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Community News
RANDOLPH PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN AWARDED THIRD THINK BABIES™ NC ALLIANCE MICRO GRANT
The Think Babies™ NC Alliance announced on Tuesday Randolph Partnership for Children (RPC) is one of five communities in North Carolina that will receive a micro grant to support community advocacy efforts focused on infants, toddlers, and their families.
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This is the fourth round of Community Partner MicroGrants that Think Babies™ NC has funded in order to increase public awareness and policymaker support for issues impacting our youngest children across the state. This is RPC’s third time as a recipient of the grant.
In its announcement, Think Babies™ NC Alliance stated, “COVID-19 has made it abundantly clear that young children and families face many challenges in every corner of our state. We know that these committed local partners will help to make babies the top priority in North Carolina’s recovery and beyond, as we work together to help advance solutions for babies and their families.”
RPC, in collaboration with 15 community partners that make up Randolph ChAMPS (Children’s Advocates for Maximizing Potential & Success), will use the funding to create a video for policymakers, business owners, and the general public that showcases the importance of high quality early care and education, especially in the first 3 years of life, as the foundation for strong communities and a healthy economy. The video will include key points related to parent support, brain growth, equity, and quality care. Local parents and child care centers will be featured. RhinoLeap Productions will be producing the video.
“RPC and Randolph ChAMPS are pleased that we will have this new communications tool to help all of Randolph County better understand the many direct connections between the earliest years of life and healthy, thriving communities,” Executive Director Lisa Hayworth said. “We are thrilled that the Think Babies™ NC Alliance has funded the production of our video.”
The four other grantees for this round of micro grants are the Black Child Development Institute—Charlotte Affiliate, Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County, Partnership for Children of Wayne County, and Rockingham County Partnership for Children. Funding for the micro grants is provided with support from the national ZERO TO THREE Think Babies™ campaign.
About the Randolph Partnership for Children: Since 1999, Randolph Partnership for Children (RPC), a non-profit organization, has been the community’s lead organization for young children and their families. RPC brings together diverse agencies, individuals, organizations, and communities to ensure all children enter kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed in school and life. RPC is a United Way agency. For more information, visit www. randolphkids.org.
Is your child ready to go back to the classroom?
Summer Reading Program
for children ages 8 to 11
Monday - Thursday in July
2:30 to 3:30
This program incorporates reading a book about horses with many fun outdoor activities. Our equine assisted program helps build confidence and self-esteem, teamwork skills, comprehension and retention, strength and balance.
Call for Pricing and Availability 336.736.0640
COMMUNITY NEWS
LATHAM AWARDED RCC FOUNDATION RETIREE SCHOLARSHIP
Grace Latham has been awarded the Randolph Community College Foundation Retiree Scholarship for the 2021-2022 school year. The scholarship was established to honor retired RCC faculty and staff members.
Latham, who was chosen among the 2020-2021 Presidential Scholar applicants for the $1,000 scholarship, will be seeking an Associate in Early Childhood Education or Business degree at RCC. The Southwestern Randolph High School student is a member of the Beta Club and Interact Club, and is an officer for the school’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Club along with taking and teaching dance at Candy Brooks Dance Studio and playing soccer. She also works at Sir Pizza and P&J’s Diner.
The RCC Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides a margin of excellence for Randolph Community College by building a strong relationship with the local community, acquiring and managing contributions, and funding activities that support the College.
For information on contributing to the RCC Foundation, contact Lorie McCroskey, Director of Development, at 336633-1118 or email llmccroskey@randolph.edu.
Eighteen area high school juniors and seniors recently signed up with Apprenticeship Randolph (AR). These 18 new pre-apprentices, 16 in the Manufacturing Technology pathway and two in the Information Technology pathway at Randolph Community College, join 53 current apprentices at RCC who are distributed among 18 company partners. The new pre-apprentices will take summer classes May 24-July 26, and work with their AR partner employer June 14-July 30. At the end of the pre-apprenticeship, employers and pre-apprentices will decide if it is a good fit. Those that agree will be given a full apprenticeship with the fifth Signing Ceremony slated for Aug. 10.
Apprenticeship Randolph began in June 2016 as a collaboration among Randolph Community College, the Randolph County School System, Asheboro City Schools, the Asheboro/Randolph Chamber of Commerce, and local manufacturers. The goal was to bridge both the interest and skill gaps in modern manufacturing and provide a vehicle for expanding the workforce pool for advance manufacturing in the county. With tuition funded through Career and College Promise and the N.C. Youth Apprenticeship Tuition Waiver Program and books paid for by the school systems and the participating companies, Apprenticeship Randolph produces an educated, skilled, debt-free workforce.
The program, which is for high school juniors and seniors, begins with a six-week, pre-apprenticeship summer program that consists of RCC classes and 40 hours per week of on-the-job training. Once a business selects its apprentice after this trial period, the program is spread over four years with students receiving paid, on-the-job training while earning an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Manufacturing Technology or Information Technology through RCC and a Journeyworker Certificate from the N.C. Community College System and U.S. Department of Labor.
Sixteen students signed up in 2017 — the first year of the program, and 17 signed in 2018. Twenty-two signed in 2019 with 21 apprentices signing in 2020.
This year’s pre-apprentices (with high school) and industry partners are as follows: • Dart Container — K. Maddox Bowman (Uwharrie
Charter Academy) • Elastic Therapy Inc. — Aidan Whitmire (Providence
Grove High School) • Energizer — Joseph Modery (Southwestern Randolph
High School) • Hubbell Industrial Controls — Pearce Harper (Wheatmore High School) • Jowat Adhesives — Jamison Beebe (Randleman High
School), Lindsay Pearce (Southwestern Randolph High
School) • Mohawk Industries — Wesley Hodgin (Wheatmore
High School) • Oliver Rubber Co. — Ayden Burgess (Asheboro High
School), Chase Thomas (Providence Grove High
School) • PEMMCO Manufacturing Inc. — Zane Emerson (Trinity
High School), Casey Kimble (Trinity High School), Gage
Smith (Uwharrie Ridge K-12 School) • Post Consumer Brands — Antonio Salinas (Southwestern
Randolph High School) • Sapona Plastics LLC — J.D. Bennett (Trinity High School) • Randolph Community College — Damion Meadows (Uwharrie Ridge K-12 School), Christopher Rudd (Uwharrie Charter Academy) • Technimark — Nathan Johnson (Southwestern
Randolph High School) • United Brass Works Inc. — Reece Beeson (Randleman
High School).
For more information, companies, students, and parents should visit apprenticeshiprandolph.com; contact RCC Pathways Activities Coordinator Stacey Miller at 336-3184958, or email apprenticeshiprandolph@gmail.com.
