Headlines:
• Successful meeting In Beaufort on Friday, February 27, to launch NOC’s new program center to benefit 100 children, mainly African Americans, in 2 low-income neighborhoods in Beaufort city.
• Anonymous Donor pledges $50,000 in Matching Dollars to mobilize funds in Beaufort (North of the Broad)
• High Praise for NOC from BCSD and BCBOE and Administration that NOC model is relevant and generates results at low unit cost.
• State Sen. Tom Davis supports NOC Model and wants to explore funding sources at State Capital to help launch the Beaufort project.
Friday, February 27, was a great day for NOC. The Beaufort County School District (BCSD), Bill Evans, Chair of the BC Board of Ed (BCBOE), and Dr. Narendra Sharma, Chair, NOC’s Board, hosted a summit on the urgent need to open 
an NOC Program Center in Beaufort to address the significant achievement gap experienced by minority children in Beaufort County public schools. More than 40 persons participated in this meeting.
Despite having a bad case of the flu, Bill Evans joined the meeting via Skype. He and Dr. Dereck Rhoads, BCSD, were effusive in their praise of NOC, noting the uniqueness of the model and the successful outcomes of NOC’s education program in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton.
Former School Board Member and Chair Fred Washington recalled his days on the Beaufort County School Board and the work that was done in order to draft and sign a memorandum of 
understanding between the school district and NOC. He added that ever since that day, he has been telling people in Beaufort, “Don’t worry, NOC will get here.” Many representatives from the local African American community, local business sector, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, and the community at large endorsed NOC, including Fred Leyda of the Alliance for Human Services and Jack Mitchell of AT&T. State Senator Tom Davis said he would investigate sources of funding for NOC at the State House. NOC Board Members Karen Diccianni and George Paletta also attended the meeting and spoke with attendees after the meeting.
After Dr. Sharma made his presentation, he announced that an anonymous donor has come forward to pledge $50,000 in matching funds to jumpstart NOC’s Program Center in Beaufort. He challenged the audience and community to help him raise the needed funds. In the past two days, several thousand dollars have been pledged/donated to support the Beaufort Project.
Dr. Sharma’s presentation – click here: NOC-BCSD Summit, Feb. 27, 2014, Final
