NOC’s Business Model: Highly Relevant for Empowering People

As it embarks on its next five years, Neighborhood Outreach Connection (NOC) is proud of its accomplishments and development approach to help people in need in local low-income neighborhoods. NOC intends to build on this strong foundation to fight poverty and empower people to improve their quality of life. People who are empowered will achieve independence, self-reliance, and dignity, also they will contribute to the local economy.

The mission of the Neighborhood Outreach Connection (NOC) is to fight poverty by helping those in need achieve the “American Dream.” NOC’s mission, which places emphasis on the individual, the family, and the community, remains powerful and highly relevant today and together with its business model, it positions NOC strategically to combat two formidable challenges faced locally:

• Poverty is a serious concern in a number of neighborhoods in Beaufort County (affecting more than 14% of the county’s population, especially children and women).
• A significant proportion (35% to 40%) of the new majority in public schools (nearly 11,000 African American and Hispanic students) needs help in order to meet school standards, remain in school, and graduate on time with the right skills and knowledge; most of these students live in low-income neighborhoods.

NOC is generating positive results and will continue to make a significant difference in the lives of many people, especially the children.

• NOC focuses on creating opportunities within distressed neighborhoods on Hilton Head Island and in Greater Bluffton by connecting resources, services, and technology to the people who need them most.
• NOC’s takes assistance directly into these neighborhoods and its strong presence in these neighborhoods allows it to build trust and strong relationships with the people living there.
• NOC’s flagship education program includes pre-school classes and an after-school tutoring program that bring teachers and volunteers into “learning centers” to provide homework help during the school year, as well as a Virtual Summer Learning Program during the summer. Currently more 200 children are enrolled in this program. NOC’s pre-school program, serving more than 40 children, focuses on school readiness.
• NOC is placing special attention on bringing modern technology into the neighborhood – with support from the VanLandingham Rotary Club – to encourage continuous learning among children and adults.
• NOC provides health screenings for hypertension, diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, vision and hearing, and HIV/AIDS, as well as workshops relating to pre-natal care and dental hygiene, reaching more than 1200 people.
• NOC has integrity in the way it conducts business and manages its finances, and it has partnerships with the Beaufort County School District and local schools, Beaufort County Library, Beaufort Memorial Hospital, local churches, and other organizations such as the Rotary Clubs, Lions Club, and Kiwanis.

For more information, visit NOC on  Facebook.

Below are some of my thoughts and priorities for 2013.

The transition from 2012 into 2013 marks neither an end nor a beginning … it is simply part of a continuum of ongoing change. For NOC, this represents an opportunity to grow and progress.

In retrospect, 2012 was an excellent year for NOC.  But our work has just begun and the challenges we face remain formidable if we are to make NOC highly relevant as a local community development organization. We face two formidable challenges that must be addressed because of moral, social, and economic considerations and because of their impact locally.

1. There is a serious level of poverty in a number of neighborhoods in Beaufort County (affecting 14% of the county’s population).
2. A significant proportion (35% to 40%) of the new majority in public schools (nearly 11,000 African American and Hispanic students) needs help in order to meet school standards, remain in school, and graduate on time with the right skills and knowledge; most of these children live in low income neighborhoods.

NOC is moving in the right direction to address these challenges. Clearly, NOC’s strength lies in its mission, business model, and core programs (education, health services, and workforce development), and, more importantly, in its ability to generate results efficiently on the ground. NOC must build on this strength as it moves forward.

To this end, NOC will focus on …

1. growth — targeting programs that have high payoffs and outcome (e.g., pre-school, K through Grade 5, health screenings);
2. continuous positive results to help those who are in need, especially the children;
3. connection with people in targeted neighborhoods by building trust and respect;
4. strategic partnerships with key agencies to leverage resources, services, and knowledge/information to help the poor and those in need; and
5.  integrity in how NOC conducts its business.

In 2013, NOC will continue expanding and improving the quality of its core programs. While education will remain NOC’s flagship program, we will concentrate on the following priorities:

1. Use existing strategic plans for implementation of pre-school, K through Grade 5, 2013 summer program, and ESL programs in Bluffton and HHI; re-introduce middle school program in HHI and Bluffton on a pilot scale.
2. Complete establishment of the VL Rotary supported Virtual Learning Center in Oaks and place more emphasis on technology in order to focus on education goals.
3. Execute 3 to 6 health screenings in HHI and Bluffton and support at least 9 to 12 health workshops relating to health care (including PASO programs), nutrition, dental care, and pre-natal care.
4. Strengthen NOC’s field team by hiring a Program Manager for Bluffton PC and two AmeriCorps members to support field operations.
5. Add 3 new members to NOC’s Board and make NOC’s organization more effective and impact-oriented through a training program and a matrix of responsibilities for Board members.
6. Utilize the $20,000 grant strategically to raise capital ($200,000) linked to NOC’s programming and budgeting for 2013.
7. Establish health services and minority affairs committees to concentrate on strategic plans, policies, performance, and improvement of operations, following the model of the Education Committee; these committees will present their findings to the Board in a timely manner to improve decision making and quality of NOC’s programs.
8. Strengthen NOC’s capabilities for monitoring program impacts by establishing a performance matrix with clearly defined performance indicators (outputs/outcomes) and a database in partnership with the BCSD.
9. Promote NOC’s brand, business model, and results through aggressive marketing, especially in support of fund raising; prepare a new NOC brochure and make Constant Contact fully operational; and use social media (especially Facebook) for networking and informing others.

We are optimistic about NOC’s future and we expect 2013 to be another excellent year with impacts on the lives of many people, especially children in low income neighborhoods.

Happy New Year!