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WIN A NEW HOME FOR $100!
Brooke ,
Have you bought your Home Sweet Home Raffle ticket yet?
You could be our next big winner of a new home for only $100! Tickets in the 8th Annual Home Sweet Home Raffle sponsored by Greater Hattiesburg Home Builders Association and Leaf River Cellulose are on sale now!
Tickets can be purchased online at www.unitedwaysems.org or by calling 601-545-7141. They can also be purchased at the United Way office at 210 W. Front Street and select locations of BancorpSouth, Citizens Bank, Community Bank, The First, Grand Bank and Trustmark National Bank by March 5.
Tickets are also on sale during open house weekends held each weekend until March 7. The home is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Sundays from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. The last chance to buy a ticket will be at the Home and Products Show held at Lake Terrace Convention Center March 5-7 or the last open house.
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Big Brothers Big Sisters |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters will hold its annual Bowl for Kids' Sake fundraiser on Feb. 27 at Hub Lanes in Hattiesburg. You can be a bowler, a team captain, a sponsor or all three! Have fun bowling and know that you are helping to make big/little matches in your community. Did you know that the average cost per match is $1,000 annually? For more information, email tjmcsparrin@bbbsms.org or visit www.bbbsms.org.
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DREAM of Hattiesburg On Thursday, Feb. 11, DREAM of Hattiesburg will hold its biggest fundraiser of the year, the 3rd Annual "A Night of Sweet Dreams" Celebrity Dessert Auction and Sampling at Southern Oaks House and Gardens at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include many dessert samples. Dr. Joe Paul of Southern Miss will be the celebrity host. For more information or to purchase tickets, call DREAM at 601-545-2102. |
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DREAM recently helped a student at Oak Grove High School with her ambitious project to collect shoes for the Honduran Medical Mission at Parkway Heights United Methodist Church in Hattiesburg. Imani Stevens, a junior at Oak Grove, wanted to help people in need, so she began her project to collect new or gently worn shoes and to raise funds for the mission. DREAM provided the sorting and storage room for the shoes and was the link between Stevens and the Honduran Mission Committee. Stevens put on a step show with the Del Teens of Hattiesburg and collected shoes as part of the ticket sales. She raised $250 and collected 130 pairs of shoes for the mission.
Pictured above are the Del Teens who assisted Stevens with the shoe drive and participated in the step show. |
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| Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts of America is celebrating 100 years of Scouting in the United States. To commemorate this milestone, our local Scouts will participate in a camporee at the Forrest County Multipurpose Center Feb. 6-7.
The Scouts from True Light Baptist Church Pack 215 and Edward Street Fellowship Center Troop 461 participated in a community service project at the Biloxi National Cemetery with their Scout leaders.
Scouts line up for a uniform inspection drill before their community service project.
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DuBard School for Language Disorders
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In December, the DuBard School for Language Disorders received a donation from a Purvis High School senior. Seventeen-year-old Randy Clark held a tennis tournament for her senior project and 18 teams contributed entry fees. Clark donated $240 dollars to DuBard.
The Dubard School now offers a new service for children with challenges in reading, spelling and written language. The Language Enhancement and Achievement Program is an outclient service in which groups of three or four students participate in three, one-hour sessions per week. For more information about the LEAP program or the Dubard School, call 601-266-5223.
ABC's "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" rebuilt the home of a DuBard student's family in December. Ten-year-old Gary Heathcock participates in the school's Language Enhancement and Achievement Program initiative, an outclient service. The episode is expected to air in March.
