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Bluffton nonprofit allowed to remain at apartment complex

December 11, 2013 By modsoft

http://www.blufftontoday.com/bluffton-news/2013-12-08/bluffton-nonprofit-allowed-remain-apartment-complex#.UqSGhBOA2JA
By SCOTT THOMPSON
843-815-0800, Ext. 13 [email protected]

s
A Bluffton nonprofit organization’s push to keep its headquarters at a local apartment complex has apparently paid off, but the group will likely have to downsize soon, according to its chairman.

Neighborhood Outreach Connection (NOC) offers after-school assistance and other resources to low-income families. It has been lobbying to remain at Bluffton House Apartments since it was ordered in May by the complex’s Massachusetts-based property manager to vacate the two units it has occupied by Nov. 30.

NOC chairman and founder Narendra Sharma said Thursday corporate officials at Aspen Square Management, which purchased the property this year, have allowed the group to keep its two apartments through the end of the semester. But it must move out of them once renovations of another building are completed and it can only rent one unit in that renovated building, based on availability.

We’re happy that it looks like we’ll be able to remain at Bluffton House, and it worked out well for us that we’re able to finish the current semester in our two units,” Sharma said. “But by having to downsize, a lot of the kids we serve now will be falling through the cracks.”

Bluffton House and Aspen Square corporate officials did not return repeated calls for comment.

The situation gained major attention Oct. 30 when group leaders and about 100 students, parents, volunteers and other supporters delivered hand-written letters and a petition to the complex’s management office addressed to Aspen Square founder and president Harold Grinspoon, asking that the group be allowed to stay at Bluffton House.

Sharma considered the petition, which was signed by 223 Bluffton House residents, and the attention it received, to be a game changer in his group’s negotiations with Aspen Square.

I think the focus of the media, the various stakeholders and other community groups on this issue and the importance of community development really played a big part in us being allowed to stay,” he said. “Also, the tenacity of the NOC itself played a key role. We’ve been very steadfast in our opposition to having to leave entirely. This clearly shows when we have an issue that impacts the community, if we put our voices together, that can produce results.”

Sharma said NOC has helped more than 300 children improve their school performance in its 5 1/2 years of existence, but its long-term viability leans heavily on being able to remain at Bluffton House, where almost 90 percent of its beneficiaries live. Currently, he said, the after-school program can accommodate 60-70 students a semester between the two apartments, about 60 percent of those wanting to participate. If the group is occupies only one unit, that number will have to be cut in half.

It’s tough to have to select kids to be in the program and turn down so many others we could help,” Sharma said.
NOC will also likely have to pay $1,000 a month in rent for the apartment. The group does not currently pay rent for its two units because state law does not allow low-income housing providers to accept rent from nonprofit groups. Sharma said that costs Aspen Square $15,000 to $20,000 a year.

Sharma had offered to pay $1,000 a month for one of the group’s current units if it could use a nearby one without charge. He said the rent could be covered by grants and donations made by the group’s board of directors and other community organizations.

That is the rent they can get in the market,” Sharma said. “I hope we won’t have to pay that much, but if so, then we will. We have no other choice if we want to make sure more kids aren’t falling through the cracks. I would like to see the community contribute. A lot of support from the general public would do a lot of good and allow us to keep reaching more kids at a very valuable time.”

Sharma said NOC is evaluating other options and has had discussions with various community organizations, including the possibility of acquiring space for a learning center from nearby Lowcountry Presbyterian Church, but he is hopeful the group eventually will be able to remain in its full capacity at Bluffton House.

We will continue to try to convince (Aspen Square) to allow us to occupy two units,” Sharma said. “We hope they realize the economic and social benefits we can bring to the community.

They’ve shown the willingness to work with us before, and I’m optimistic we can continue to work something out.”

Filed Under: News

Nonprofit group granted temporary stay at Bluffton House

December 11, 2013 By modsoft

By DAN BURLEY
[email protected], December 9, 2013

CaptureA nonprofit organization’s fight to keep its Bluffton headquarters at an apartment complex has ended for now, but the group’s long-term home is still uncertain.

