Women, work and moving up. . .

What follows was "lifted" from a blog created and maintained by one of the hardest working and most dedicated members of the Turner Courts community, Sylvia Baylor.

Appropriately tagged, Love Thy Neighbor, her words come right from the heart and speak about issues related to her life and neighborhood. Sylvia is one of our "team members" discovered in the community as we were working with the neighborhood children. She continues to devote herself to providing leadership and opportunity to others. As you'll see, she is doing both very well!

What she describes in this post is an employment training class that has grown out of our After School Academy. We find the parents of the children who participate in our after school program to be very interested in improving their own lives while supporting their little ones in their education. Great and encouraging synergy! Read her posts at: http://www.lovethyneighbors.blogspot.com/.

Yesterday started the first day of the adult Job Readiness Class, what a joy.

Their were 13 women to attend: Sherika Ricks, Lori Cullom, Michelle Shepard, Alexia Cullom, Kaiesha Hallman, Kechia Strain, Jocquelyn Smith, Dana Arnick, Ashley Jones, June Mason, Gayle Barnes, Michelle Hallman and Lekeythe Hunter.

Very strong women that know what they want. I am so glad that they made up in their mind that they did not want to stay in the same situation forever.

They talked very deeply about what they wanted in life. I see that they are not destined to stay stagnated. I feel passionate about this class. I think that something good is going to come from this class. I pray that these women continue to keep up the good work and that they never lose sight of what God as placed in their paths.

True, we live in this community and it seems as if we are living at the dead end of the street but we have climbed over the top. I am determined to bring about a change in the minds of those that I come in contact with. I know that somebody is listening. If it is only one or two I have touched I have fulfilled my goal.

I am not here to be served, I am here to serve. This is what God requires of all of us. So I encourage everyone to pray constantly for each other.

.