E-Term 2021: Internships in Community and Social Change

The organization that I am interning for this January is the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham. They are an interfaith and social justice focused non-traditional church. Rather than preaching from a particular denomination of Christian church, they incorporate elements of multiple religious traditions in every sermon to reflect the religious diversity of their congregation. While they don’t have a particular unifying theology, they do follow a set of seven principles that they follow and unify under. These are: The inherent worth of every person; Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; and Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. The UUC of Birmingham are very active in the social justice realm of Birmingham. They contribute part of the offering plate money every week to a specific organization and change which org. once a month. They also volunteer regularly at various organizations across town.

The project that I will be doing this month is creating a social justice organization data base for the church. They have been trying to come up with a comprehensive list of various organizations and have not been able to do so. I will be gathering information about the various social justice orgs. in town and creating the spreadsheet that will be turned into a formal document for members of the church and other faith groups around town can use with their congregation.

This January I have the honor of working with Henry Gibson, alongside Rae Green, as an Inclusion Intern at Highlands United Methodist Church. Rae and I will be creating a Facebook page for Highland's newest project, The Open Table Project. This idea was formed so that the congregation would feel fully educated on how to be an ally, would feel completely included, and would have an opportunity to reach out to others that are dealing with similar issues in the world.

It is rare for a church to have such traditional aspects and be so inclusive. Traditional churches are ones who rather have pews than chairs and would prefer hymns over new contemporary Christian songs; making the typical audience slightly older. Therefore, it is a super rare sight to see a slightly older congregation accepting their non-binary pastors and LGBTQIAP+ community as a whole, openly. 

Their mission is to be a safe place in the community for anyone to feel at home. To help the church and Henry, Rae, and I are going to be contacting the congregation to update their contacts, creating the Facebook page, and will be meeting with other leaders involved in the North Alabama Annual Conference.

I am working on a project called Connecting Creative Community (CCC) which is a non traditional recovery program that includes peer support, small groups, seminars, socialization activities, life building skills, and referrals to other recovery based and social service agencies. This project involves collectively working with other human service organizations to create a level of care that responds to key elements that improve the quality of life for persons recovering from substance abuse and addiction.

My position is called project coordinator, and my role is basically doing research on and creating and sending out cover letters to organizations that we would be potentially referring the recovering persons to. Additionally, I am also in charge of researching for and applying to available grants to fund the project.

This project is important to the organization because studies show that a high percentage of people in low neighborhoods experience trauma after recovery. Therefore, PEER abides to its mission of promoting healthy living, learning, and working by recognizing the essential role of recovery support programs that connect people to existing resources and creates new resources to meet the needs in these communities.

Highlands United Methodist Church (UMC) was founded in 1907, and is located in five points, Birmingham Alabama. In the year 2016, at an international conference, the methodist church decided that members of the LGBTQ+ community could not serve in prominent roles in the church, and could not be married within the methodist church. This caused a huge divide amongst the individual churches in the denomination itself. This information is important to note as Highlands UMC is one of the Reconciling Ministries churches. These churches affirm LGBTQ+ people, and work to raise awareness and change the view of the Methodist Church in general.

Highlands has always been an inclusive church, which is extremily interesting as they also offer very traditional services. They blend a mixture of tradition and progressivism to make a church environment one in which anyone can feel welcome and at home, no matter how they identify, or who they love.

This idea of inclusivity is where the Open Table Project comes into play.

This is the main project that I will be working on during my time at Highlands UMC. the concept of an open table is an integral one to the Methodist Church, and christianity in general. There are references in the Bible to Jesus referring to different things, sometimes literal, others figurative, as an “open table”, and the act of taking communion in the Methodist Church is also referred to as an “open table”. This idea, no matter what is being discussed, means that everyone is welcome. This project will focus on a facebook group that is meant to educate church members on LGBTQ+ issues and inclusivity. Through a combination of research and social media work, this project will compile a multitude of resources that people can look over to help them become a better ally, understand what it means to live in the LGBTQ+ community, and how LGBTQ+ relationships and identities can work together with both tradition and the bible.

   The Arts Collab's mission is to empower our community to increase student access to quality arts education as part of the Artistic Literary Consortium.  Another part of the Arts Collab's mission is to increase access to art education where it's currently unavailable. To provide academic support for schools and custom support for teachers where they need it most. To coordinate and align a wide range of arts education partners from across the area. To increase creative and critical thinking skills for students, attendance, and engagement. To prepare students for college and careers.

   This organization exists to provide arts education to children in low income communities that have little or no access to these opportunities for creative expression. They aim to put smiles on the faces of those they serve and believes that everyone deserves to experience joy while learning. This organization is currently working to bring arts education to all students, regardless of personal cirumstances. Every student deserves access to the arts and this is what they are striving to accomplish. 

