DATE: May 01, 2008

CONTACT: Pam Bryant , (803) 553-7705, (864) 878-1041
pbryant@clemson.edu

WRITER: Chris Copeland, (803) 397-0597
ccopela@clemson.edu


Clemson helping Aiken faith-based community build capacity to serve youth

AIKEN — A grant totaling nearly $700,000 will help five faith-based and community organizations build capacity to serve at-risk youth in Aiken and neighboring Edgefield County.

The grant, which was awarded to Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute (YLI) as the lead organization, is funded through the Communities Empowering Youth (CEY) Demonstration Program of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.

The CEY program established grant opportunities to build the capacity of experienced organizations and their faith-based and community partners to better meet the needs of America's disadvantaged young people.

In the Aiken area, rising incidents of youth violence, gang activity and child abuse and neglect were the priority issues identified in a community needs assessment survey conducted by YLI and its Aiken-based partners, a collaboration called Faith in Youth (FIY). Te grants will help FIY organizations counter these issues by providing assistance with building their capacity through leadership, organizational and program development and community engagement.

Each of the five organizations has a history of working with young people in the Aiken/Edgefield region:

  • The Imani Group, established to serve disenfranchised members and leaders of the African-American community in Aiken and Edgefield counties by addressing issues of cultural awareness, environmental justice and youth leadership development.
  • Carey Hill Development Corp., a faith-based 501(c)3 organization serving elementary and middle school at-risk youth in Edgefield.
  • Redd’s Branch Baptist Church, located in downtown Aiken, a former partner with Clemson in service to at-risk young people at the University’s W.W. Long Leadership Center in Aiken County.
  • Christ Central Ministries, a public charity that offers a wide variety of programs, services and supplies for young people, parents and those who serve young people.
  • Second Baptist Church, a longtime integral part of the African-American community of Aiken and surrounding areas, committed to improving the lives of youth and families.

The focus area for the CEY grant comprises a number of distressed neighborhoods that are scattered around the city of Aiken and spilling over the county line into neighboring Edgefield County and characterized by poverty, crime and unemployment. The target audience is at-risk youth who attend failing Title I schools located within the focus area: North Aiken Elementary, Aiken Middle, Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle and Douglas Elementary.

The director for the Aiken-area CEY grant is Elizabeth Morris, a full-time community-based youth advocate for YLI whose job is to partner with youth-serving organizations in the Aiken/Edgefield region. Morris has lived and worked in the area 20 years, been involved in community coalitions most of her professional life and for the past two years forged partnerships and worked on programs and initiatives with the five FIY organizations.

Morris looks forward to strengthening her role in the community as director of FIY. “It is such a tremendous honor to be able to positively impact so many youth in Aiken and Edgefield communities. The Youth Learning Institute is humbled to be a part of a great opportunity to provide training, technical assistance and resources to such wonderful organizations who truly have a heart to serve others, especially our youth.”
 
Judy Floyd, director of Christ Central Aiken, is excited about the strength of the FIY partnership. “The goal of Christ Central Ministries is to enrich the community in which we serve,” Floyd said. “This partnership is taking us in new directions. We’re branching out, really expanding and strengthening our service to Aiken and Edgefield counties by influencing youth in making wise choices.”

YLI, a division of Clemson University’s Public Service Activities, has a history of helping partners create solutions for problems facing our state’s youth populations.

One example of YLI’s partnership in the Aiken area is the W.W. Long Leadership Center, known as Camp Long. The 400-acre residential facility is home to three partnership programs that provide positive youth development opportunities for at-risk young people: the Youth Development Center, an alternative placement facility for nonviolent juvenile offenders in partnership with the S.C.  Department of Juvenile Justice; the Youth ChalleNGe Academy, a South Carolina National Guard program for high school dropouts that provides educational, life skills and leadership opportunities; and Camp Long Middle School, an alternative school for middle school boys in the Aiken County Public School system.

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