Since G.G.’s Closet opened, all the men who have attended StepUp’s Employment Week have been outfitted with interview suits, shirts, ties and shoes, helping build their confidence and prepare them for a successful interview. However, the space we have been using for G.G.’s Closet is no longer available. As we search for a new space, we will be temporarily suspending donations, but please continue to keep us in mind for future donations. Also, if you know of a space that we could use, please let us know! We are looking for 2,400 sq. ft. space anywhere in Raleigh. 

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On July 1, 2016, StepUp Ministry, announced six additional members to their Board of Directors:

Jacques Oury, Red Hat

Elizabeth Scott, Attorney with Williams Mullen

Angie Dowd, Retired Financial Expert and Community Volunteer

Katrina Lyons, Cardinal Advisors

John Constance, Retired Business Executive

Emmett Haywood, Attorney with Nicholls and Crampton

The StepUp Ministry Board of Directors represents the diversity of faith congregations, financial resources, expertise, community partnerships and volunteers it will take to strengthen StepUp in the coming years.

We are so happy to have them be a part of our team!

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The StepUp Ministry Alumni Program will offer a series of Career Assistance Classes Sponsored by Wake Tech Community College- Human Resource Development between June and November 2016.  The Alumni program was identified as a lab for Wake Tech and will serve as a site for ongoing career assistance classes through June 30, 2017.  

The Alumni Program has seen a steady increase in attendance due to classes offered by WTCC. In addition to attending classes for WTCC continuing education credits, alumni are setting personal and professional goals. Since March 2016 - three alumni have achieved goals they established in January 2016.

Newly elected officers for StepUp Speakers' Circle Club of Toastmasters International for 7/1/2016 - 6/30/2017:

Club President: Laura Martin

Club Vice President of Education: Vincent Bongiovanni

Club Vice President of Public Relations: Hind Laraj 

Club Vice President of Membership: Eva Ngari

Club Treasurer: Maxine Terry

Club Secretary: Elaine Bryan-Donigan

Club Sergeant at Arms: BC Cooper

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Our Children’s Program has had a fun summer so far with our summer outings.

The kids come together with staff and volunteers on Thursdays during the summer. They spend the whole day together doing activities and going on field trips filled with fun and enrichment.

One of the places we have gone this summer is Hope Reins of Raleigh, a long time partner of StepUp that provides one-on-one sessions for children with counselors and horses. The children have the opportunity to learn how to properly care for the horses and learn their individual stories. The kids always have a blast, and we are so grateful for this partnership.

We also traveled to Durham to the Stagville Plantation, which comprises the remnants of one of the largest plantations of the pre-Civil War South. The plantations belonged to the Bennehan-Cameron Family, whose combined holdings totaled approximately 900 slaves and almost 30,000 acres of land by 1860. It was an awesome opportunity for our kids to experience such a big part of history right next door to us.

Although we love to learn, some of our outings are strictly reserved for fun, such as an afternoon of skating at United Skates of Raleigh or swimming the day away at Sandlin Beach.

By participating in these field trips, it gives us the opportunity to bond with and get to know our kids in an environment outside of our normal Tuesday night program. For them, these trips provide exposure to culture and learning in a non-traditional way. The children have the opportunity to serve and give back to the community through our community service portion of the trips.

All kids in the program are required to complete at least two community service activities before graduation. This summer we served meals at Shepherds Kitchen in downtown Raleigh.

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During the month of July, the Employment Team participated in team building exercises facilitated by GoApe! The team took to the field to build trust and a better understanding for each individual’s communication style through hands-on activities, including a Blind Trust Walk. Each Jobs Week the Employment Team is challenged by connecting with as many as 30 new participants, so it is important that the team is unified in all efforts. The Employment Team left the day with a sense of renewal, eager to inspire during the approaching Jobs Week!

