By Grace Thornton, SBC WMU BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (SBC WMU) – Peggy Meeks said Cross Walk to Life, the Christian Women’s Job Corps site she leads in Las Cruces, New Mexico, has one common need — English classes. “Our group really is non-English-speaking people,” she said. “They’re comfortable in our smaller setting, whereas so many of them can’t go sign up for something at the community college — it frightens them. We want to take them as far as we can so then they have the confidence to move on.” One big tool in that process is a new curriculum that Cross Walk to Life implemented this past school year. “The other curriculum we were using, people weren’t advancing,” Meeks said. “We had a new volunteer who is a retired ESL teacher come in and say, ‘There’s much better curriculum out there than what you’re using.’” Since Cross Walk to Life made the switch, students are advancing and gaining confidence, Meeks said. And thanks to a grant from the WMU Foundation, they’ll be able to broaden their class offerings even more. “The grant allows us to purchase four levels,” Meeks said. In addition to the grant given to Cross Walk to Life, the WMU Foundation gave seven other grants to CWJC sites, which offer women the … [Read more...]

By Grace Thornton, SBC WMU BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (SBC WMU) Giselle Gonzalez-Rivera said she wondered if she was crazy going back to school in her late 30s with three young children. But she found a group that encouraged her — Moving Forward Chattanooga, a Christian Women’s Job Corps site — and in April she finished her licensed practical nurse certificate at Chattanooga State Community College. “Christian Women’s Job Corps encouraged and supported me so much,” she said of the group, which helps women with skills for life and work. “They saw the potential in me that I had not seen.” Beth Ray, site coordinator for Moving Forward Chattanooga, said Gonzalez-Rivera “gives God glory for the whole process.” “Giselle is a blessing to anyone she meets. She always has a smile and a kind word,” Ray said. “She’s a super sweet person with a sweet family, and she’s grown in her faith.” When Gonzalez-Rivera came to Moving Forward Chattanooga, she began working on six weeks of personal development, which included communication and financial management. She also took an inventory to help her identify careers that interested her, and site leaders helped her find educational resources and funding for school. Ray said in … [Read more...]

By Grace Thornton, SBC WMU BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (SBC WMU) – Marie Beam says she’s always liked working on cars. She found out early on that she didn’t like being stranded — she’d rather be able to do something about it when her car had problems. “I started learning how to do it myself,” she said. Then she started helping the women in her apartment complex who frequently had car trouble. “It’s something I love to do,” Beam said. “So I started thinking maybe I could do it as a career too.” Through Christian Women’s Job Corps of Tyler, Texas, she’s had the support to enroll in college and start making that happen. “I’ve got six classes left,” she said. And thanks to the Faye Dove Scholarship, a gift provided by the WMU Foundation to help a CWJC graduate further her education, Beam now has money to buy the tools to finish her associate’s degree in automotive mechanics at Northeast Texas Community College. The scholarship will also help her continue to provide support for her four children, who range in age from 2 to 12. “Everything I learn, I get out there and show my kids what I learn,” she said. “Hopefully it’s the gift that keeps on giving.” Beam was one of two recipients of the Faye Dove Scholarship this … [Read more...]