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An LLC: The Missing Piece Of Your Small Business

LLCs are similar to corporations in that they offer certain liability protections to the owners. Pg 8 Civil Rights Icon John Lewis remembered in his hometown Troy Alabama Springield Public Schools select Dr. Ron Woodard as Executive Director of Secondary Learning Page 5

Minorities In Business Virtual Networking Event: Building Wealth for the Future Page 10 Dr Ron L Woodard

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Letter to the Editor Continued from Page 7

to being truly inclusive. Nevertheless, I dream of an inclusive society with mutual respect: something that Americans can be proud of. Above all, I love because of this revelation.

“Disagreement does not equal hate.”

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

COVID-19 Community & Public Health Resource Directory: See PAGE 13

Tableof Contents Community

Ra-Keish Roland writes about her life experiences in her book “R.A.W.

Emotions”

Page 5

Community

Education

Springfield Public Schools select Dr. Ron Woodard as Executive Director of Secondary Learning

Page 5

Vital Farms is seeking full-time Processing Associates for all three shifts at Egg Central Station.

Page 7

Join the August Minorities In Business Virtual Networking Event Tuesday August 11

Page 10

National News

Civil Rights Icon John Lewis remembered in his hometown Troy Alabama

Page 6

Heath & Wellness

Systemic Racism’s Impact on Health Care in America

Page 10

Opinion & Editorial

Relearning How to Learn History

Page 8

Unite News Building Empowering Connections | Page 3

The Unite News Publication is published by Unite. of Southwest Missouri, Inc.

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Managing Editor

Community: News, Events & People SPS selects Dr. Ron Woodard as Executive Director of Secondary Learning with Metro Nashville Public Schools. His work Springfield, MO— Wednesday, July 15, 2020 with students includes service as Science De- Springfield Public Schools is pleased to partment sponsor; coach of wrestling, football announce the selection of Dr. Ron L. Woodard and soccer; president of the Middle School as executive director of secondary learning, Athletic Association; and program effective August 1. Dr. Woodard, director for teen mentoring. former Assistant Superintendent “It is truly a blessing and an of Instruction for Maury County honor to join a team of commitPublic Schools in Tennessee, will ted professionals who are so oversee academics for all secondintentional and passionate about ary learning, including the dishelping children succeed,” said trict’s five high schools, six middle Dr. Woodard. schools, three K-8 schools and an Among the many highlights of intermediate school, as well as all his professional career, Dr. Wooathletic programming.

Dr Ron L. Woodard dard’s leadership contributed to “Dr. Woodard brings a wealth a dramatic turnaround for Mapleof experience in effective district wood High School and Apollo Middle School and secondary school leadership, as well as in Nashville, both of which moved into improvstudent-focused service,” said Dr. Nicole Holt, ing/satisfactory status under No Child Left deputy superintendent of academics. “SPS Behind. In 2016, Dr. Woodard received national looks forward to welcoming him and his family honors as an “American Graduate Champion” to our community and our academic team.” for his work with dropout prevention and for Prior to his four years of leadership with substantially improving the graduation rate Maury County Public Schools, Dr. Woodard (https://youtu.be/UaR1csoqVqY). Dr. Woodspent 12 years as a building administrator and ard has also served as a community advocate four years as a seventh grade science teacher

for youth and teen violence prevention and is a respected trainer and national presenter on a wide-variety of academic topics including teacher efficacy and quality, school climate and culture building, memory and retention studies, and brain-based research.

“We are so pleased to welcome Dr. Woodard to SPS and to Springfield,” said Dr. John Jungmann, superintendent. “Our future is bright and we are eager to achieve progress together on behalf of all students. Dr. Woodard’s leadership will be key in this critically important work.”

Dr. Woodard completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, graduate work at Tennessee State University and a doctoral degree from Lipscomb University. His dissertation focused on examining the self-efficacy of high-poverty, first-generation college students and the importance of mentors in achieving post-secondary access.

Dr. Woodard has two sons who will be attending SPS in the fall and his wife, Cicely Woodard, will be teaching in SPS.

Ra-Keish Roland writes about her life experiences Springfield, MO— In the debut book, R.A.W. loss of her parents and other loved ones. While Emotions, Ra-Keish Roland gave encouragethe grieving process is challenging, she is ment to others through her life experiences. learning to pick up the pieces of her life, which She continues to grow in her journey has been an emotional rollercoaster. of life through love, sorrows, joys, By not focusing on the negative and new seasons. Any situations that things or people around her, it alcomes her way are handled with lowed Ra-Keish to find herself. She prayer for clarity and direction to learned it’s best to let go of grudges, make the right choices for her fusadness, anguish, and pain so she ture. It took some time for Ra-Keish could use that time to grow in her to return giving words of encourageGOD given purpose.

