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Agency Mourns Loss and Passing of Board Chair, Bill Brinkley
Southmountain Children and Family Services has lost one of its most cherished leaders and friends. William M. "Bill" Brinkley passed away September 2, 2016 after a battle with cancer.
I cannot begin to express the sadness we at Southmountain Children & Family Services feel at losing such a tremendous friend and leader. Bill's wisdom, faith, and unwavering devotion have been a solid foundation under Southmountain for the past 52 years. Under his leadership we have been able to bring Southmountain to the forefront of Children's Services and have grown into an agency that is as unique as it is effective. Bill was so very proud of what we have become and the services we offer not only through the main Children's Home program but also through the Children's Advocacy Centers. I am proud, as I know he was, that he leaves behind such a great legacy of service and a wake of thousands of lives that have been made better because of the services and programs that he helped to develop.
Knowing how much he truly cared about Southmountain and all of the children and families we have served and as well as his service through Boy Scouts, church, and other community endeavors and how much he loved and was loved by his family and his friends, I don't know of anyone who can say they have lived a richer fuller life than Bill.
God be with us all as we move forward and help us to continue to live up to the standards Bill set for us through his dedication and love.
Please join us in keeping his precious wife Linda, and the rest of his family in thought and prayer.
~ Chief Executive Officer, Chris Jernigan
It’s Back to School Time!
It was early morning on Monday August 29, 2016 and the children at our Foster Community were rolling out of bed-- some excited, some not so much-- to begin their first day of school! Our children attend seven schools in Burke County: Glen Alpine Elementary, Salem Elementary, Table Rock Middle School, Liberty Middle School, Freedom High School, Patton High School and Hallyburton Academy.
The majority of our children are elementary age and this year 19 are attending Glen Alpine and Salem Elementary Schools. We also have 10 children who attend Liberty and Table Rock Middle Schools and 6 high school students that attend Patton High School, Freedom High School and Hallyburton Academy.
We want to wish all of our children a great school year, with academic growth, new friends and many positive experiences!
Southmountain Wellness Program Off and Running!
This Spring, Southmountain Children and Family Services’ began a Wellness Program at the Foster Community, made possible largely in part by a generous grant for $97,596 from the Baxter International Foundation. The Wellness Program is focused on children and families becoming healthier and exercising more regularly and grant funding is being used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for families, to pay fitness instructors and to create a workout room in the neighborhood gymnasium. Nearly all of the foster children and parents and many of the campus staff are participating in the program and are very excited about it! It is now a common sight at the Foster Community to see groups of children and parents walking around the neighborhood, doing yoga or Zumba, or working out with Will Chester, Wellness Coordinator, in the workout room. One foster parent has now lost over 65 pounds as a result of the program. Great work Foster Community!
Family Dollar Store Helps Our Children!
The Family Dollar store recently made a donation to Southmountain Children and Family Services to support our children when they come into care in our Foster Community. Family Dollar gave Southmountain gift cards for $300 that were used to purchase items for gift baskets for our children. The items we purchased included pillows, blankets, quilts, towels, shampoo and lotion. Thank You Family Dollar Store!
Toe River CAC Receives National Accreditation
The National Children's Alliance board officially approved the accreditation of the Toe River Children's Advocacy Center.
This accreditation is the result of very hard work of Megan Woody, Toe River CAC Director. Congratulations to all of the individuals making this possible! With this recent accomplishment, all 4 of Southmountain's CACs are now fully accredited.
Thank you True Value Hardware of Marion
True Value Hardware of Marion recently made a donation to Southmountain Children and Family Services for landscaping flowers for our Foster Community. Thank you True Value for helping make our neighborhood beautiful!
Unifour Foundation Inc. Endowment
The Unifour Foundation Inc. Endowment, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation recently awarded Southmountain Children and Family Services a generous grant for $2,595. The grant will be used for much needed renovations to the Family Center at the Foster Community. The Family Center is used for family gatherings including visits between children and their biological parents or their adoptive parents. The Unifour Foundation has supported Southmountain for the past two years and we greatly appreciate their support!
News from the Center of Excellence
Summer will be an exciting time for Southmountain’s Center of Excellence! Southmountain has been expanding the evidence-based treatment offered through our Centers of Excellence. Brenda Patton, Foster Community Director; Andrea Bradburn, Recreation Assistant; Sonya Farr and Stephanie Dvorak, Clinicians have been participating in SPARCS training and will graduate from the training in June. SPARCS stands for Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress. It is group therapy for teenagers to help them cope with ongoing stress that is a result of abuse or neglect.
