Tough Times, Helping Hands

Tough Times, Helping Hands

By Cindy Carroll

As the economy changes, service organizations are looking for the best ways to assist the growing number of citizens who need help. Alumni and students of UT Chattanooga are working creatively to ease the burden of individuals and families.

Michael Cranford

Michael CranfordB.A. in sociology and human services; president, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga is an after-school youth development organization that annually serves more than 3,000 children between the ages of 6 and 18. Michael Cranford is responsible for the finances, program, personnel, facilities, and resource development of the organization, while also ensuring the children’s safety at four locations.

“I started working at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga part time as a college work-study student, and it has been a job that has helped to fulfill that interest of working with and helping others,” Cranford says.

As the number of children attending the clubs grows, Cranford spends a lot of time working with board members and raising money for the organization. “It’s a tremendous competition to raise funds for the many different not-for-profit causes in our community,” Cranford says. “Increasingly it’s about expanding your name and mission, building a donor base of friends, securing grants, and having effective collaborations to make the clubs meet the needs of the children we serve.

“I believe this is not just a job but a mission in life. Creating opportunities for children has been a very rewarding experience.”

Cynthia J. Wallace

Cynthia J. WallaceB.S. in psychology; director, UTC Educational Opportunity Center

The UT Chattanooga Equal Opportunity Center is an outreach program serving eight counties surrounding Chattanooga. As many as a thousand low-income adults are recruited annually and assisted with college access.

A U.S. Department of Education grant funds the program. Cynthia Wallace says it costs $263 per student to help an adult climb out of poverty with education. “We save the state, federal, and local governments a lot of money. Welfare checks, public housing, food stamps, and public assistance are unnecessary with education and a meaningful and rewarding career. The cycle of poverty changes forever—the children of our students attend college after their parents achieve their degree.

“I am the first in my family to graduate from college. I earned my degree as an adult while juggling work, family, and household demands. It’s very rewarding for me to help others change their lives by completing the education needed to obtain the career of their dreams.”

In the past, the center has been challenged to persuade adults that college is worthwhile. No more, Wallace says. “Due to our dire economy, we no longer need to convince. Many come to us for help after losing their job. We have been doing this work for eleven years and never have we seen so many desperate people who need our assistance.”

Zachary Schmidt

Zachary SchmidtUTC senior; director, Salvation Army School of Music and Arts

The Salvation Army School of Music and Arts provides youth from the Chattanooga area an opportunity to study music, regardless of their socioeconomic situation. The program provides instruction on brass and percussion instruments, where students learn to work together cooperatively in a band and choir. It also gives each student the opportunity to focus on other curricula in the arts, such as ballet, visual art, piano, and percussion and guitar ensembles.

Zachary Schmidt’s work complements his double major in music education and trumpet performance. He is also a trumpet instructor for the Cadek Conservatory of Music and a cornet player in the Jericho Brass Band. He plans to graduate in 2010 and further his education.

“I want to allow students to experience music outside the traditional school setting,” he says. “I also have the desire to provide students with the chance to build lasting and growing relationships with one another.

“With the unpredictable and changing economy, I see the Salvation Army having to provide scholarships to some students’ families in order for them to participate,” Schmidt says.

“Enrollment is on the rise due to the program’s affordability, and this makes the program more desirable and appealing.”

LaDonna Guffey

LaDonna GuffeyB.S. in social work; case manager, Supplemental Assistance for Facilities to Assist the Homeless, a Housing and Urban Development Program that works through the Chattanooga Community Kitchen

The Chattanooga Community Kitchen provides food and clothing for the homeless and provides access to other area agencies with a new Day Center.

LaDonna Guffey helps homeless women and children who have been victims of domestic violence, securing rent for the first month and providing support with life-skills classes, home visits, and transportation.

The kitchen has seen an increase in families needing assistance with electric bills, gasoline to drive to work, and rent payments, Guffey says. More families are becoming homeless through foreclosure.

“With the increase in those seeking assistance, we’ve become more diligent about avoiding duplication of services, so that more individuals have access to services,” Guffey says. “Our program helps families with budgeting and money management skills and connects them to other agencies that offer services.

“I love my job and feel that I am privileged to be working with these families. I have found, even when working in the private sector, that individuals and families have great difficulty achieving their goals if their basic needs are not met.”

Clare Sawyer

Clare SawyerB.S. in sociology, M.S. in public administration; president and CEO, Chattanooga Area Food Bank

The Chattanooga Area Food Bank is a nonprofit organization that solicits, warehouses, and distributes donated food to those in need. Nearly 400 nonprofit social service organizations and churches help the Food Bank, which last year distributed 8.6 million pounds of food.

The Food Bank has the ability and the structure to be responsive to community needs, Clare Sawyer says. “The board is very concerned with good stewardship and the staff very committed to service. I truly enjoy working in the nonprofit realm. My role is to manage our mission, articulate our goals, and plan for the future. No two days are ever the same or without challenge.”

Economic changes affect the organization in several ways, according to Sawyer.

“Competition for donor dollars is stiff. Service nonprofits seem to be faring better than arts or education groups, for example. In our case, where we depend heavily upon the food industry for support, the usual sources have declined somewhat. But community support, in the way of food drives, has grown. We are constantly trying to spread the word of our need,” Sawyer says.