresville had a day  outside as they helped on the greens during the 3-D Charity Golf Tournament at the Mooresville Golf   Club. The proceeds from the event benefited the American Cancer Society.  Center staff also assisted youth at the Winnie Hooper Center in Mooresville with afterschool work and snacks. The Winnie Hooper Center provides educational and recreational programming for children, youth, adults and seniors from Mooresville and surrounding areas.

In Rowan County, NCWorks- Centralina staff from the NCWorks Career Center in Salisbury spent their afternoon at the Rowan Helping Ministries packing food items for local families in need. The mission of Rowan Helping Ministries is to serve, through cooperative community action, our neighbors in Rowan County who are in crisis, by providing essential life needs and educating and empowering them to break cycle of crisis.

 “I have a very deep understanding about how important NCWorks is and about how much help they give to the community,” said Chase Hicks, the Food Operations Manager at Rowan Helping Ministries in Salisbury.

To learn more about all eight Centralina NCWorks Career Centers, visit www.centralinaworkforce.com. Stay up to date with the Career Center events and announcements, at www.facebook.com/CentralinaNCWorksCenters.

Tags: Centralina WDB News Events