Centralina News

Centralina NCWorks Career Center Leaders Close Out 2020 with ‘Year of Giving’ Events

Dec 31, 2020

Undoubtedly 2020 was a year for the books. Between a worldwide pandemic, racial tensions, and job loss, everyone could use some relief and a ray of hope. NCWorks Career Center Leaders in the Centralina Workforce Development Board (WDB) region got creative and decided to transform the annual Centralina Day of Giving event into a virtual Centralina Year of Giving.   The Centralina Day of Giving was an annual event traditionally held on the Friday before Thanksgiving where staff from the local NCWorks Career Centers assisted local agencies and organizations serving those in need in their communities.

For 2020 and into 2021, the annual one-day of giving event morphed into a year of giving back to the communities in our region. This year’s Centralina Year of Giving focuses on the key social and workforce issue of Domestic Violence Awareness. The NCWorks Career Centers are hosting various virtual information sessions with other community organizations to inform the public of what resources are available to them. The first information sessions were held in November 2020 and additional information sessions are scheduled to be held in February and May of 2021.

“This year’s Year of Giving events focusing on Domestic Violence is so important because of the increase that our communities are seeing in this very destructive behavior as a result of COVID-19. It impacts the ability of our current workforce to remain on the job, to be productive and focused while on the job, and their ability to keep their jobs,” said Kim Carpenter, NCWorks Centralina Project Director.

“As the leaders in workforce development, it is important that we are aware of the issues in our communities and work as a team with our partners to resolve these issues, this is a prime example of the Centralina team doing just that,” added Carpenter.

Each of our eight NCWorks Career Centers are planning and hosting events surrounding Domestic Violence Awareness starting in November 2020. The NCWorks Career Centers in Statesville and Mooresville teamed up to kick off the events on November 4 with Pamela Navey from the Statesville Police Department. On November 12, NCWorks-Lincoln welcomed Sherry Reinhardt from the Lincoln County Coalition Against Child Abuse. On November 17, NCWorks-Cabarrus teamed up with the Cabarrus Victims Assistance Network (CVAN) in Concord to inform the community of the dangers of Domestic Violence, particularly during COVID-19 lockdown. NCWorks-Rowan featured Barbara Meidl from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, LaTanya Hardy the owner and founder of S&H Youth and Adult Services, and Nee Cee Chun from Family Crisis Council on November 18.

“Domestic Violence impacts a tremendous amount of people and has not received the attention that it needs to be mitigated,” said Joseph Dismuke, NCWorks-Rowan Career Center Leader. “My hope is that this continues to be a discussed issue that we all continue to pay close attention to, to find ways to make this less of an impactful effect on families and the workplace,” added Dismuke.

At the NCWorks-Anson event, Karen Baucom from the Anson County Domestic Violence Coalition joined the conversation and focused on the effect Domestic Violence has on Workforce Development.

Ron and Jan Kimble, co-founders of the Jamie Kimble Foundation for Courage were featured guests at the NCWorks-Union event. The Kimbles bravely shared their powerful story of their daughter Jamie, who was a victim of domestic violence and her tragic end at the hands of her abuser. The Kimbles’ goal is to share Jamie’s story and educate others on the real dangers of domestic violence.

“Lives have changed drastically because of COVID-19, but my hope is that our efforts make a difference, we don’t lose sight of domestic violence, and the participants gained valuable information and a better awareness of the warning signs in order to possibly prevent another parent from suffering the loss of a child due to this violent behavior,” said Thomas Foster, NCWorks-Union Career Center Leader.     

On November 23, Brian L. Johnson, Founder & CEO of The Life Change Group NC presented as part of the NCWorks-Stanly virtual event.

“The Centralina Workforce Development Board is proud to work with our NCWorks Career Centers in adapting to a changing environment and transform our annual Centralina Day of Giving into a Centralina Year of Giving.  This year’s focus on the important social and workforce issue of domestic violence allowed our NCWorks Career Centers to bring together community partners in a virtual format to receive information about domestic violence, access resources, and learn new techniques in working with customers.  Our hope is that our workforce system and local partners will now have the ability to better understand the issues that customers and businesses are dealing with regarding domestic violence and to offer resources and guidance,” said David Hollars, Centralina Workforce Development Board’s Executive Director.

To find out more about our NCWorks Career Centers in the Centralina WDB region, visit www.centralinaworkforce.com.

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