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...]