Ra-Keish Roland ment to others. She really was not Besides being a published author, encouraged herself.

Ra-Keish leads a busy life with a full-time job She is growing more as a woman after the as an Executive Client Services Specialist for

JPMorgan Chase Bank, full time student at the University of Phoenix where she is completing her last 2 semesters for her Bachelor’s in Business with a Digital Marketing certificate.

She is a single mother of two children, active in her church, and has a mentorship program for young ladies called the P.R.E.T.T.Y. Committee.

R.A.W. Emotions and Simply Ra-Keish both available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Noble marketplaces.

Unite News Building Empowering Connections | Page 5

Civil rights icon John Lewis remembered in his hometown Troy Alabama TROY, Ala. (AP) — Civil rights icon and long“I remember the day that John left home. time Georgia congressman John Lewis was Mother told him not to get in trouble, not to remembered Saturday July 25th— in the rural get in the way ... but we all know that John got Alabama county where his story in trouble, got in the way but it began — as a humble man who was a good trouble,” his brothsprang from his family’s farm with er Samuel Lewis said. a vision that “good trouble” could “And all of the troubles change the world. that he got himself into would The morning service in the city change the world,” Samuel of Troy in rural Pike County was Lewis said. held at Troy University, where Lewis’s casket was in the Lewis would often playfully remind university’s arena where the chancellor that he was denied attendees were seated spaced admission in 1957 because he was apart and masks were required Black, and where decades later he for entry because of the COVwas awarded an honorary doctorID-19 pandemic. ate.

“The John Lewis I want you Congressman John Lewis Lewis, who became a civil rights to know about is the John Lewis icon and a longtime Georgia conwho would gravitate to the least gressman, died July 17 at the age of 80. of us,” his brother Henry Grant Lewis said.

The Saturday morning’s service was titled Even as a busy congressman, he always made “The Boy from Troy,” the nickname the Rev. time to attend family functions or to make a Martin Luther King Jr. gave Lewis at their first surprise appearance at a school or birthday meeting in 1958 in Montgomery. King had sent party. the 18-year-old Lewis a round-trip bus ticket beHis brother said on the day Lewis was cause Lewis was interested in trying to attend sworn in to Congress that they exchanged a the then-all-white university in Troy, just 10 thumbs up. He later asked Lewis what he was miles (16 kilometers) from his family’s farm in thinking when they did. “He said ‘I was thinkPike County. ing this is a long way from the cotton fields of It was the first of six days of memorials and Alabama,’” Henry Grant Lewis recalled. services.

Those cotton fields were in then-segregated On Sunday, his flag-draped casket is to be Pike County, where Lewis as a child winced at carried across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the signs designating “whites only” locations.

Selma, where the one-time “Freedom Rider” At his 1958 meeting with King, the Rev. was among civil rights demonstrators beaten Ralph Abernathy and civil rights lawyer Fred by state troopers in 1965. He also was to lie Gray, Lewis talked about the possibility of in repose at the state Capitol in Montgomery. a lawsuit to try to integrate the university After another memorial at the U.S. Capitol in at Troy, Gray recently recalled. The lawsuit Washington, where he will lie in state, funeral ultimately did not happen because of concerns services will be held in Georgia. about retaliation his parents would face in the At the Troy University service, his brothers majority-white county. and sisters recalled Lewis — who was called “Even before he met Dr. King, he was inRobert at home — as a boy who practiced terested in doing something about doing away preaching and singing gospel songs and was with segregation. And he did it all his life,” scared of thunder. And as a young man who Gray told The Associated Press. left with a mind to change the world.

Lewis was one of 10 children born into

Page 6 Building Empowering Connections | Unite News

a sharecropping family. His parents saved enough money to buy their own farm where the Lewis children worked the fields and tended the animals. A young Lewis was less fond of field work — often grousing about the grueling task — but eagerly took on the job of tending the chickens while practicing preaching.

In his autobiography, “Walking with the Wind,” Lewis described how as a youngster he longed to go the county’s public library but wasn’t allowed because it was for whites only.

“Even an eight-year-old could see there was something terribly wrong about that,” Lewis wrote.

He would eventually apply for a library card there, knowing he would be refused, in what he considered his first official act of resistance to racial apartheid.

In 1955, he heard a new voice on the radio: King, who was leading the Montgomery bus boycott about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.