In August, Rhonda Soirez, Mary McKinney and Jon Rhodes will graduate from Trauma Focused - Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) training. TF-CBT is an evidence-based therapy that we provide for children who suffer trauma symptoms as a result of abuse, neglect, or other loss. This comprehensive training takes 1 year to complete and all of our Clinicians are rostered in TF-CBT.
Summer 2016 will be filled with many fun activities at our Foster Community!
Summer activities will begin the week of June 13 and will include day-long outings every Wednesday that are planned by our Recreation Department and our office staff and social work staff help put. Children also go on summer hikes, participate in art programs, a science enrichment program and individual tutoring. We like to keep all of our kids busy with constructive activities during the summer months, and give our foster parents a well-deserved break!
Burke Women’s Fund Awards Grant
Southmountain Children and Family Services was recently awarded a grant for $1,200 from the Burke Women’s Fund to support educational summer activities for children at the Foster Community. During the summer months when children are out of school, every Wednesday. Southmountain staff give the parents “a break” by taking children on summer outings. The grant will be used to pay transportation costs so children can enjoy educational field trips.
Operating under the auspices of the Community Foundation of Burke County, the Burke Women's Fund was created in 2009 by a group of 15 women. The Burke Women's Fund aspires to connect all parts of our community and to bring a diverse group of women together around substantive issues relating to women and families. Southmountain greatly appreciates the continued support from the Burke Women’s Fund.
WNC Real Estate Inc. Supports Southmountain!
In the fall 2015, Southmountain Children and Family Services received a generous grant from the Glass Foundation in Asheville, NC to build a 9-hole disc golf course on the campus of our Foster Community. Our course is now complete and children, parents, and staff are all enjoying the course!
Recently, Tim Truitt Jr.’s real estate company—WNC Real Estate Inc., has jumped in to make a wonderful and lasting contribution to our beautiful course! WNC Real Estate Inc. and its Brokers have partnered with Sign it Clearly to sponsor all of our disc golf signage for the course! The signs were designed by Adam Scott, Recreation Director for Southmountain. We want to thank Tim Truitt; WNC Real Estate Inc. its Brokers; Sign it Clearly and the Glass Foundation for their kind support of our Foster Community.
Children Experience the Live Arts
On Saturday, May 21, ten students from the Foster Community attended the Clater-Kaye Theatreworks year-end performance held at the Old Rock School in Valdese, along with Adam Scott and Andrea Bradburn, Recreation staff. This 3-hour show of singing, dancing, and theatre had our children captivated and inspired some to pursue talents of their own. Our own volunteer guitar teacher Todd Greene, teaches guitar and voice at Clater-Kaye and donated free tickets to the show as well as VIP seating. Our kids got decked out for the show and it was a very fun afternoon!
Mitchell High’s SLAM Club Donates to Children’s Advocacy Center
The Servant Leader Athletes at Mitchell High School (SLAM) hosted "Black Out Child Abuse Night" on Tuesday, February 2nd. SLAM is a servant leadership club for athletes. Mitchell High coaches chose SLAM student athletes based on student leadership qualities, putting team before self and having a heart to serve others. SLAM club was implemented this year by the Solutions and Specialized Innovations (SASI) team at Mitchell High. SASI is a leadership camp sponsored by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) where each school sends student athletes who return to their school and implement their plan.
The SLAM club sold t-shirts that said "Black Out Child Abuse" at the game and the proceeds were then donated to the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Toe River (CACTR). The shirts were purchased through donations made possible by Seth Banks, Donald Street, Bubba’s good eats, Rebel’s Creek Baptist Church, Long’s Bakersville Pharmacy and Boys on Track in Burnsville. On Wednesday, March 30th, members of SLAM club made a visit to the Children’s Advocacy Center in Micaville and presented a donation of $925.00. The students were given a tour of the facility by Megan Woody, Center Director, and completed an art project to be displayed at the CAC.
