Publications

41 Ama Shambulia, of WE Community Gardens and Café, and Wanda Larosiliere, of Urban Kids Summer Learning Camp, co-authored the intern curriculum. In the 24-month program, interns focus not only on technical skills within their respective areas, but also on issues like emotional intelligence, professionalism and financial literacy. To that end, Regions Bank employees provided a three-hour financial education seminar that started in the café and ended at the bank's Lomb Avenue branch. The interns connect with institutions such as Lawson State Community College to further their education, and they aend leadership training where they address real- life situations. "Some of these young people have overcome incredible barriers to get where they are," said Hill Carmichael, executive director of Urban Ministry. "I learned how to be more of a leader in my own community." – Kerry Primm, former intern, Urban Ministry Former Urban Ministry intern Kerry Primm, 21, landed a job at Honda. He said his work in the café taught him everyday skills he'll use throughout his life. "By managing things around me, I can beer manage my own life," he said. "We learned how to grow food as well as cook it. And I learned how to be more of a leader in my own community." The team at Urban Ministry is refining the internship curriculum to beer determine the agency's role when interns leave. "We want them to be successful while they're out on their own," Carmichael said, "but we still want to find ways to support them." Encouraging new business ventures in West End is another element of Urban Ministry's mission. "If we can prove that a small social enterprise can be successful and thrive in a community like West End, then others can be drawn here and be successful, too," Carmichael said. In 2016, 10 young men and women worked in Urban Ministry's internship program, and that's just one of the organization's accomplishments. Students in the Urban Kids summer program scored a two-month gain in reading levels and a four-month gain in math proficiency levels, according to an end-of-summer assessment. Urban Ministry helped move more than 50 people from insecure housing or homelessness into permanent housing, and painted and repaired 40 homes. Urban Ministry also successfully launched its pay-as-you-can WE Community Café, a social enterprise that serves fresh, high- quality meals to approximately 120 customers each Wednesday. Health & Human Services

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