Lewis became a leader of the Freedom Riders, often facing violent and angry crowds, and was jailed dozens of times. In 1961, he was beaten after arriving at the same Montgomery station where he arrived three years earlier to meet King. In 1965, his skull was fractured on the bridge in Selma when law enforcement officers beat civil rights marchers in a melee became known as Bloody Sunday.

President Barack Obama in 2011 awarded Lewis the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying he was “an American who knew that change could not wait for some other person or some other time.”

Last year, Lewis announced he had been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.

His sister Rosa Tyner told The Associated Press that about a week before his death she asked him about possibly seeing another doctor, but that he declined. “He said, ‘No, I’m at peace. I’m at peace and I’m ready to go,’” she said.

His sister Ethel Mae Tyner said Saturday that, “this not a goodbye. It’s just a different kind of hello.

John Lewis Helped Win the Civil Rights War; Why Are We Still Fighting It?

by Larry Elder, The Sage from the South, July 23, 2020 Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, a top aide to Martin Luther King Jr., died last week. In 1965, Lewis suffered a fractured skull when he led 600 civil rights workers on a peaceful protest that turned violent as Lewis and the protesters were attacked by the police on the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

Ten years earlier, Rosa Parks famously challenged the Jim Crow segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat in the front section of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The Supreme Court, a year earlier, unanimously struck down “separate but equal” school laws.

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. King’s birthday is now a national holiday.

Today, there are more Black elected officials in Mississippi (the state where three

civil rights workers were brutally murdered in 1964) than in any other state in America.

About 12% of the House of Representatives is Black, close to the percentage of Blacks in America.

There have been Black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, including McDonald’s, Merrill Lynch, and American Express. Voters have elected Black senators. A Black man was elected governor of Virginia, one of the states of the Confederacy. We have had back-to-back Black attorneys general and back-to-back Black secretaries of state. Virtually every major American city has or has had a Black mayor, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, whose current mayor is a Black, gay female.

In 1964, King said that the country was making such racial progress — “changes,” King said, “that surprise me.” King predicted, based on our rapid progress, “We may be able to get a Negro president in less than 40

years.” In 2008, America elected Barack Obama.

Obama got a higher percentage of the white vote than did John Kerry four years earlier. And despite getting elected with 52% of the vote, President-elect Obama walked into office in January 2009 with a nearly 70% approval rating.

Why? Voters, even those who did not vote for Obama, thought they hired the presidential candidate they saw on “60 Minutes.” Asked by correspondent Steve Kroft whether his race could cause him to lose, Obama, not yet the front-runner for the nomination, said, “No.” He said that if he fails to win, “it will be because of other factors,” such as failing to show “the American people a vision for where the country needs to go that they can embrace.” This is not your grandfather’s America.

What today’s social justice warriors complain about has little to do with “equal rights” and more to do with unequal results. In 1991, Orlando Patterson, a Black Harvard sociology proContinued on page 9

Unite News Building Empowering Connections | Page 7

Is Forming an LLC the Missing Piece of your Small Business?

by Sativa Boatman-Sloan, Attorney at Law Few people go into business expecting things to go awry, however many start their businesses without strong legal agreements in place.

You may have started your small business under your own individual name and filed a Fictitious Name Registration for your business name with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office (also known as a DBA). The biggest drawback to operating as a DBA is that there is no distinction between you and your business.

A fictitious name registration has not technically formed a separate business entity.

Simply put, if you are sued in the course of your business operations, you stand to lose your

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personal as well as your business assets. The most popular feature of the Limited Liability Company (LLC) is personal protection from your business liabilities. With an LLC in place, a lawsuit against your business may still be able to clean out your business assets, but likely won’t cost you your family home.

You shouldn’t wait until your business is a certain size, has a certain amount of revenue, or begins hiring employees. Don’t think your business is too small or it’s too soon to take this impor-

tant step.

LLCs are similar to corporations in that they offer certain liability protections to the owners. However, LLCs have fewer corporate formalities and greater tax flexibility. This is one of the key reasons that I advise clients to consider forming an LLC at the initial stages of starting their new business. Even if you’ve been operating your business for a while as a DBA, you can change your business status and form an LLC. LLCs can be formed with more than one owner and have the

operational flexibility of a partnership. The section most overlooked when LLC documents are filed with the Secretary of State’s Office is the operating agreement, yet it’s the heart of your business. Relying on templates found on the internet doesn’t take your unique circumstances into consideration. Consulting with your attorney helps you consider important details of the future while drawing up your operating agreement, including making sure that your business doesn’t end up in probate.

