First Blog- Hello!

10/14/2008

Hello to everyone... let me tell you a little about us here at the Upstate Family Resource Center.

We are located in Boiling Springs, SC in what was once a school building. The building itself was built in 1942 and has all the charm you would expect from an older building. We are so blessed to have this site and thankful for the opportunity to serve the community.

We offer lots of differecnt services here at the Center. We have an ever growing GED class, taught by Libby Evatt. Libby is a great teacher and is very commited to her students. She has a great sense of humor and will be happy to help anyone who comes into our facility. Another educational class we offer is ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). We offer a daytime and evening class. These classes are lively and every student loves to come to class. Both GED and ESOL use technology to enhance instruction, and all of the students enjoy gaining more experience on a computer.

Schedule:
GED: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
In-takes, every Thursday at 8:30 am

Daytime ESOL:
Monday through Thursday, 9:00 am through 12:00 pm
Evening ESOL:
Tuesday and Thursday, 6:30 pm through 8:30 pm

We also offer parenting classes to parents with children under the age of five. Teenage mothers, under the age of 19 and are enrolled in school some other educational component may participate in the CARE program. You can call Liv Hayes or Angie Jones for more information. This is a great program to help young mothers achieve their educational goals.

Our computer labs are open to the public... in fact the YMCA After School that meets here is using it to add an educational component to their program. A nearby daycare also comes here to learn about computers and enjoy School District 2 approved websites. The kids love their time on the computer-- they especially love pbskids.org!

Another major part of our work here at Upstate Family Resource Center is to provide the necessary resources to empower families to reach their full potential. Through Harvest Family Ministries, we provide emergency food assistance. We also offer financial assistance to residents to Spartanburg County School District 2. HFM is a collaboration of area churches to be a centralized resource for families in need. Many churches in the area help fill our pantry shelves and offer their assistance. We are blessed to have wonderful, commited volunteers to help run HFM- especially Sandy! Sandy has become a cornerstone of HFM and she is not afraid to do anything!! Her compassion and love for her community shows in everything she takes on. Thank you Sandy!!!

There is SO much more to Upstate Family Resource Center than this short description. You need to stop by for a visit and we can show you how we are working to grow UFRC.

'Till next time,
Jessica McKinney
Assistant