The Children's Alliance

The summer is long and it is hot. During school I had a lot to do, but during the summer the adults are at work. Cousins come to watch us during the day but we don’t have a TV, and we can’t go anywhere. Some days we are hungry, especially right before momma gets paid. She says it really stretches our money when there is no school.

My friend is attending a summer program at the school in our neighborhood. She told me she starts the day everyday with “Harambee” (Harambee is Kiswahili for “Let’s Pull Together.”) when they sing and dance. She is having a great time. She comes home with new books and I am so lucky because she shares them with me.

There was no way I was going to try a falafel, nothing about it sounded yummy. For Mother’s Day we went to cheer on mom’s friend who was running her first race. Her friends had talked her into doing it. The race was called the Falafel 5K and it was raising money for Jewish Family Services. Many of our neighbors had gone to events run by the Jewish Family Services.

Poverty Simulation

Crisis Assistance Ministry sponsors this really cool and free opportunity to participate in a 2-hour workshop that is a poverty simulation.

The Federal definition of poverty is defined as a family of four making $22,000 a year (2009). According to the U.S. Census in 2009 there were 227,687 children in Mecklenburg County, 46,465 of them lived in poverty.

Five Organizations to Get Involved With to Prevent Child Abuse & Neglect:

If you are ready to be a voice for a child in our community there are lots of ways to do it. The most important thing is to get involved and share your talents. There are many ways to ensure every child in our community feels safe. The Children's Alliance is filled with organizations that work hard to protect the children of our community. Here are five organizations you should know if you want to be a part of ending child abuse and neglect in our community.