Neighborhood Outreach Connection, which provides after-school help and other services to low-income families, has received permission to stay at Bluffton House Apartments until the semester ends Dec. 20, chairman Narendra Sharma said Monday.

The group previously was told by the complex’s management company that it must vacate its two apartments when its lease expired at the end of November.

“At least we are able to finish up the semester,” Sharma said. “We’ll press to stay here after that.”

Attempts Monday to reach the managing company, Massachusetts-based Aspen Square Management, were unsuccessful.

Sharma said he believes an Oct. 30 petition delivered to the complex’s leasing office by a crowd of protesting students, teachers and parents prompted the management firm to change its mind.

“I’ve seen significant changes in their attitude and willingness to cooperate with us,” he said of negotiations with the firm.

But Sharma said the nonprofit organization, which provides after-school help to around 65 children in the apartments, still has no home for next semester.

Aspen Square has said Neighborhood Outreach Connection cannot stay in its two subsidized apartments, where it does not pay rent. A state law does not allow low-income housing providers such as Bluffton House, which leases a mix of subsidized and non-subsidized housing, to accept rent from nonprofit groups for subsidized apartments.

Instead, the management company has offered one non-subsidized apartment at $1,000 a month, Sharma said.

Sharma said such a deal would help the students who live at the apartments and struggle to find transportation elsewhere. However, it also would force the group to cut its current operations in half or hold two sessions a night instead of one.

“One unit is not ideal,” he said. “We are already at maximum capacity. How do you decide who comes to the program? It would be an awkward position to be in.

“And a session later in the night would be tough for little kids who just don’t have gas left after a long day.”

Neighborhood Outreach Connection also is considering a classroom trailer at neighboring Lowcountry Presbyterian Church, which is across Plantation Park Drive from Bluffton House, he said.

Joe Crowley, an elder at the church, said it’s up to the nonprofit to research whether a trailer is feasible.

“The church feels great about the program,” he said. “But before we can do it, we want to make sure it’s actually doable.”

Sharma said more details would be settled once a decision is made at Bluffton House.

Neighborhood Outreach Connection has been at Bluffton House since 2010. It has a similar center at nearby Simmons Cay Apartments and at The Oaks on Hilton Head Island.

In three years, the group has provided more than 500 health screenings for hypertension, diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer and HIV at the Bluffton center, Sharma said. It also offers after-school and summer-school programs for at-risk youth; workshops on dental hygiene, nutrition, banking and entrepreneurial skills; and English training for adults.

“It’s become a centerpiece of the Bluffton community,” he said. “People recognize the success of this model. It’d be ideal for us to stay here and continue helping these kids.”

Filed Under: News

NOC Supports Social Entrepreneurship

December 11, 2013 By modsoft

CaptureSince its beginning in 2008, NOC has focused on empowering communities through education, healthcare, and workforce development. Through centralized efforts in an “inside-out” transformation, NOC has innovated the way both its supporters and community members see aid and development. The organization has spent the past five years deliberating the most effective ways to reach families and has had enormous success emphasizing the value of education in the low income communities where it works. Over the past months, an enormous need for a sense of economic security within these neighborhoods has been identified. As many of our neighbors are either trapped in the cycle of poverty or unable to find steady work due to their lack of education or legal status, the need has and will continue to present itself in these neighborhoods. NOC’s goal through its existence has been to develop stronger neighborhoods and combat poverty through approaches that empower, not enable. Although children are showing great signs of progress in academic achievement in math and language arts, true change must begin at home. Utilizing the social capital that exists in low income neighborhoods in terms of skills, knowledge, and talents is an effective way to generate employment and income in order to improve quality of life for these people.

The Project

The Las Mujeres En Acción (MEA) Project is an attempt at sustainable economic development that fights poverty from the ground up. Las Mujeres En Acción, a grassroots business enterprise, includes an ambitious group of 12 women from the Oaks neighborhood in Hilton Head Island, working to create beautiful, high quality, and fashionable jewelry to create employment and augment their household income. They strive to produce fairly traded, environmentally friendly, and ethically sourced pieces that tell a story from producer to customer. Their aim is to learn from each other; their hope is that each of the partners will eventually be knowledgeable and empowered to start her own private enterprise. But until then, these women hope to capitalize on a collective effort based on their unparalleled ethics, their superb workmanship, and the stories they each have to tell.