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Save The Date

StepUp Volunteer Summer Gathering

Saturday, August 20, 2016

9 am – Noon

St. Ambrose Episcopal Church

813 Darby Street, Raleigh

Meet fellow StepUp volunteers to get updates on program areas, meet new leaders and spend focused time together!  

State of StepUp

Linda Nunnallee, Executive Director

Department Updates

Jamie Almond, Angela Coleman, Colisha Gilbert and Mary Allison Raper

General Session: "Poverty, Privilege, and Partnership" 

Presented by:  Paul Daniels, II an aspirant for ordination in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and intake coordinator for the StepUp Jobs Team and The Rev. Deacon Chuck Wynder, a Missioner for Social Justice and Advocacy for the Episcopal Church, USA.

Mark Your Calendars and RSVP today to: stempleton@stepupministry.org

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Thank you for all those who discounted or donated food, or prepared and served plates during StepUp Summer Meals in July and August!  Every week, there has been fantastic food; helping hands and sweet smiles to fuel the spirit and soul of our Life Skills participants and volunteers. We are grateful to all of these wonderful supporters including:

Hungry Howies, Oberlin Road

Farmer’s Table – Q-Shack

Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church

Jim Kellenberger, Kellenberger Enterprises Inc.

Hayes Barton Baptist Church

St. Michael’s EYC

Dude Solutions

And more than 30 individual volunteers!

Want to help with 2017 Summer Meal?  Please contact Suzanne, stempleton@stepupministry.org.

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Save The Date

StepUp Volunteer Summer Gathering

Saturday, August 20, 2016

9 am – Noon

St. Ambrose Episcopal Church

813 Darby Street, Raleigh

Meet fellow StepUp volunteers to get updates on program areas, meet new leaders and spend focused time together!  

State of StepUp

Linda Nunnallee, Executive Director

Department Updates

Jamie Almond, Angela Coleman, Colisha Gilbert and Mary Allison Raper

General Session: "Poverty, Privilege, and Partnership" 

Presented by:  Paul Daniels, II an aspirant for ordination in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and intake coordinator for the StepUp Jobs Team and The Rev. Deacon Chuck Wynder, a Missioner for Social Justice and Advocacy for the Episcopal Church, USA.

Mark Your Calendars and RSVP today to: stempleton@stepupministry.org

The Impact Luncheon is StepUp Ministry’s annual fundraising luncheon. This year we had over 300 guests in attendance and raised $160,000. Thank you to everyone who attended and those who made a donation. We could not do our work without your generous contributions!

Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors:

Medical Mutual

Martin Marietta

Baker Roofing

Custom Home Exterior

Capitol Broadcasting Company

BB&T

KDI Capital Partners

Sentinel Risk Advisors

Fred Smith Company

Kane Realty Corporation

Hamlin Companies

Mako Medical Laboratories

Thank you to our Individual Sponsors:

Bettie and David Sousa

Tom Darden

Gregg Sandreuter

John Martin

“No one saves us but ourselves, no one can in no way, we can be lead but we ourselves must walk the path.”

When Herbert Watson joined the Employment Program, it quickly became apparent that those words were ones he truly lived by. In spite of many obstacles that arose during his employment search after his completion of the Jobs Week, Herbert never lost sight of his positivity and dedication.

Determined to succeed, he completed everything asked of him quickly and never gave up when the answer from an employer was no. Although having a criminal background may have slowed him down, he never considered giving up.

Today, Herbert is a proud member of the staff at Hayes Barton Baptist Church. It is great to have him join us at ENER-G on Wednesdays to encourage and motivate the new members of the StepUp Ministry Employment Program. He is also expecting his first child this year!!

StepUp Ministry is pleased to introduce you to our Real World 2016 High School graduates. These young adults have been admitted into multiple universities, including North Carolina Central, Elizabeth City State, South Carolina State, Mars Hill University, and Wake Technical College.

