For the past three year, NOC has provided valuable services through its Program Center located with the Bluffton House Apartment complex. Unlike the Program Center at the Oaks on Hilton Head, which operates out of three apartments that are owned by NOC, the Bluffton House Program Center uses one community social service apartment and one rental apartment. Such an arrangement relies heavily on a good working relationship with the apartment complex owners.

Bluffton House is now under new ownership and management, and sadly, NOC has been informed  that it must vacate one apartment by August 31, 2013, and the other apartment by November 30, 2013, when NOC’s lease expires on that unit. NOC acknowledges  the rent concessions it has received on these two apartments from the new company,  Apsen Management of West Srpingfield, Massachusetts, and appreciates the company’s recognition that NOC is providing valuable support to the community in Bluffton House Apartments through its mission and outreach programs relating to education, health care, and workforce development. But Aspen’s decision to ask NOC to leave Bluffton House fails to take these social benefits into consideration. Rather, it is driven by the company’s financial considerations, specifically the loss of revenue resulting from not renting these two apartments, a loss of $20,000 to $25,000 per annum.

There are three important considerations:

• First, the consequences of NOC’s moving out of Bluffton House in the middle of the school year will be significant and costly to more than 200 children and families living in the Bluffton House complex. Pre-schoolers will no longer have access to a Program Center with their mother/guardians where they acquire learning skills and competencies to enter school. Elementary and middle school children will no longer receive homework support and tutoring, nor will they have access to computers and internet, so that they can master skills and acquire knowledge in math, language arts, and information. The combined effect of this will be that these children will continue to fall behind, and fail to meet school standards, remain in school, and graduate on time. When children do not participate in summer learning, such as that provided by NOC, they lose the equivalent of two months of learning acquired in the previous academic year. In addition, parents (mainly mothers), who are constrained by transportation and time, will no longer be able to walk to the Program Center and learn English.  Most people in this neighborhood lack health insurance and access to health care; without health screenings the quality of life diminishes immensely.
• Second, NOC wants to build on the gains of past years that have been made in Bluffton House. More than 300 children (reflecting the dynamic transition of the neighborhood) have benefited through the education programs, which have shown positive impact as reported by the Beaufort County School District based on standardized test scores. In fact, Bluffton House students have made higher scores when compared to their peers in the school district. There are numerous stories of success and progress through various interventions of NOC and its partners. In health care, NOC has over the past three years screened more than 500 individuals living in Bluffton House. These individuals lack access to health insurance or continued health care. Through its social events and periodic public safety workshops, NOC has fostered stability and a sense of community in this neighborhood. NOC’s strong presence in the neighborhood and its connection with people are a strong deterrent to crime.   NOC has also been a “connector” by bringing in other service providers (e.g., local schools, library, church groups, government service providers, and NGOs) and local volunteers. Through its reputation and results, NOC has portrayed a positive image for the owners and management team of Bluffton House. NOC’s presence in the neighborhood also attracts families who will bring stability and cohesiveness to the neighborhood. We want to build on this momentum and Aspen Management can be an important partner in this endeavor.
• Third, Aspen has asked us to look at other options outside of Bluffton House. We have completed this task and have found no feasible solution. Unlike the school system and other service providers, NOC cannot transport these children to another neighborhood. We do not have the capacity to add a transportation system since our development approach is based on a strong presence within neighborhoods and our connections with people. The location of our Program Center within the neighborhood is highly critical to our success.

We know that there must be a solution to this dilemma, and we are committed to finding an answer. The Greater Bluffton community wants us to find a solution and remain in Bluffton House. The gains we have made in Bluffton House benefit, both directly and indirectly, the local community at large. To this end, we will continue to pursue a satisfactory solution that does not compromise the interests of the families living in Bluffton House.

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!

Board Chair Reports on NOC’s Accomplishments To Date

NOC’s mission is to fight poverty by helping those who are in need to achieve the “American Dream.”

The Neighborhood Outreach Connection (NOC), a non-profit (501 c 3) organization, which is now in its fourth year of existence, has entered 2012 with significant accomplishments, a proven development approach and business model, and financial integrity, according to Board Chair, Dr. Narendra Sharma.