Relearning How to Learn History

by Daniel Ogunyemi Unite Contributing Writer History. A subject that is a prerequisite in most primary, secondary, and post-secondary education circles. These classes typically exist to build a foundation and frame context for learning. The content of history lessons often surround pivotal events such as wars, iconic (or notorious) leaders, pandemics, movements, politics, race and other identities, scientific discoveries, landmarks, and a host of other persons, places, and things.

In the most literal sense history is any and everything that happened in the past. My question is, who gets to decide which history is important and which must be discarded as insignificant?

When we learn, our brains find

Page 8 Building Empowering Connections | Unite News

ways of storing and processing information. Our senses, emotions, and logical reasoning all help us learn new information and teach our brains how to code that information for memory. The more information is reiterated or the more impact an event had on our lives, the stronger those connections become in our brains, and the more likely we are to memorize bits of information. This is why intense practice for sports, music, math, science, reading, typing, accounting, editing… well, anything, is so important.

The goal is to manually build wanted or necessary habits so we can operate on “auto-pilot” for daily functioning. However, our brains are constantly overloaded with information. It would be impossible for us to consciously process it all. In fact, psycholo-

gists and other researchers theorize that our brains process about 11 million bits of information PER SECOND while we can only consciously process about 40-50 bits of information per second. In short, our brains work hard.

So when we learn history, what actually happens? The most impressionable time for any human is the first 3-5 years of life. Throughout adolescence, the brain continues to change and adapt to assimilate more information while natural maturity takes place well into adulthood [the brain does not fully develop until about mid-20s]. Once information is learned, our brains create shortcuts that enable tasks to become second nature thoughts that inform our actions. For example, ever gotten in your car Continued on page 9

Civil Rights War

continued from page 7 professor, wrote: “The sociological truths are that America, while still flawed in its race relations … is now the least racist white-majority society in the world; has a better record of legal protection of minorities than any other society, white or Black; offers more opportunities to a greater number of Black persons than any other society, including all those of Africa.”

There is a crisis within the Black community, and it’s the unconscionably high dropout rate at many of our urban high schools. Baltimore, in 2017, had 13 public high schools where 0% of kids could do math at grade level, and another half-dozen where only 1% could do so.

A white friend, who, in the 1990s, taught at the University of Chicago, recently told me a sad but all too common story. In a Borders bookstore, my professor friend saw a Black boy, approximately 10 years old, sitting and reading a book. My friend does not recall the book but said it was a serious book, not a children’s book or a picture book.

But another Black kid, about the same age, walked up to him and said: “Why are you reading that? You’re trying to be white.” The reader promptly closed the book, put it down and began walking away. My friend, however, rushed over to them and said: “Wait. Don’t stop reading.

Reading is important to be successful in life. You should read as much and as often as you can, if you want to be successful.” The Black kid who was critical about reading turned to his friend and, “See, I told you it would make you white.” The kid who had been reading nodded in agreement with his friend and continued walking away.

Where is Black Lives Matter when you need them? One cannot

pin this on racism. This is Black self-sabotage.

Again, equal rights and equal results are two different things.

And we should not understate the astonishing progress of Blacks since liberation from slavery, when most Blacks could neither read nor write.

Economist Walter Williams said, “Black Americans have come a greater distance, over some of the highest hurdles, in a shorter period of time than any other racial group.” Thomas Sowell, responding to a statement that Blacks haven’t “caught up” with whites, noted, “Well, whites haven’t stood still.”

Learn History

continued from page 8 to drive home and realized that you’re already pulling into your driveway/parking lot? The less information we have to process, the less we have to think, the more energy is reserved for our brain’s survival. It’s a pretty cool concept that exceeds the breadth of this paper, but I’d encourage a little research into the brain and how it functions…

Coaches have figured out that the more you can indoctrinate automatic responses in their athletes, the better a strategy can be implemented for optimal success. When I played basketball, this was completed through a ton of repetition… Getting shots up, going over plays, running… running… running… studying film, learning teammates’ tendencies, yelling, talking smack, loud music, lifting weights- All of these techniques intended to simulate high pressured situations that would hopefully provide a sense of familiarity when the real test (game day) came.

So think about what your own relearning journey would consist of?

What person(s) do you feel a tightness in your stomach, have negative views, or (c)overt reactions to?