These young adults have shown resilience to over come the seen and unseen obstacles in the educational system. Our sincere hope for them is to continue to move forward in positive directions and not be held back by the woes of systemic oppression. Congratulations to them all, and we hope to have played some small positive part in their life! 

Graduation is a time of joy and promotion. It is always a great time to celebrate the accomplishments of those completing the 48-week Life Skills Program. It has been a joyous time with the June 2016 Christ Church graduates. On June 16th, StepUp had 23 graduates. Six graduates were from Christ Church, nine graduates were from White Memorial, and eight were Children’s Program graduates.

• Al Ashe, Produce Clerk at the North Hills Harris Teeter, was recognized as the May Employee of the Month
• Theodore Stroud received a $1 raise at his job with Ron's Landscaping.
• Dennis Foster, Lead Line Cook at Buffalo Wild Wings, received a recent promotion and monetary raise
• Shonte Wilson works at Searstone in Cary and was recently promoted to full-time Concierge
• Ricky Privette has become a new volunteer with the youth of his church.
• Willard Mallard celebrated his one-year anniversary at Newcomb and Company

Each participant has done something to move closer to stability over the last year. StepUp Ministry is grateful for the opportunity to have served them!

StepUp Ministry and Passage Home have partnered to better serve the community numerous times.  We currently have a referral pipeline between StepUp's Jobs Team and Passage Home’s Workforce Development Program. More recently, StepUp partnered with Passage Home by co-hosting a career fair at NC Works on February 18, 2016. This career fair was such a huge success that our organizations have agreed to partner again for a larger career fair on July 20, 2016. This fair will also be held at NC Works-Tillery Place. We hope to see your face in the place! Let’s get people jobs!

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On any given Tuesday, you can catch Aubrey Chapman surrounded by a group of laughing volunteers with their undivided attention. This kid is full of character and he is definitely not afraid to show it! Aubrey is finishing up his 1st grade year at Fuller Elementary and is looking forward to taking 2nd grade by storm! Aubrey loves to read and tell stories. He is also a master on the monkey bars! Aubrey really enjoys hanging out with Mr. Matt, one of our long time volunteers in the Children’s Program. Generally if you see Mr. Matt, Aubrey isn’t far behind him. Aubrey comes to StepUp with his mother, Lashya Sutton, and little sister, Briahana, who is in our little steps program. The three of them are currently in Phase 4, so they will be graduating in June. It has been a joy to get to know this awesome kid and watch him grow and develop over the last year!

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“I don’t have to get up and be at the bus stop at 5:30AM to get the kids to school and me to work anymore.” – Sarah Thompson, current Life Skills participant (pictured)

“I never owned a computer of my own before. The library was always a ‘hit or miss’ thing; and when you are looking for a job, that’s not what you need to have.” – March 2016 Graduate

In today’s society, it is almost a necessity to have transportation and access to the Internet without limitation. Aside from the Life Skills Program offering our participants advice and methodology on financial literacy/budgeting, spiritual development, and networking opportunities, we also collaborate with some outstanding community resource partners. Wheels4Hope and the United Way/Teaming 4 Technology partnerships have been two of the most used, to date. The benefit provided to individuals has been immeasurable and life changing. We continue to build bridges to better lives by developing new pathways to opportunities that could be just out of reach for some individuals facing challenges. We are always happy to see our participants afforded a blessing that enhances their lives and makes everyday tasks easier to undertake.

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“What can our group do to help StepUp?”  We love answering this call!  Thank you to the groups who recently donated their time, hands and hearts to StepUp:

·Hayes Barton Baptist Church: Put together 50 binders for Life Skills

·Hayes Barton United Methodist Church:  Deep clean of the StepUp Offices

·St. Michael’s Episcopal Church:  Easter Baskets for children

·Temple Beth Or: Alumni Meals

·Church of The Apostles Fellows:  Sorting Men’s Clothes for GG’s Closet

·Junior League: Valentine’s Party, Easter Egg Hunt, Mailings

Is your group looking for a project this summer?  Come serve a meal at Tuesday Life Skills, Thursday Alumni or Employment Week Graduation. 