In keeping with its underlying development approach, NOC is taking assistance directly into low-income  neighborhoods (presently 5 neighborhoods in Hilton Head Island and 5 in Greater Bluffton), supporting some 10,000 people. NOC is creating bottom-up solutions in partnership with other service providers and with individuals in low-income neighborborhoods, where poverty is widespread. NOC’s programs focus on the development of the individual, the family, and the community by implementing small, low-cost neighborhood projects relating to education (including youth activities), health screenings, and workforce development. NOC continues to play an important role as a “connector” by bringing in human service providers to deliver assistance more directly in low-income neighborhoods and by providing information to people in these neighborhoods through its referral services. Through its presence in these neighborhoods, NOC has established trust and respect with individuals and families in the neighborhoods in which it operates.

NOC works closely with faith-based organizations (All Saints Episcopal Church, Saint Francis Catholic Church, First Baptist Church of HHI, First Presbyterian Church, Life Oaks Christian Church), health service providers (Beaufort Memorial Hospital and Volunteers in Medicine), and public and private agencies through Beaufort County’s Alliance for Human Services. NOC has comprehensive agreements with the Beaufort County School District (BCSD), the Beaufort County Library, the Workforce Investment Board, Beaufort County’s Housing Authority, and Adult Education of Beaufort County to implement outreach programs in target neighborhoods.

NOC has established a solid track recordin implementing its mission and outreach programs with help from volunteers and service-provider partners. The most important accomplishments in the past twelve months have been: (a) expanding NOC’s education outreach programs in partnership with the BCSD  and local schools to help more than 200 minority students, mainly African Americans and Hispanics; (b) opening a program center in Bluffton; expanding its program center at Oaks Apartments in HHI; and using the community center at Simmons Cay Apartments to serve low-income neighborhoods there; (c) implementing  periodic health screenings in target neighborhoods in partnership with VIM, BJHCHS, Beaufort Memorial Hospital, and the Lions Club to address health issues related to hypertension, diabetes, PSA, vision, hearing, and HIV, benefiting more than 500 people; and (d) supporting of a neighborhood soccer league and other youth activities such as girl scouts, a book club, social events, and music and arts, involving more than 400 children.

In education, NOC’s program is focusing on helping children (pre-K through Grade 8) improve academic performance in schools, as well as helping children below the age of 4 (pre-school) master basic skills before entering school. NOC is working in partnership with the BCSD, local schools, and parents to provide tutoring, homework support, and commuter-based learning programs at its program centers in HHI and Bluffton so that students will improve performance on standardized tests, meet school standards, and graduate on time. Through this partnership, NOC and BCSD maintain a database and monitoring system to track student progress over time.

In the summer of 2011, 43 students successfully completed the virtual learning program in HHI and Bluffton, thus reducing learning loss during the summer period. More than 100 families in HHI and 120 families in Bluffton applied to enroll their children in this program, but there was space for only 43 students. There is now a culture of continuous learning and participants are dedicated and committed.    Clearly, technology is becoming an important factor in helping students improve their academic performance in language arts and math.

The 2011 fall program of tutoring, homework support and computer-based learning had more than 100 students in Hilton Head and Bluffton enrolled in this program designed to improve academic performance and encourage students to excel in schools. NOC’s pre-school program, launched in 2011 in partnership with the School Readiness Department of the Beaufort County School District (BCSD), the Beaufort County Library, and the HHI Lions Club, has more than 50 students participating, along with their mothers. The demand for this program is high (more than 200 children) as more parents from low income neighborhoods recognize the importance of preparing their children for school entry.

NOC’s neighborhood soccer program has been highly successful in HHI, with more than 75 children participating, along with parents who manage and run the program weekly. Social programs, designed to foster better relationships among people in neighborhoods, have been highly successful. The 2011 Christmas celebration in HHI and Bluffton drew more than 400 people from low-income neighborhoods, including nearly 250 children who received gifts from Santa Claus.