What situations do you feel the most anxious in? What songs or movies provide the strongest emotional reactions? What element of history conflicts you the most? Imagine if I gave you the blueprints to build a house…

First of all, you’re already starting off on the wrong foot because I have no clue (nor competence) on how to build a house- let’s just equate this to how we train our teachers. I tell you that all you need is wood, a hammer, nails, and paint. I suppose that you could build some type of “house,” but it would surely be an inadequate one. How about if I hired my friend who has lived in a house before, therefore they should know how to build a house, right? Let’s equate this to finding a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Jewish or Muslim, Veteran, or other marginalized group friend to fix your diversity and inclusion (personal or organizational) needs. The problem with this solution is that these same humans grew up learning the same whitewashed history that everyone else learned. However, there was likely always a dissonance between what was being taught and the real-lived experiences that these humans had to process (i.e. Native Americans “learning” about Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America).

The point is, EVERYONE has some relearning to do. How do you think it feels to wrestle with the statement In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue as an adult and learn that this is an incomplete story? With this, and many other things we are taught, it takes intentional effort to relearn things, especially history that is so ingrained within us and embedded (celebrated) in our culture. Un-

fortunately, many of us understandout of necessity- these inadequacies.

Even more unfortunate, many of us are totally oblivious to the realities of racism, homophobia, poverty, anti-Semitism, unfair wages, and other oppressive systems. Relearning is uncomfortable. Relearning is hard.

Relearning takes humility. Relearning takes commitment. Relearning is absolutely essential.

First, you have to become in tune with yourself. Proper self-analysis is extremely important to your quality of life and connection as a human.

Mindfulness techniques, breathing exercises, and relevant sources of education can help with self-awareness.

Surrounding yourself with people that think, act, and believe differently than you is a vital aspect of exposing internal gaps. You only know what your experiences teach you. Our brains are incapable of storing information that it is not exposed to at some point or another. The challenge is diversifying your experiences that will enable your body to send new bits of information for your brain to process. Inevitably, this will cause you to broaden your perspective and become more objective in your daily life.

The current state of America is in a rough place- disparities are more evident now than ever before. Statue removals, political polarization (and election year), more people empowered to stand up against systemic barriers to education, jobs, access, false narratives, historical myths debunked, and a push for system overhauls have caused many of us to explore our unknowns. This process is NOT easy, but it is something that we can all do together. We are relearning the whole truth. As we do this, we CAN have hope for a brighter future.

Unite News Building Empowering Connections | Page 9

Health & Wellness News Systemic Racism’s Impact on Health Care in America

by Melesha Bailey Unite Contributing Writer

health care. People of color are known to receive less attention and often worse care than white The right to have Americans. As the quality health care in Corona Virus continues American in the year to ravage our commu2020 is still an uphill nity, there is a reason battle. Add in systemic to question the quality Racism, and it becomes of care based on racial even more difficult. biases.

Racial disparities and “Higher premature Melesha Bailey discrimination in health mortality rates in the care are more evident today in black community aren’t due to the wake of the growing health an inherited genetic flaw present crisis that affects people of color in people of African descent, but more than ever and continues rather a result of institutionalized to shape access to good quality Racism present in the health care

August Minorities In Business Virtual Networking Event Tuesday, August 11, 2020, 5:30 p.m.

Go to: www.sgfmib.com/events/ for Zoom Event Link

Join us for our monthly networking event and your opportunity to hear information from our community business leaders. We will be joined remotely by Jennifer Ramroth, with The Connection Exchange. We will also hear from Henry Pippins, Professional at Thrivent Financial and Elton Norman, Dominion Financial Group, LLC who will talk about Building Wealth for the Future.

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system. This may be because the health care system was built on an ideology designed to disproportionately discriminate on the basis of race”, according to Rhea Raj of MedNew Today.

People of Color often receive inferior health care based on race.

Blacks patients many times experience issues of misdiagnosis and proper treatments. There tends to be a communication break down from white health care practitioners: and the prevalence of racial stereotyping based on beliefs.

There is a great need for more minorities to get involved in the healthcare system for this very reason.

Many times when there is a diagnosis, an inadequate explanation of the disease, and treatments, leaves the patient without proper explanation, and they are left confused. We need to know the facts of how to care for these diagnoses. Without it, many will see a steady decline in their health.

Systemic Racism impacts many Black communities with poverty, poor housing, food deserts, unemployment, underemployment, disabilities, and chronic health conditions. These conditions are devastating in these communities and contribute to poor health that can last for several generations.

We are in an uphill battle against the Coronavirus. We are dying at an alarming rate, and many of these deaths stem from pre-ex-

isting chronic health conditions such as asthma, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease, which Covid-19 is causing devastating effects. Many have inadequate health insurance or no insurance at all, which puts even more of a burden on their overall health and contributes to inadequate healthcare.

Life-saving tips to get the care you deserve: Make sure you fully understand your diagnosis and what are the next steps.