Call Suzanne Templeton for more information and details:  919-781-0156, x111.

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Ashley Campbell, StepUp’s Board Chair, is a trial attorney and partner at Ragsdale Liggett PLLC in Raleigh, NC. Ashley is also the current president-elect of the Wake County Bar Association and Tenth Judicial District Bar. She has been chosen to lead the Community Law Clinic of Campbell Law School. Ashley will be a guide for law students as they assist organizations in providing legal services to the community in need.

The Community Law Clinic will open its doors for the fall 2016 semester. It will provide backup legal services free of charge to area non-profit agencies and their clients. Some of these non-profit agencies include StepUp Ministry, Urban Ministries of Wake County, and Raleigh Rescue Mission.

Ashley has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, the North Carolina Bar Association, North Carolina Super Lawyers, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, and the Triangle Business Journal for her success, leadership, and community involvement.

StepUp Ministry is honored to have Ashley Campbell as our Board Chair!

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Art Ross has been honored as the 2016 Distinguished Alumni from Union Presbyterian Seminary. Art has served 5 years on StepUp’s board.

Art is a graduate of Davidson College and Union Presbyterian Seminary. He served in the army as an infantry officer. He has served many churches including one in Brooklyn, New York, Charlotte, North Carolina, Jacksonville, Florida, Morehead City, North Carolina, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Most recently, he was the preacher at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, North Carolina for 15 years, before retiring in 2009.

In retirement, Art occasionally preaches and serves as a pastoral resource for individuals and congregations in the areas of conflict resolution, strategic leadership, mentoring teams, and stewardship.

StepUp is proud to have Art Ross has a board member, and we celebrate this award!

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My name is Taneisha Bryant, and I am a mother of two. I relocated here from NYC two years ago. My journey to StepUp Ministry was filled with many obstacles and disappointments, including homelessness and having a hard time finding employment. That is what ultimately led me to StepUp Ministry.

Upon hearing about StepUp, I was discouraged and felt like this program would be no different than the others. I was terribly wrong. This program is the best thing that has happened for my family and I since moving to Raleigh. The Jobs Friends program ensured that I was prepared in every aspect to actively job search and also gave me the necessary tools to rock ANY interview. The confidence I walked away from Jobs Friends with is embedded in me forever. I am currently in Phase 3 of the Life Skills program. The consistent accountability I get in the Life Skills program to keep going and stay connected is unbelievable, even after a year of being involved. If I could start over and do it all again, I would.

The primary reason I joined StepUp Ministry was for my children. The Children's program is so dynamic, and even at 3 and 1 years old, my children absolutely love it.  The support, commitment, and unwavering love my children get from the staff cannot be made up nor replaced.

I am 6 months into the Life Skills program and have already accomplished so much: securing a stable job, obtaining my license and receiving my first vehicle, moving into my own place, networking and establishing new relationships, and receiving a host of information that will carry me through my life. With only 6 months left of my program, I am looking forward to achieving even more goals, such as home ownership and obtaining my Social Work degree. StepUp Ministry is Raleigh's best kept secret, and its time to let the world know what all they have to offer. StepUp Ministry is the best thing that has happened to me!

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StepUp Volunteers plant seeds of hope, faith and love with all who come through our doors.  We are grateful to all our wonderful volunteers who bloom where they are planted at StepUp.  We honor this year's Volunteer Award Recipients:

• North Carolina State University – Employer of the Year
• Bill Smith – Employment Team Volunteer of the Year
• Randee Gordon – Alumni Volunteer of the Year
• Mandy Montah – Children's Program Volunteer of the Year
• Brian Kelleher – Adult Life Skills Volunteer of the Year
• Bryant Paris – Steppin' In Award
• Jacques Oury – Steppin' In Award

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