DuBard School Director Dr. Maureen Martin has been elected president of the International Multisensory Structured Lanugage Education Council, an accrediting organization that promotes and ensures quality training for teachers and therapists of individuals with dyslexia and related disorders. Congrats, Dr. Martin! |
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| Annual Agency Funding Process Begins |
| United Way of Southeast Mississippi's annual funds distribution process for allocating agency and program funding is now underway. Fifty-one United Way volunteers will strive to make the most impact in our community in the areas of education, financial stability, health and safety net services by determining how United Way's donations are distributed. The volunteers will dedicate their time to diligently reviewing agency requests and listening to agency presentations before making recommendations to United Way's board of directors. United Way appreciates our funds distribution committee and thanks them for their time and service. If you are interested in learning more about the funds distribution process, contact the United Way office. |
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Education Program First in Nation |
| Today, almost 46% of American kindergarteners start school without basic skills nedded to succeed. Disadvantaged children are another 2 years behind. Most never catch up, and many will end up dropping out of school. As part of United Way of Southeast Mississippi's efforts to combat the high school dropout rate in our area, the organization has teamed up with UCLA to implement an Early Development Instrument. The EDI will measure five developmental domains that are considered the foundational skills for success in school, work and life. United Way of Southeast Mississippi's program is the first of its kind in the nation to get underway. United Way will provide funding for the first year of the program, which will begin with the Petal School District, to compensate kindergarten teachers for training and completing questionnaires. The results of the EDI will help our communities learn how to better prepare young children to enter school and may influence public policy and future levels of funding. |
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Coming Soon: Census 2010 |
| The U.S. Census provides important information for many organizations, including United Way. Census data helps us with strategic planning and studying the needs of our community. You should receive your census in March 2010, so be on the lookout. Please be sure to complete the census and do your part to be counted!
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American Red Cross |
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The South Central Mississippi Chapter of the American Red Cross, in partnership with Forrest General Hospital, is promoting an interactive Web site to raise awareness of the benefits of handwashing to fight germs and prevent illnesses such as the flu and swine flu. The site, called The Scrub Club - www.scrubclub.org -includes educational material, music, games, cartoons and Webisodes. The South Central Mississippi Chapter is providing classroom materials about The Scrub Club to every 2nd and 6th grade class in the chapter's 12 county jurisdiction. For more information about the program, contact Bill Powe at 601-582-8151.
Above: Volunteers prepare materials about The Scrub Club.
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Habitat for Humanity
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Habitat for Humanity begins its 20th year in the Hattiesburg area in 2010. The organization will build two houses in February and March in the Celeste Place subdivision off Edwards Street, in partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi, William Carey University and other universities from across the country. Students will work on the houses during their spring break.
To raise money to build the houses, Habitat is hosting a basketball game featuring the internationally acclaimed Harlem Ambassadors. The Ambassadors will play the local "Hattiesburg Habitat Hoopsters," which includes Reggie Collier, Father Tommy Conway, John Brown and many others. The game will take place at William Carey University's Clinton Gym on Friday, Feb. 12 at 7 pm. Advance tickets for students and seniors are $7, and $9 for the general public. Children 4 and under are free. Tickets are available at Citizens National Bank on Hwy. 98W, the Habitat for Humanity office, Habitat HomeStore and USM's student activities office. The Harlem Ambassadors offer the unique brand of Harlem-style basketball, with high-flying slam dunks, dazzling ball-handling tricks and hilarious comedy routines.
Also in celebration of Habitat's 20th anniversary, a Womens Build will take place in May. A house will be built with 75% of the labor force being women. Training events will be held in March and April to sharpen and create new building skills.
For questions or to get involved in any of these events, contact Kami Fleeneer at kami.fleener@yahoo.com or at 601-582-4663, ext. 12. |
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ARC The ARC had a great Christmas activity with their Buddy Christmas Party. It rained cats and dogs, but that didn't stop the kids from having lots of fun -- singing carols and riding the trolley. Santa paid a visit, and a delicious dinner was served at Court Street United Methodist Church. Thanks goes out to the Junior Auxiliary and the Youth Challenge Cadets for all their help. |
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ARC is looking forward to the opening of its new Multi-purpose Center. The building will help ARC provide more programs for special needs children and adults. |
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