Ask questions about any prescribed medications, if it is essential, possible side effects, and alternative solutions.

Make sure to schedule follow-up appointments.

America is waking up to all forms of systematic Racism, and it’s time to deal with how it affects healthcare. Your health is the most valuable thing you have.

Be an advocate for equal and fair medical treatment, demand the healthcare you deserve and work to know the facts and take care of your health and the health of your loved ones.

As an African American nutritional health coach, this is important to me. My desire is for our people to be in good health and have access to the best healthcare available. Contact me for a free consultation to talk about your health. Melesha Bailey, melesha@love4lifewellness.com.

Congratulations Senior Class of 2020 Always remember “the road to success begins with you.”

Central High School

Charlotte Aline

Mmoca Baholelwa

Trinity Bailey

Neema Barume

Quinton Beezley

Trancy Clark

Roy Dunn

Byran Gerald

Osherah Griffen

Jayden Hicks

Theophilus Hobbs

Jadyn Howard

Azaria Johnson

Nyla Johnson

Aleksei Marshall

Antaneia Matthews

Shayla McShane

Arthelle Mercado

Elisha Moller

Gasana Ndatimana

Antoinette Riziki

Deja Samuel

Dashawn Smiles

Ivionna Spears

Janelle Treat

Myreale Tucker

Not Pictured: Alexander Brockman Christopher Brooks Kiara Brown Jazzy Bryant Isaiah Burnette Alexis Bush Ashley Clark KeiAndre Crosby Maggie Dicus Javonte’ Haskins Corey Holland Karlyana Jamerson Sabrina Lucious Parker McMillon Amia Mosley Lakendrick Pritchard Trea’vone Robinson Joi Shepard Aleka Spence Christian Tibasima Jalen Tolliver Abigail Truitt Yvan Uredi Malik Wilson

Jaley Rice

Deevon Ward

Taliyah Yates

Glendale High School

Anthony Broughton

Shivell Crosby

Christopher Frieson

Keith Goings

Isaac Hill

Jayden Johnson

Samantha Sandoval

Jayden Sanford

Hayden Scott

Marquise Shaw

Sophia Smith

Jordyn Thomas

Trevor Mease

Alexa Nunda

Rayquan Walker

Marcus Young

Hillcrest High School

Riziki Asende

Christopher Attyberry

Sierra Brown

Darlene Burson

Ariel Davis

Joshua Dye

Cha’vareon Euell

Carnisha Heard

Dion Jackson

Tavery Johnson

Unite News Building Empowering Connections | Page 11

Hillcrest High School

continued from page 11 Not Pictured: Meaghan Allen Jordan Ausler Tarrence Caton Dion Davis Terrence Haslett Myson Houston Kiara Moss Treyonna Palazzo Michael Smith Zaine Stephens Chelsea Turner Logan Turner

Dante Lewers

Tyshira Love

Erica McKinney-

Exzavion Perkins

Talor Townsend

Anthony Rose

Christopher Scott

Tirek Spriggs

Christian Strickland

Kandice Wunneburger

Kickapoo High School Not Pictured: Jaden Carter Nathaniel Johnson Jayln McClean Acacia Simmons Pierre Walker

Elijah Bridgers

William Bultas

LaMia Conley

Nicole Cook

Robson DaSilva

Arianna Davila

Blake Kime

Eric Morgan

Imaney Mwiula

Victor Mwoya

Imari Peel

Belita Rogers

Marquese Gaten

Matthew Smith

Terrell Gladney

Arionna Washington

Trey Howard

Marcus Jackson

Chavon Willians

Collin Williams

Darian Jones

Nadia Woods

Kenneth Wright

Chauncy Jones

Essence Keesling

Parkview High School

Jaylon Brantley

Brian Miller

Jatarius Coleman

Darquez Morrison

Shyanne Davis

Marie Mzaliwa

Aleeyah Durham

Alexia Ngyuen

Amara Elliot

Ameerah Norwood

I’jhanae Graika

Aisha Ramadhan

A’mariya Hawkins

Jayden Richardson

Tyrique Huddleston

Novella Robinson

Brendan Hudson

Clifton Saul

Nakai Johnson

Isaac Shadden

Essence Stiles

Not Pictured: Jorden Allinson Jalen Anders Treyvon Braxton David Franklin Jaylynn Huddleston Jacob Lee Didani Mzaliwa Alexa Morelock Austin Payton Terriona Shockley Jeremiah Smith Memphys Starks LaRita Whitaker Octavia Wims Photos provided by Springfield Public Schools

