In a few paragraphs, provide a brief overview of your organization. Include their history, mission, and current initiatives or challenges. Why do they exist? How are they working to effect change in the community? Also give a short description of the project you are working on, including why it is important to the organization. Post this to Moodle under the thread Organization Description.
Then, read and comment on at least two other posts. What do you find interesting? What questions do you have?
For E-Term, I am interning at the Community Care Development Network (CCDN), a non-profit organization located in Birmingham, Alabama that works to provide resources to impoverished families in Birmingham and surrounding areas. The CCDN was founded by Tamika Holmes and has expanded from a youth mentoring program for adolescent girls in 2014 to the multifaceted organization it is today. The CCDN helps individuals and families find critical resources such as food and shelter, meet financial needs through rent and utility assistance, and find employment opportunities. The CCDN has seen a large increase in requests for assistance as Birmingham residents feel the effects of Covid-19.
The CCDN is located in the 35206-zip code of Birmingham, an area with high poverty and unemployment rates. The area is also disproportionately home to single-parent households and Title I schools compared to other districts in Birmingham. This area, along with other zip codes served by the CCDN, also suffers from lack of food and health care security. In addition to providing families with food, shelter, clothing, and financial aid, the CCDN works to help families invest in their future by providing youth and family mentorship programs, primary school tutoring, soft skill development training to increase employability, and much more.
This January, I will be working as a case management intern. I will interact with individuals who reach out to the CCDN for assistance and will help connect them with appropriate resources. I also expect to be managing database entries for the organization. My work will allow the CCDN to assist even more individuals in the Birmingham area and make an even larger impact than they already do, especially during these trying times amidst the pandemic.
I think that this seems like a really interesting internship. Especially since COVID-19, I think its really important to work with people who live in areas with high poverty rates. I know that they have really struggled since the pandemic. One of the questions, that i have wondered was how have they been able to cope with the change since the pandemic.
Thanks for sharing.