The Alpha Community Center concluded its fourth session of guiding 11 adults through the Getting Ahead curriculum. This hands on educational workshop/workbook leads students through 10 weeks of information broken into modules.

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The material is designed to give students insight into their particular personal reasons for being/remaining in poverty, and to provide the tools needed to elevate the students onto the path to a much better life. 

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The students are referred to as "investigators" because they thoroughly study or investigate the material to search for answers and conclusions leading to their personal epiphany. Each module builds on the last to create a foundation that supports informed change. Module one deals with " My Life Now", then proceeds to research causes of poverty, hidden rules of economic class, language barriers, how to identify the resources they have and the ones they need to develop, assessing strength and weaknesses of the community and establishing definitive achievable goals with specific timetables. "Each one of our graduates has been moved by the 10 week study and each one left with concrete goals and plans for a better future. It was an amazing transformation and one I felt privileged to witness." -Jan Geuy.

 

The Community Foundation of Sidney/Shelby County provided a grant to assist with the cost of  the initial class and Airstream has added funds in subsequent years as well.  We are grateful to them for their support and willingness to commit to a better future for these adults. Our hope is to garner further community support as we plan our future sessions.

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Thanks to Partners in Hope of Troy, Ohio for assisting us with training manuals and facilitation. Our volunteers are now certified to facilitate our own sessions saving us money and ensuring that we have the skills among our staff and volunteers to offer Getting Ahead for the benefit of future investigators looking for a proven path to a better life.