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Gordon Elementary Christmas Event
LOCAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, GORDON ELEMENTARY,
DONATES OVER $1,000 OF NON-PERISHABLE ITEMS TO THE FOOD BANK FOR
“UCAN FOR TOYS” PROGRAM SPONSORED BY UCAN ORGANIZATION
MEMPHIS, TN, DECEMBER 19, 2006:
20 classrooms from Gordon Elementary will participate in the “UCAN
for Toys” event on Thursday, December 21, 2006. “UCAN for Toys”
is a program designed by UCAN Youth Development, a non-profit organization
to help those families in need. The non-perishable items will be
donated to the Food Bank on Friday. In return of the kids donating
the items, the classroom who has the most non-perishable items will
be awarded Christmas gift bags filled with over $100 worth of Christmas
items such as toys, books, games, coupons and of course paper and
pencils for each child in the classroom, which is around 22-25 students.
“The students are very competitive and enjoy giving back to the
community”, said Ophelia Slack at Gordon Elementary. The teachers
will not be forgotten because they help donate as well. They will
receive spa packages as a way to relax for the holidays. Companies
who have made donations to this event are Truleco, Beneficial in
Lakeland, Dr. Robert McCalla DDS, Panda Models & Talent Academy,
PamperMe Spa, Slick Rick Auto, Walmart and McDonalds in Bartlett.
This event will be held in the cafeteria of Gordon Elementary located
at 815 Breedlove. Last year UCAN adopted a family for Christmas.
Leshundra Finley, the founder and president of UCAN, heard a young
lady on K97FM radio station stating she was blessed because her
children understood that she could not provide a Christmas for them.
She was not working and just got out of the hospital. “Her voice
and statement was so humble that we had to do something for the
family. I called the radio station and asked Devin Steele to please
give that young lady our phone number because we wanted to do something
special for them.” UCAN provided the family of 4 with toys, spa
gift certificates, games, books and clothes. This year we wanted
to do something different. We adopted Gordon Elementary in September
and wanted to assure the students and faculty that UCAN was here
to help. Gordon Elementary needs volunteers for tutors and room
helpers. If you would like to be a part of UCAN, please contact
us at (901) 482-0317 or go to the website at www.ucanofmemphis.org
to download your volunteer application as well as view our upcoming
events. |
Feed The Homeless
Being around the family table eating turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and sweet potato pies is a place most of us are familiar with on Thanksgiving Day. But what about those that have not had the chance to be around family to experience the love and gratefulness of having a table full of food. Is that what Thanksgiving is about? UCAN and Shine in the Dark Outreach Ministry took it to the next level. On Friday, November 17 we went out to feed those who were less fortunate than us. We started at the Walgreens on Poplar and Cleveland and traveled around downtown and midtown in the Shine in the Dark big yellow bus with the words "Shine in the Dark" written on the side. We feed over 40 men and women who did not have a shelter, living in the alleys, on the streets behind churches and buildings. Why on a Friday and not at a shelter? Most organizations do outreach on the weekends, very few do them on a Friday night so we wanted to make sure they had the opportunity to be fed. We were not looking to be glorified; we simply wanted to give back because we have been so blessed. We took volunteers from World Overcomers, UCAN and Shine in the Dark Outreach Ministry. The young kids received a testimony from one of the volunteers. She told her story about her once being homeless and on drugs and how God delivered her from that situation. "Being homeless without food is a choice. There are so many shelters and organizations that feed you and offer shelter, no one should be hungry or without a home." Life is about the choices you make. Your choices come with consequences. We served chili, spaghetti, bread, granola bars, and kool-aid. Make Thanksgiving Day every day, become thankful for what you have. We hope you will be able to join us next year. |
Costume Party / Fall Ball
October 31st UCAN held their annual Fall Festival
at Daves Well Community Center. The event was held to keep the kids
from knocking door to door asking for candy. Kids from all ages participated.