Dontae Taylor

Ja’Veo Toliver

Page 12 Building Empowering Connections | Unite News

Nardo Trout

Christopher Vail

Shalaiah Waite

Aleeya Walton

Briasia Williams

Damar Williams

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) COMMUNITY & PUBLIC HEALTH RESOURCE DIRECTORY PUBLIC HEALTH RESOURCES Help Ozarks

Help Ozarks is the City of Springfield’s main website to share official directions to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). This website provides direct links to information on the latest Springfield-Greene County health updates, resources for job seekers and employers, and a pledge citizens, businesses and institutions can voluntarily take to show commitment to slowing the spread of the Coronavirus during Recovery orders. For more information visit: https://www.springfieldmo.gov/5107/Help-Ozarks

Springfield-Greene County Health Department | COVID-19 Resources

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s website has guidelines for good hand and respiratory hygiene habits, tips for at-risk groups that may be more affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and guidance for travel and isolation/quarantine timelines. The health department’s website also shows testing sites—Cox Virtual Health Visits and MyMercy—available in Springfield. For more information visit: https://www.springfieldmo.gov/5068/ Coronavirus or call 417-874-1211.

Cox Health Visits

Cox Healthcare System is providing free virtual visits to screen patients for COVID-19 and provide more guidance about the appropriate actions to take if they are sick with the Coronavirus. Virtual visits are online appointments that are available for people ages two years and older and include a COVID-19 Risk Assessment and if needed, a prescription referral to a pharmacy. For more information visit: https://www.coxhealth.com/services/virtualvisits/ or call 417-269-3000.

Mercy Health

Mercy Health provides virtual care options to seek medical treatment without exposing others to illness. MyMercy is a free, easy-to-use application to manage your whole family’s health online. This app allows users to access information about their health and care team 24 hours a day. For more information visit: https://www.mercy.net/patients/mymercy/ or call 417-820-2000.

Missouri Food Stamp

Pandemic Food Stamp/Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (P-SNAP) provided all households currently eligible for SNAP to receive the maximum amount for their house size for March through June 2020 to prevent Food Stamp benefits from ending during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting July 1, 2020, Missourians are required to complete a periodic recertification process to verify the household still qualifies for Food Stamp/SNAP benefits.

For more information visit https://mydss.mo.gov/covid-food-stamp-info.

Food Resources in Springfield and Greene County

Food resources in Springfield that are available to the general public, children and older adults who are 60 years and above during COVID-19 Stay-atHome and Recovery orders can be found at the following Google Spreadsheet. The list is updated with new resources when they become available and contains the location, hours, type of food service, ways to access food services and who can access services: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v3UBVz5i68INI3agcZLM7ULys-O3jHOKm6zwJXWqJB0/edit#gid=0

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PUBLIC HEALTH RESOURCES WIC

Effective March 18, 2020, all satellite WIC locations were closed until further notice. All appointments are handled over the phone. The WIC program is housed at Jordan Valley Community Health Center and provides free services for qualifying participants such as health screenings, nutrition education and additional food packages, breastfeeding support, referrals to health care providers or social services agencies. For more information visit: https:// www.jordanvalley.org/services or call 417-864-1540.

Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS)

Most DSS offices are still closed to the public at this time, but some offices are taking in person visits by appointment only. Please visit the DSS website to see how the Family Support Division, Child Care Subsidy, MO HealthNet (Medicaid), Children’s Division and Division of Youth Services will conduct business during this time period if assistance is needed at https://dss.mo.gov/covid-19/

MO HealthNet (Medicaid)

Telehealth is available to MO HealthNet participants. There will be no copays for COVID-19 testing for MO HealthNet participants. Coverage will be extended to Missourians ages 19 to 64 who test positive for COVID-19. Requirements for prescriptions refills will make sure participants have access to essential medications. For more information visit: https://dss.mo.gov/mhd/ or call 573-751-3425.

JOB SEEKERS AND EMPLOYERS Missouri Job Center

The Missouri Job Center has reopened to the public and offers a variety of job options and job training programs during Recovery Orders to make sure individuals can get back to work stronger than ever before with events and opportunities such as: Aspire (youth program), MO Works Together, Green for Greene, Career Services, America’s Promise, SkillUP and Franklin Apprenticeship & Dislocated Worker programs. The north location job center has relocated from the Cox building to the N. W. Project, located in the on Fairbanks. For more information visit https://www.springfieldmo.gov/1007/Workforce-Development or call 417-887-4343.

Prime, Inc.

