Biography of Dr. Sharma
Narendra P. Sharma, PhD
Chair, Board of Directors

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

Hilton Head Monthly Magazine carries Diana Furchtgott-Roth’s Real Clear
Market article in its October issue.
See pages 26 and 27 in the online edition:

NOC has recently received significant national attention regarding its flagship education program, development model, and success to date in low-income neighborhoods in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton. Three articles were written by Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor and a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute. Ms. Furchtgott-Roth visited Hilton Head Island and interviewed Dr. Narendra Sharma, founder and Chair, following a site visit to NOC’s program Center at Oaks in Hilton Head Island.

In her first article (“Unlearning World Bank Lessons To Fix Local Poverty”) in Real Clear Markets, Diana Furchtgott-Roth said “Almost everyone knows that Hilton Head Island is home to some of the most beautiful shoreline and golf courses on the eastern seaboard. Few know that the island also boasts a remarkable anti-poverty program for low-income families, one that needs to be considered for replication in poor neighborhoods from New York to Detroit to Oakland.” To understand why she has come to this conclusion, please click the link below.

www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2013/08/20/unlearning_world_bank_lessons_to_fix_local_poverty_100561.html

In a second article (“Hilton Head offers a better way out of poverty than minimum wage hikes”) in Washington Examiner, Diana Furchtgott-Roth makes the case that poverty can be tackled through education, which empowers people. She uses NOC’s approach to validate her assertion. Click below to read this article.

washingtonexaminer.com/article/2534504

The third online article (“Making an investment in at-risk kids: Education is crucial to future success,”) in Wall Street’s Market Watch. Ms. Furchtgott-Roth discusses NOC’s successful development approach to educate at-risk children in the broader context of linking educational achievement to earnings and employment.” The article adds that “Students are in school 180 days a year, for 6 hours a day. Imagine how much more they could learn if educators could capture the remaining 185 days, or another six hours in a day, or both. That’s the philosophy behind … the Neighborhood Outreach Connection (NOC), based in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It provides low-income families with after-school and summer tutoring to stem the academic loss from empty summers and drab afternoons in low-income housing complexes…” To read more, click on the following link.

www.marketwatch.com/story/making-an-investment-in-at-risk-kids-2013-08-23

“The future is uncertain for one lowcountry initiative.”
WSAV reporter Brittany Shane covered this story on July 22, 2013.  To view the video of this report, click on the following link:
Article Link.

Over the past several months, NOC has been engaged in an on-going dialogue with the new Massachusetts-based owner of Bluffton House, where NOC’s Bluffton Program Center is located, and where NOC has provided core services related to education, health care, and workforce development over the past three years. The new owners have indicated that they will no longer permit use of two apartments by NOC, beginning in August for one unit and November for the other unit. Once vacated, these units will be rented out.

Bluffton House is a low-income housing complex in which the owner receives certain benefits through Federal tax regulation. Implicit in this regulation is the expectation that the owner will support the community through programs such as those provided by NOC. Removing NOC’s programs will have a detrimental impact on many of the people (including 200 children) living in this neighborhood, which includes more than 250 apartment units. NOC has had enormous impact on the community over the past three years. The local community is being encouraged to mobilize support for NOC programs at Bluffton House.