There was a lot of fun, food, and games. The evening ended with the
best costume contest as the Grand Finale. |
Career Fair
The Career Fair held at the Benjamin Hooks Library was a huge success. It was held from 10am - 5pm. There were over 500 applicants including students from Carver High, Trezevant High, and East High School. Companies participated in the Career Fair were Spa Escapes, Jackson Hewitt, High Technical Institute, Marty's, Federal Express, Methodist/Lebonheur Hospital, UCAN, FFE Trucking, Office Team/ Robert Half, Harrah's Casino and Entertainment and Wells Fargo. Several attendees received interviews. Many of the resumes provided will be forwarded to other companies who are seeking great employees. |
Career Training Seminar
Career Training Seminar was held at the Holiday Inn Express on Union Ave Downtown. The Seminar was to educate youth on how to dress for an interview (the do's and don'ts), interview skills and resume building. There were 2 sessions, one in the morning and one in the evening. This gave the opportunity for all ages to participate. The Seminar was presented by Susan Kyles from Dress for Success and Janet Harrison formally from Federal Express, Ricky Tucker from RIX International, Michelle Chism from HealthWorks and Patrica Richardson from Hilton. There were 20 participates who joined in this educational seminar. Many remarks stated was they enjoyed the seminar, it was very informative and fun. They wish more people were able to attend to learn and understand the importance of the interview and resuming building skills. Three young ladies had the opportunity to utilize Dress for Success and receive clothing to prepare them for the Career Fair on September 7 at the Benjamin Hooks Library. This was definitely a needed event for the Memphis area. UCAN will present another one in the near future. |
1st Inaugural UCAN 10K Run/Walk
UCAN 1st Inaugural 10K Run was held July 29, 2006 at Jefferson Davis Park in Downtown Memphis, TN. We had 116 finishers and raised over $2000! It was a lot of hard work with a great success. We had runners from all over the country to participate and local celebrities such as Joe Birch. Our volunteers were awesome and this event could not have happened without their help. Part of the proceeds went to LeMoyne Owen College and Gordon Elementary (to help with school supplies and uniforms). UCAN will host the 10K Run/Walk next year so start warming up and ready to run for a cause. |
Bike Awareness Day
UCAN sponsored a Bike Awareness for Gordon Elementary
on May 23rd and 24th. We had Memphis City Police Bike Patrol to come
and talk with the all the children concerning the safety of riding
a bike. Each year over 250 children die in bicycle-related accidents
and about half a million kids are injured in bicycling accidents.
(Kidshealth.org) The police officer help the children to understand
and obey bike safety rules and exercise caution while riding in traffic.
The children were enlighten to hear that for their hard work and great
conduct someone would receive a brand new bike as their reward. We
gave away 6 bikes- 1 bike per child per grade from Kindergarten to
Fifth Grade. We believe with this information from the Memphis City
Bike Patrol, we will lessen the number of bike accidents. For more
information on bike safety you can go to www.kidshealth.org. |
Spring Fling Hair and Fashion Show
The Spring Fling Hair and Fashion Show held
at the 19th Century Club on Union was a huge success. The MC for the
night was Mr. Kenny Caldwell. He made the audience laugh and kept
them interactive with the show. We had models from around the mid-south.
Models from Mara's Style rock the house with their unique line of
clothing. They modeled with a live performance performed by the new
hot and upcoming R&B group Prevail. Watch the stores for their new
CD. The music was played by DJ Syche. He was pulling songs to make
you bounce your head to the beat. Our young models did not half step
either. We had some of our top models from Reflections to show up
and show out along with our high school and elementary models! If
you weren't there, you missed a wonderful show. Some of our clothing
sponsors were Rena's Shoes and More, Rave, Indigo, and Constance Love on Riverdale. Our hairstylist
were Andy from Turning Heads, Anya from New Wave, and Crystal from
Regis. Thanks to all of our models, sponsors and attendees for making
this event another success. Proceeds from this event is helping us
become involved with the Adopt-A-School program with Gordon Elementary. |
Career Fair Spring 2006 Attracts Many
U-Can sponsored a Job Fair Tuesday, March 28 and Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at the Benjamin Hooks Library (formerly the Central Library) located at 3030 Poplar Avenue from 9-3pm. The companies that participated were DoubleTree Hotel, Kelly Service, Army National Guard, Starr Concepts, LeMoyne-Owen College, BeautiControl and Harrahs Entertainment. We had 400 applicants who took advantage of this opportunity. Some were interviewed on the spot and 1 young lady received a scholarship for school. It was truly a blessing for all. |
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