Project Goal and Objectives

The goal of the project is to help women in a low-income neighborhood use their talents and skills to generate employment and income through social entrepreneurship and micro-business enterprise. The objectives of the project will be to:

  1. Establish stable regular weekly employment and income for the women through production of products that utilize local skills and knowledge.
  2. Create a sustainable system of work, production system, and marketing and compensation centered around community empowerment as a whole.
  3. Manufacture fairly traded and eco-friendly products that people want to buy.
  4. Use the true stories of the neighborhoods to appeal to customers.
  5. Focus on stories that are uplifting and hopeful but also true to the nature of the communities

Implementation

NOC will be responsible for project implementation. The project will be managed by NOC’s Social Entrepreneurship Coordinator under the direction of the chair of NOC’s Board of Directors who has more than 30 years of experience in development, including micro-finance and small credit throughout the world. Start-up work has already begun with this pilot project. The project will include an orientation session and three training workshops to be conducted at NOC’s Program Center at Oaks. Technical support will be provided on a regular basis to develop a business and marketing (including pricing) plan, a framework for the business, including operational, financing, and accounting arrangements and obligations. Technical support will also be provided on product quality and pricing. Participants will operate as a craft group to produce jewelry (developed at home) to be sold in an online marketplace. Due to the cooperative nature of the set up, they will collectively have control over each element of the business (including the group name, which they will decide democratically). Each week, they will be assigned a new design for an item and will be paid per piece based on the quality of their work. Their ability to comply with expectations and create products that sell in an online market will determine the future of the organization. MEA will function to supplement family incomes through sustainable work, not charity. Like all NOC programs, the profits will funnel directly back into the programs NOC manages in the community.

Project Cost

Orientation workshop (1)
Training workshops (3)
Seed capital to cover raw material/tools,
promotion/marketing
Setting of online retail facility
Technical support
Administrative supportTotal
$300
$1,200
$4,000
$500
$3,500
$1,000
$10,500

Key Outcomes

  1. The project will have a financial rate of return of at least 10%.
  2. 12 women will augment their income by $1200 annually.
  3. 12 women will be employed 10 to 15 hours per week.

Filed Under: Workforce Development

WHHI-TV’s interview with founder and board Chair Dr. Narendra Sharma, July 29, 2013:

December 10, 2013 By modsoft


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2wuM7j3uoo

Filed Under: Other

NOC Opens Virtual Learning Center at The Oaks

October 27, 2013 By modsoft


http://www.wsav.com/video?clipId=9458566&autostart=true
The Grand Opening of NOC’s Virtual Learning Center on Hilton Head Island took place on October 26, 2013. NBC affiliate station in Savannah, WSAV, aired this report:

Island Packet’s Jay Carr covers the Grand Opening of The Virtual Learning Center at the Oaks:

http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/10/26/2757803/photos-virtual-learning-center.html

More video on Virtual learning Center:


http://youtube.com/watch?feature=c4-feed-u&v=5ZAeLuduB2M

Filed Under: News

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The NOC Story

 

Neighborhood Outreach Connection is a registered 501(c)(3)
non-profit community development organization.

 

 

NOC – 10 Year Impact Video_Final.mov from Neighborhood Outreach Connection on Vimeo.

NOC – FULL UPDATED VIDEO.mov from Neighborhood Outreach Connection on Vimeo.

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Contact Info

Email 

[email protected]

Office Address
4 Dunmore Court
Bldg.  A, Suite 102
Hilton Head Island
SC 29926

Phone
843-681-4100
 
Mailing Address
Neighborhood Outreach Connection
PO Box 23558
Hilton Head, SC, 29925

Program Centers

Beaufort:
Marsh Pointe Center
Waters at Ribaut Center

Bluffton:
Lowcountry Presbyterian Center

Hilton Head Island:
St. Luke’s/Cordillo Center
Island Lutheran Center
New Oaks Center

 

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