NOC has a lean business model that places emphasis on frontline results that benefit people directly. NOC relies on a proactive Board of Directors and until recently on a small cadre of part-time employees and volunteers to keep its central administrative costs exceedingly low, channeling a high proportion (more than 90% ) of its resources to the frontline to benefit the poor and those in need. For its frontline work, NOC relies heavily on volunteers (more than 150 individuals, including students from local high schools such as HH High, HH Prep, and HH Christian Academy, as well as USCB) and a small number of part-time paid workers. NOC has no full time staff members and has only recently hired a part-time Executive Director and a part-time Office Manager.

Finally, to maintain its integrity, NOC has engaged independent auditors to review its accounts. This auditing firm has completed three reviews of past years and has recently completed a review of NOC’s FY2010-2011 finance and accounting. The report confirms NOC’s adherence to its fiduciary responsibilities, effective internal control, and financial integrity. These reports are available for public review.

For further details, please visit NOC’s website (www.neighborhoodoc.wpengine.com), or call at 843-681-4100.

Together we can make a difference by empowering people and building stronger communities

We live in a time of serious social, political, and economic challenges, but we also live in a world of paradoxes.  Wealth is growing, but the gulf between the haves and have-nots is widening.  Poverty is still significant, and many people do not enjoy economic prosperity and social progress.   Many struggle to make ends meet.  This is the reality we find at the local, national, and global level.

Global wealth is more than 50 trillion dollars and growing, yet 1.2 billion people throughout the world live on less than $1 a day.

More than 37 million people (13% of total population) live in poverty in the US, almost 700,000 (16 % of population) of whom live here in South Carolina, including the Lowcountry.  In the Lowcountry (including Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton, and Hampton Counties), poverty ranges from 11% to 24% of the total population.

Many neighborhoods in the Lowcountry (even HHI) show signs of social distress: unemployment and underemployment, low income, social issues stemming from drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and high school drop outs, and many people with limited access to microfinance, vocational training, and social services (such as health, education, affordable housing).  We see the greatest poverty and social distress locally in areas with higher concentrations of African Americans and Hispanics.  But poverty affects every group.

Poverty notwithstanding, these same neighborhoods are rich in human resources and social capital.  What they need is empowerment through economic opportunities, access to social services, and political voice.  People want to live with dignity, and they want respect.

Nelson Mandela, an elder statesman in the war on poverty, said recently on his 90th birthday that we must conquer poverty and integrate the value of caring for others in our daily lives.  This is the challenge we must address.
NOC is stepping up to this challenge.  Our mission is to fight poverty by helping all members of our communities to achieve the “American Dream.”  We will serve people with integrity, compassion, and commitment, and as Mr. Mandela said, “by caring for them.”

We direct our efforts to distressed neighborhoods.  We take assistance directly to the neighborhoods by employing a new business model [1] that involves people and organizations from the neighborhoods to identify needs and to develop solutions.  Our new approach creates programs in partnership with various faith based organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, and private and public agencies. Our business model adopts an integrated approach to development, focusing on trust, results, happiness, and quality of life.

Our vision is to reach out to the Lowcountry of South Carolina and ultimately to other states across the country.  Our initial focus is on three neighborhoods:

• Housing units along Squire Pope Road, Wild Horse Road, and Gum Tree Road in Ward 1 of Hilton Head Island
• The Oaks Apartments, Hilton Head Gardens, and Sandalwood Apartments in Ward 1 of Hilton Head Island
• Bluffton House, Simmons Cay Apartments, and housing units along Brandon Woods Rd. located in District 4 of the Beaufort Council District

We are making progress now by establishing relationships with the people, leaders, and organizations in these neighborhoods, and we have started working with community partners.  We have begun work on assessing the needs of the neighborhoods together with people within these neighborhoods.

Together we have started to develop solutions to address priority needs and to work with partners to implement programs.  We are moving to establish a strong monitoring and evaluation system so that we can track results (outputs and outcomes).

We hope you will join our efforts and become a part of this important initiative.  Together I am confident that we can build stronger neighborhoods.

In conclusion, I would like to share with you a remark made by an elderly lady in the newly independent country of Timor Leste.  During the post conflict period, a reporter was interviewing people in Timor Leste about the country’s future.  The reporter asked the lady what is the purpose of life.  She responded quickly in a firm voice:  “The purpose of life is to help others.”  That is what we at NOC want to do.