Prime, Inc. is a logistics company with a Driver Training Program that allows individuals to earn their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) while getting paid. CDL training classes start each week and gives driver’s real-world experience to prepare for any situation they may encounter on the road. Prime also offers in-house job opportunities to ensure the safety, success and reliability of operations. For more information visit https://www.primeinc.com/ or call 1-877-774-6356.

SRC Holdings

SRC Holdings is a manufacturing company that remanufactures products for major industries that allows individuals to gain real-world experience, pursue an education and avoid student debt through apprenticeship, internship and tuition reimbursement programs. Participants receive one-on-one mentorship, earn wage increases at work milestones and learn cutting edge technology practices from Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC). For more information on how to apply, students may contact their high school counselor or OTC’s Career Center. All others can visit https://www.srcholdings.com/ career-development or contact them at 417-862-4510.

File for Unemployment | Missouri Department of Labor

The Missouri Department of Labor’s website provides information on how to file or manage an unemployment claim or claim benefit eligibility. The website also features information on worker’s compensation and discrimination complaints for businesses and workers. Businesses can file unemployment for groups of employees they may have to lay off due to COVID-19. For more information visit: https://labor.mo.gov/coronavirus.

US Small Business Administration (SBA)

The US Small Business Administration website describes areas eligible for SBA disaster loans and the steps to apply for a loan. SBA can provide small businesses who have experienced substantial suffering due to COVID-19 with low-interest federal disaster loans to overcome temporary loss of revenue.

For more information visit: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ or call 1-800-877-8339.

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EDUCATION PRE-K TO 12TH GRADE & BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL Springfield Public Schools (SPS)

Springfield Public Schools (SPS) has an online resource center to help adjust to schooling from home to create an environment for your student to learn well at home. Resources include tips to schedule a routine for homeschooling children at each grade level, special education and English Language Learner (ELL) resources. For more information visit https://www.sps.org/Domain/57 or contact your child’s school.

Kahn Academy

Kahn Academy is offering free resources to parents, teachers, schools and districts to keep everyone learning. Their website offers resources such as daily schedules, weekly learning plans for students in remote learning environments. For more information visit https://keeplearning.khanacademy.org/.

Fast Track Program

Fast Track is a financial aid program from the Missouri Department of Higher Education that helps adults obtain an industry-recognized credential in high need job areas. Students who receive the Fast Track grant have any remaining college tuition and fees covered after using other state and federal aid programs. Individuals 25 years or older or who have not been enrolled in school within the last two years and are seeking to earn a bachelor’s degree are eligible to apple. Participants must earn under $40,000 per year or $80,000 filing jointly.

For more information visit https://dhewd.mo.gov/initiatives/fast_track.php.

Ozarks Technical Community College

OTC is a community college in Springfield, Missouri. Students can earn a one-year certificate, two-year Associate of Applied Science degree or Associate of Arts degree. They also have a variety of apprenticeship programs. For more information visit https://www.otc.edu/ or call 417-447-7500.

Missouri State University

MSU is a public, comprehensive university system with a mission in public affairs. Their purpose is to develop fully educated persons with a focus on ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement. For more information visit https://www.missouristate.edu/ or call 417-836-5000.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES Community Health Advocates | Springfield-Greene County Health Department

Community Health Advocates help individuals navigate Springfield resources and work with individuals to determine their needs and provide personalized referrals to employee assistance, affordable housing, healthcare, pregnancy and parenting services, education, disability services and childcare assistance. To make a referral visit: https://www.springfieldmo.gov/CHAreferral or call 417-874-2477.

U.S. Census 2020

The U.S. 2020 Census invitations began arriving at households March 12. For the first time, nearly everyone will be invited to respond online, by phone, or by mail. Along with the invitation, households will receive a census overview, description of language assistance in English and 12 additional languages, and a census ID number. More information about when most people will receive their invitations can be found at 2020census.gov. https://2020census.gov/en.html?utm_campaign=20200312msprts1ccpupnl&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Tax Filing New Due Date

TThe 2019 tax filing deadline was extended to July 15, 2020 due to COVID-19. For individuals with simple returns to file, Community Partnership of the Ozarks is hosting Tax Clinics through September 30, 2020. If individuals have access to a computer, they can also use the following website suggested

by Community Partnership of the Ozarks: www.myfreetaxes.com. For more information visit https://www.cpozarks.org/financial-literacy/ or call 417-720-2000.

Prosper Springfield Website: “Get Help & Get Informed”

This website has information on current resources and services available in the Springfield/Greene County area. Click “Get Help” to find information related to almost any area of need related to education, health, housing, job/financial assistance and transportation.

Please visit: www.prosperspringfield.org.

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