The Children's Advocacy Center of the Toe River is a program of Southmountain Children and Family Services, a non-profit agency that has served abused, neglected, and dependent children and families of Western NC for more than 106 years. The Center serves both Mitchell and Yancey counties assisting District Attorney’s Office, law enforcement and the Department of Social Services in their investigations of child abuse. It is the goal of the CAC to reduce trauma to the child and their families by offering services in a child friendly environment. Services provided by the CAC are professionally conducted forensic interviews and medical evaluations, victim’s advocacy, community education on child abuse and Evidenced-Based Therapy. For more information about the Children's Advocacy Center of the Toe River call Megan Woody, Center Director at 828-678-0655 or go to www.southmountain.org.
Reviving the Lost Art of Pen Pals
Southmountain has started a new activity for our children that is bringing back the lost art of pen pals, thanks to Andrea Bradburn, Recreation Assistant. Six children are now writing letters to one soldier in active duty in Afghanistan. The children are writing letters and when a reply comes in, Andrea reads the letter and then shares it with the letter writers. In the letters, children are writing things like “Stay Strong” and “Thank you for helping our country”. It has been a very enjoyable learning experience for our kids to write the letters, send them off, and wait for a reply!
Thank You Walmart Neighborhood Market of Morganton!
Southmountain Children and Family Services recently received a grant from the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Morganton for $2,000! The grant will be used to purchase mattresses for children that live in our Foster Community. We are so grateful to Walmart for supporting Southmountain!
Support from Sunbelt Transport
Thank you to Ben Crawley and Sunbelt Transport in Conover for donating 20 dressers and chest of drawers and several dining room tables to our Foster Community. This furniture was well needed and is being enjoyed by our foster families!
A big THANK YOU to Mountain View Baptist Church
Southmountain Children and Family Services wants to say a big THANK YOU to the Mountain View Baptist Church in Hickory. Mountain View Church has been a supporter of Southmountain for several decades including being a major contributor to building the homes in our Foster Community. Most recently, on Saturday April 9, church members came to our Foster Community for a day of fun-filled activities. They hosted a pizza party and lively games. In the past, the Mountain View Baptist Church has hosted Christmas parties for our children, made donations for our climbing wall, and donations for other equipment. Southmountain is so very grateful for the generosity and continued support of our Foster Community!
Leroy the Dog Offers Child Abuse Prevention in the Schools and Community
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and during this month Southmountain wants to celebrate Leroy the Dog, our treasured, 4-footed friend! Leroy’s “handler” is Rhonda Robbins, Southmountain’s Victim Advocate; and Leroy was provided and trained by Canine Companions for Independence. Leroy was trained to work with traumatized individuals; and according to Rhonda, he has been an amazing addition to our Children's Advocacy Centers! Leroy is available to help children served by Southmountain’s four Children’s Advocacy Center by assisting in court, counseling, forensic interviews, child medical exams, and victim advocacy.
Leroy’s presence at the Children’s Advocacy Centers has calmed and deescalated children and their non-offending caregivers as child abuse investigations are carried out, during what are usually tense, scary, traumatic situations. Leroy had also made an amazing contribution towards the prevention of child abuse. He has been a “Super Star” in McDowell schools and community where he has helped Rhonda with body safety prevention.
Southmountain Children Giving Back
For the last four months, children from the Foster Community of Southmountain Children and Family Services have been giving back to the community by volunteering for Burke United Christian Ministries. Fourteen middle and high school students have been volunteering once a month by serving meals in the soup kitchen and helping organize the kitchen.
“It is great to see some of our kids giving back and really enjoying themselves,” said Andrea Bradburn, Recreation Assistant. Andrea has been instrumental in setting up this volunteer activity for Southmountain.
Baxter Healthcare of Marion Makes Wellness Program Possible
Southmountain Children and Family Services is very excited to be the recipient of a generous grant of $97,596 from Baxter Healthcare of Marion. Our project, called “Growing a Wellness Program at our Foster Community” will allow us to launch a health and wellness program on our campus. Our goal is to create a climate of health and wellness for our parents, children and staff and we will begin this process by helping each family establish personal goals.
This project will focus on health, exercise and nutrition and will allow us to purchase state-of-the art gym equipment and set up a fitness room in our campus gymnasium. We will also use grant funding to hire a wellness coordinator who will set up the workout room, schedule and teach classes for parents and children, and arrange for other teachers to teach classes. The program will have a nutrition education component that will focus on the benefits of fresh versus processed foods; and some of the grant funding will be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for families. We are also building incentives into the program to motivate participants to begin and to continue in an exercise routine and healthy eating.
Thank you so much Baxter Healthcare!