July 2024 – Christian Job Corps

WMU’s Sybil Bentley Dove Award Helps Mother of 3 Continue Nursing Journey

Published: July 19, 2024

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 Gonzalez-Rivera’s early days there, she was shy and reserved, but she “has really blossomed since.”

Several weeks after finishing her licensed practical nurse certificate in April, Gonzalez-Rivera was named the recipient of the Sybil Bentley Dove Award, which the WMU Foundation gives annually to a recipient who desires to improve herself through the acquisition of skills or academic pursuits that will lead to self-reliant living or to give assistance and nurture to the development of her children.

This summer, Gonzalez-Rivera started the bridge program to start classes this fall at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to become a registered nurse. She said the award came at the perfect time.

“It has helped me so much,” she said. “When they gave me the award, I said, ‘Thank you Lord, this is all you — you saw how much I was in need.’”

Gonzalez-Rivera said she’s always had a heart to help others and knew that was her purpose in life.

“It is never too late to accomplish your purpose in life — some of us just move a little slower than others, and that is totally normal,” she said. “We are afraid of the outcome instead of trusting our Savior.”

Gonzalez-Rivera said she has learned to teach her three girls that with God, there are no limits to what they can do.

“We can reach the sky if we trust the Lord and He will guide us,” she said.

by Grace Thornton, The Baptist Paper

WMU Foundation Grants Help CWJC Sites Expand Their Reach, Deepen Their Help

Published: July 19, 2024

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.

Ministries Expand with Help of Grants

And thanks to a grant from the WMU Foundation, Cross Walk to Life will 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 opportunity to reach their full potential and improve their situation through job and life skills training.

CWJC of McLennan County in Waco, Texas, plans to use it to provide support for students working toward their GED who may need qualified learning disability testing to receive accommodations for their needs.

Helping them get their GED in this way can “change the narrative of their education experience for the rest of their life” and “shift the education journey for an entire family,” said Paula Winstead, testing administrator of CWJC of McLennan County.

Gulf Coast CWJC in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, also plans to use their grant to help participants take the HiSET high school equivalency test and help with transportation to and from classes.

CWJC of Nacogdoches, Texas, plans to use their grant to purchase laptops for program participants to use in a computer lab. Christian Job Corps of Gregg County in Longview, Texas, also plans to use the grant to update a computer lab for the new Christian Men’s Job Corps component of their ministry, as well as hire a CWJC assistant who would focus on caring for alumni and former students.

RISE, a CWJC site located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and SWC Transformation Place in Chattanooga, Tennessee, both plan to use the grant to support their general operations and expansion as their participant numbers are growing.

And Women’s Learning Center in Monroe, Louisiana, to purchase more curriculum for their students so that each participant can have her own workbook. They also want to provide small rewards for their students’ accomplishments.

Charitable Donations Change Lives Forever

Peggy Darby, president of the WMU Foundation, said the gifts that support these grants make a big difference.

“Your gifts to the Sybil Bentley Dove Endowment help to support Christian Women’s Job Corps by providing scholarships to participants, program development grants for sites and a grant for Dove award recipients,” she said. “Whether you make a one-time gift or become a monthly donor, your support will help to change lives forever.”

by Grace Thornton, The Baptist Paper

Four CWJC Graduates Awarded Scholarships to Help with Next Steps

Published: July 19, 2024

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 year — Evelyn Ribeiro, a graduate of Begin Anew Nashville, also received funds to put toward tuition at Middle Tennessee State University.

Ribeiro got connected with Begin Anew after coming to the United States from Brazil just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Through the program there, she earned her GED and began pursuing a career in nursing.

“Every opportunity that comes my way, I can see that God is behind it,” Ribeiro said.

Two other CWJC graduates — Laurien Assis of Begin Anew Nashville and Jacklyn Powell of Heart and Hands of East Texas in Lindale, Texas — also received a CWJC Academic Scholarship.

Assis will use the funds to continue to pursue her degree in business administration and management at Williamson College.

Studying there “aligns with my desire to fulfill God’s mission for my life, and I am confident that the college’s educators and resources, combined with the support from Begin Anew, will continue to guide me toward realizing this purpose,” she said.

Powell’s scholarship will help her pay for tuition and books at Tyler Junior College. After losing her husband, she walked through some dark times, including a night in jail and a journey to sobriety. At Heart & Hands of East Texas, she gained skills and confidence and surrendered her life to Jesus.

Currently, Powell lives with her parents while raising her two children, one of whom has special needs. Her goal is to become a counselor who can help others experience the love and hope of Jesus no matter what they’re walking through.

“My journey is not done yet, and I still have some things to do, but God is showing up and showing out daily,” Powell said. “I am blessed and have been born again through Christ.”

Peggy Darby, president of the WMU Foundation, said the gifts that fund the scholarships for Powell and the three other recipients make a difference.

by Grace Thornton, The Baptist Paper

Photo of Marie Beam courtesy of CWJC of Tyler, Texas