   I am currently working on reviewing documents for grants and learning the guidelines for becoming eligible for grant opportunities for several organizations in Alabama. I have been researching different grant programs from several organizations and plan on using what ive learned so far to help me progress in next week's assigned project. I have recently been learbing about why t is important for the Art's Collab to maintain close communication with fellow organizations they have recieved grants from in the past, so that for the future they are able to apply again, to continue serving for the community. 

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. 

Community Care Development Network began from a smaller program by Founder Tamika Holmes called Precious Pearls of Promise. This program was developed to mentor young girls ages 11 to 18. This initiative opened volunteers’ eyes to the extensive needs of the children and their parents, leading to the expansion of the program into the CCDN non-profit organization. The establishment includes aides in education, mentoring, and life services for individuals ranging from newborn to the elderly. CCDN serves as a bridge between clients and the resources that are available for them in the community, which is what makes this non-profit so special. Not only do they offer their own benefits such as the Emergency Food Box and Career and Workforce Development Programs, but also they are eager to connect those in need with offerings from other non-profits and businesses in Birmingham. Their founder Ms. Holmes is also incredibly involved and well connected in the community.

She sits on several boards and has been tasked with presenting research to the Birmingham Board of Education about where resources are lacking for parents and their children from city schools. This will be the project I’m assisting on. Research will be done to identify weaknesses in Birmingham City and Jefferson County school systems regarding special needs resources and access to technology during this time of digital learning. Ms. Holmes has noticed a gap in learning development in children that attend CCDN’s tutoring programs; therefore, this research will be helpful in strengthening parent and children’s access to helpful programs and aides to improve learning development.

Last year JCMP researched lynchings in jefferson county and this year the fellows are researching Linn Park, formerly called Woodrow Wilson Park. Each fellow gets a decade in which they are responsible for for research. Each fellow researches how the park was used/ a general theme in Bimringham during their decade with which the park is associated.

This research is important because each year the fellows research a different topic in relation to the racist history of Jefferson County. In order to bring equal justice to all, it is crucial that alabama have a more well-rounded and accurate reflection of its racist past. This research and outreach done by the fellows offers a comprehensive perspective of Jefferson county that otherwise would have been ignored or forgotten. JCMP is helping right historical wrongs done in Alabama by ensuring they they are never repeated.

I will be working with Beloved Community Church located in Avondale. Beloved is not just a church, but it is a community that has been around for 20 years with the purpose of making others feel welcome, loved, and heard. Unfortunately, this is unlike many churches in America, specifically in the South, where exclusivity and judgement has seeped into congregations. The Beloved community is dedicated to educating themselves on the injustice people face and combatting these inequities. For example, Beloved has started an Immigrant Justice Ministry Team and an Anti-Racism Ministry Team that meets monthly to learn, grow, and act. 

For my internship, I will be focusing on innovative leadership in voluntary organizations. Furthermore, I will be studying how to keep communities involved in organizations for free in a society that has been led to believe that every action deserves compensation. Within this topic, some of the areas I will be looking at include volunteerism, atypical leaders, generational dynamics, and neoliberalism. This will be helpful to Rev. Sanders and Beloved as they will be better equipped to promote sustainable community building and hopefully inspire churches and other organizations around them to do the same.

I am interning with the nonprofit, Community Care Development Network. As they strive to help develop and maintain local programs. They have a main focus on helping the entire family by providing resources for all. CCDN has programs in mentoring, educating, counseling and so much more. Their goal is to empower and influence people to create new opportunities for themselves, while giving them the chance to see the potential that they have. 

I will be working as a case management intern. This implies that I will be reaching out to clients and making sure that their information is up-to-date in the system and that they are made aware of all the resources the CCDN has to offer. This is an important job that will help the organization because if the patient doesn’t have all the required documents submitted then the entire process of receiving the assistance can be placed on hold. So making sure that the clients give all of the correct and important documents is an important job because we don’t want anyone to miss out on receiving the assistance they need.

I will be interning with a nonprofit organization called McCoy Adult Day Care. It is located right down the street at McCoy United Methodist Church. McCoy Adult Day Care is a nonprofit organization that works with adults who need to be cared for and supervised in a protective setting. They offer health screenings, therapeutic activities, and exercise. They opened their doors in June of 1985 by The McCoy United Methodist Church. 

My project consists of running the social media side of their organization. I am in charge of making posts updating the community on activities and fundraisers that are going on. I also will be doing some cold calling, reaching out to donors as well as promoting some of their programs. 

This project is important to this organization, because they are trying to increase their presence on social media, as well as getting more money in order to sponsor adults during the current pandemic.