Rev. Christine Herrin and Congregation: Good morning.

Thank you for the opportunity to share with you a message from Dr. Narendra Sharma, NOC’s Founder and Chair, and from the NOC family.

We are happy to report that NOC’s after school and summer learning programs, which started in June 2021 at the Bluffton Lowcountry Presbyterian Church, have been highly successful.

You provided a home to these children and families when NOC lost its Avalon Shores and ONYX Learning Centers. The children have settled in well in this new location and are participating actively to build their academic, social, and emotional skills. The parents of these children are grateful for the generosity of the Lowcountry Presbyterian Church in providing a safe and secure facility for their children.

NOC also appreciates the support of the Lowcountry Presbyterian Church and the partnership that has evolved over time. You have not only provided a good facility to NOC, but you have also provided funds to help NOC implement its outreach program. For this we are grateful. We have our first volunteer (Wendy McCarthy) from your congregation and we hope the volunteer pool will grow.

The last two years have been difficult for everyone, especially for children and families of low-income households in Bluffton. These underserved children have suffered significant learning loss during the pandemic because of lack of access to virtual learning and academic support at home. Furthermore, the children have suffered from social and emotional stress, which has adversely impacted their personal development.

NOC’s education program at the Lowcountry Presbyterian Church is vitally important to help children excel academically and to build social and emotional skills. Working together, as partners, we can continue to ensure that these most vulnerable children have the support they would otherwise not receive. Together, we can also expand our outreach program to help more children, as well as families in need and those who are vulnerable.

Thank you.

This statement was read by May Angulo, NOC Program Manager, on Sunday, January 30, 2022, at the Bluffton Lowcountry Presbyterian Church.

 

On January 19, 2022, NOC and Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) completed a highly successful two-hour vaccination clinic at NOC’s New Oaks Learning Center on Hilton Head Island. Thirty individuals, including children (> 5 years), were vaccinated. The children participated eagerly and with a sense of purpose and civic responsibility.

To date, NOC has successfully maintained its six learning centers in Beaufort County following strictly the safety protocols of CDC and DHEC. NOC has established an effective two-way communication track between its field staff and the children and families it serves. Children and families have continued to comply with NOC’s health safety standards.

NOC extends special appreciation to BMH and its field staff on HHI.

The NOC Family remembered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 17, 2022. It was a day for reflection, for taking stock of human progress, and for tackling challenges that we face as we try to make this world a better place for everyone.

Dr. King provided a good road map – a “Dream” — for human progress, social justice, and dignity. Dr. King understood the power of love, compassion, and tolerance to create a just and fair society, and to protect our democracy. He saw poverty, exploitation, and lack of opportunity as forces that undermine human dignity, independence, and self-reliance.

NOC pursues Dr. King’s Dream by helping those who are in need, and those who are vulnerable and less fortunate. We all have a role to play. We all must stand together.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr