Alayya Arrison

20 years after ending her medical management career to stay home and raise her children, Anita was ready to get back to work.

While she knew it would be difficult, she didn’t realize the impact a 20-year work gap would have on hearing back from employers.

“It was really odd because all of my interviews were with young women who I left feeling that I connected with. But for some reason, I just wasn’t getting a job and I wasn’t understanding it.”

That’s when she was referred to StepUp Wilmington and enrolled into Jobs Week. Here, Anita learned how to address her gap in employment during the job search and interview process.

“My experience doing Jobs Week was great. My employment counselor was very helpful and always sending encouraging emails and jobs leads”, she said.

When it comes to going through the job program, Anita advises, “See the program the whole way through to the end and take advantage of all the guest speakers and facilitators that come in. There is a lot of information out there but 95% is not useful. StepUp has found the useful information and if you don’t see it the whole way through you might miss something you needed.”

Now, Anita is back in the medical field with a company whose mission she’s excited to work towards.

If you’re ready to get back to work, give us a call to learn our next Jobs Week dates.

StepUp Wilmington has elected Anthony Parnell to succeed Melissa Pressley as Chair on its Board of Directors. Rising from his role as Board Secretary, Parnell has been a long-time supporter of StepUp’s work and an asset to the organization’s mission through his diverse background in human resources and leadership at General Electric.

“I truly believe in the mission of helping individuals build sustainable lives one job at a time. I’ve worked in the employment arena for many years and I understand how a job or career opportunity can uplift an entire family,” he said. “I’ve also seen the devastating effects of job loss and under-employment. I like working on the positive side of that equation.”

During his tenure, Parnell hopes to grow the accomplishments of past leadership and create new ways to support the creation of jobs and stability in our community.

“I really intend to build on to what is already a strong plan to create 1,000 jobs in our community over the next four years and positively impact 10,000 lives,” he said.

In addition to his work with StepUp Wilmington, Anthony is a former board member and enthusiastic supporter of the Community Boys and Girls Club, as well as the sitting Board Chair of the Father’s Auxiliary for the Wilmington chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., an organization that works to build confidence, professionalism and academic excellence in local African American youth.

Learn more about StepUp Wilmington’s 10,000 Lives campaign here.

29 years.

At the young age of 16, Bruce was handed two charges that landed him in prison for 29 years. Following his release in 2010, he spent the next three years trying to rebuild his life. One of the biggest challenges was finding work, as the label “ex-con” was given to him by not only society, but himself. After finally gaining employment in April 2013, unforeseen circumstances that altered his life forever caused him to terminate his position after only one week. Bruce was yet again at rock bottom.

That’s when he found Phoenix Employment Ministry, now known as StepUp Wilmington.

“During my first visit to StepUp, I didn’t make the cut. They only had 10 openings and I was the 11th person to show up. The second time I arrived, I was yet again number 11. But this time, they didn’t turn me away,” says Bruce. “The staff made space for me and by doing that and allowing me to enter the program, I was able to get grounded and start pushing myself.”

When he started the job program, Bruce’s biggest obstacle aside from his barrier to employment was knowing his self-worth. “The job program helped me learn self-confidence and taught me to hold my head up and say yes, I can do this because I am a valuable person of great worth.”

Following his graduation from Jobs Week, Bruce worked with his then employment counselor and current executive director of StepUp Wilmington, Will Rikard, to find employment. He was hired as a dishwasher and through funding sourced by StepUp, also went back to school for his CDL.

He was hired as a driver and enjoyed the position for over three years until he received a phone call that would change his career path and ignite his passion.

“After driving for three and a half years, I got a call from StepUp and they asked if I’d be interested in applying for an employment counselor position. I asked them to send me the job description but I didn’t plan on applying because I didn’t think I could meet the challenge.”

Fast forward to 2019.

Bruce has been an employment counselor for the past two years and uses his experience to inspire those who come through StepUp’s doors looking to transform their lives as he had not so long ago.

“I’ve gone through some difficult experiences and as a result I’m able to share what I’ve gone through with others to empower them to reach their goals and learn not to settle,” he says. “The best part of my job is when participants come in and ring the bell. It shows me that they trusted the process and trusted us to support them.”

When it comes to second chances, Bruce is a strong believer in giving those with a criminal background equal opportunities for success. “The proof is in the behavior. You can judge them by what they’ve done or you can judge them off of what they’ve done to change and improve their lives.”

Bruce’s journey with StepUp Wilmington began as a chance to start over and turned into much more.

“I was given the opportunity to be employed in a field that I’m passionate about and it gives me a lot of joy to get up in the morning and come to work. You can’t ask for much more than being happy and loving the work that you’re doing.”

Are you ready for a change? Give us a call at (910) 343-8469 to learn about our employment training and placement services.

StepUp Wilmington has relationships with over 100 employers in the Cape Fear Region. Through these relationships, graduates are placed into satisfying employment and local businesses receive trained, motivated and high-quality employees.

Hollingsworth Cabinetry is one of those employers. A long-time supporter of StepUp Wilmington’s mission, business owner Hudson Hollingsworth, said, “Our company is unique because we are a local manufacturer in such a small market. We have the need to identify and hire talented individuals that are able to perform the manufacturing tasks our company needs to continue to be successful.”

One such individual is Tyrell, a StepUp Wilmington graduate who was hired by Hollingsworth in 2017 and has become an asset to the business.

“Tyrell is one of our team leaders on the manufacturing side of our company. He understands what our core values are and what it takes to lead others and hit our goals,” Hollingsworth said. “He’s worked his way up through our company and has earned his role. We’re very proud of him.”

Another program graduate, James, went into his interview hoping for a sales associate role and left with a management position instead.

On the types of employees trained and referred by SUW, Hudson says, “These are folks that are ready, willing and able to work hard. We’ve seen a very high level of dedication from those that we’ve hired from StepUp.”

 

Is your company hiring? Reach out to Ally at ally@stepupwilmington.org to find out how you can transform our community by hiring StepUp Wilmington graduates.

Did you know that 1 in 4 members of our community are living below the poverty line? To be exact, that is 30,000 households in Wilmington, NC alone that maintain an income below the federal poverty level.

Over the last 16 years, StepUp Wilmington has created and implemented proven solutions to the poverty epidemic by moving individuals into jobs with a livable wage, and out of poverty.

On average, it costs $32,252 each year to keep one person incarcerated in North Carolina and approximately $18,369 to provide welfare for one individual, a system that involves a high cost and a negative impact. It costs StepUp Wilmington just $1,500 to train and place one person into work and the process has a positive influence on not only the individual but 10 others including family members, the community, local businesses and more. A process with a relatively low cost but results in a large impact.

In 2018, StepUp Wilmington launched a campaign that aims to place 1,000 of our neighbors into work over the next four years. Through this employment, data shows that at minimum 10,000 lives will be impacted. How did we come up with that number?

Many members of our community have already joined us on this campaign. Will you?

Whether you are a current supporter, an employer or someone moved to take action, reach out to bethany@stepupwilmington.org to learn how you can join the campaign.

Wilmington native, Elizabeth Barfield, was always drawn to bringing awareness and helping form solutions for the disparities in her community. Following her graduation from UNC Chapel Hill in 2013, she returned to her hometown and got to work serving her community as the Education Specialist in the Health Equity Department at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, a role that gives her an up-close look at the issues she is working to conquer.

“Part of the reason I joined the board of young professionals was because they are closely aligned with the ideals I hold in regards to what it looks like to design and foster a thriving community.”

An active member of the community, Elizabeth is a small group leader at her church, a part of Be The Bridge: Wilmington, a group that works to create a space for healthy dialogue about race, a StepUp Wilmington program volunteer, and more.

 

On why she chooses to support SUW, she shared, “The mission of StepUp is carried out every day through the way they invest in people looking for better opportunities.” Elizabeth continues, “The stories I have heard from various participants and the light in their eyes says it all. I have seen just how impactful the relationship’s built in the programs are and how they alter the course of someone’s life.”

During her time on the board, Elizabeth hopes to elevate the voices of those who feel overlooked and engage as many people as possible in order to spread the mission of StepUp Wilmington.

We’re so excited to have Elizabeth join us in our mission and can’t wait to see what she, and the rest of BYP, accomplish as we head into our next fiscal year.

Like many beginnings at StepUp Wilmington, April’s was a precarious one back in June 2017. After having recently lost her job and dozens of interviews gone unanswered, April felt that she hit rock bottom. A childhood of hearing “you’re never going to be successful” and “you’re not good enough” led to a belief system that was proving those statements true.

Jobs Week’s core affirmation: “I am a valuable person of great worth” barely made a dent. April said, “I could hardly comprehend it, my self-esteem was shot.” Then came mock interviews. “I finally had a place that was safe where I could practice, get feedback and not freak out.”

A few days later, April got a job. At $9/hour, she was grateful but not satisfied.

A better job, upgraded transportation, and nearly two years of personal and financial rebuilding later, April is a proud employee of StepUp Wilmington’s partner employer, Port of Wilmington Cold Storage.

During her time at StepUp Wilmington, April said that the life skills instruction she gained through Step2 directly impacted her new path. “It helped me rebuild my credit score by more than 100 points which led to a new, much more reliable car. It also helped me leave my last job well, not burning any bridges but building my network.”

April is now a StepUp Wilmington Ambassador and still attends Step2 regularly. This past Wednesday, April connected with others who are struggling to tackle credit issues. “Instead of waiting for good things to happen to me, StepUp gave me the tools to make good things happen for myself.”  

Thank you, April, for sharing your story!

If you have a job but are looking for a change, give us a call at (910)343-8469 to learn how we can help.

The true definition of StepUp Wilmington Behind the Scenes, Bethany Leighton is the one-woman show behind the organization’s fundraising initiatives.

Passionate about people and making an impact, Bethany has worked in the non-profit industry for over 12 years, most notably with Stop Child Abuse Now in Richmond, VA and Communities in Schools in Wilmington, NC. Here at StepUp Wilmington, she has supported the organization’s rapid growth over the last three years and has had a direct influence on the record-breaking fundraising numbers seen this past year.

“I was drawn to StepUp Wilmington because of the mission, the results that I saw from the programs and the lives that were being changed,” Bethany says. “The mission is something that is very relatable. We all want to be able to have a job and take care of our families. It was something that I could be passionate about in terms of fundraising and getting other people in the community passionate about too.”

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When it comes to what she enjoys most about her work, she shared, “I enjoy the grant writing and strategy part of my job but my favorite part is getting out there and talking to people. Especially those that have never heard of StepUp Wilmington and don’t know what we do. Just seeing their eyes light up or watching them have an “aha!” moment when they realize the impact we’re having is pretty rewarding.”

Over the next few years, Bethany sees incredible growth coming to StepUp Wilmington.  “We have some big goals ahead of us but we have a clear vision of where we want to be and the impact that we want to have on Wilmington,” Bethany says.

There’s still time to donate before our fiscal year ends on June 30th. Your donation will directly support StepUp Wilmington’s goal of placing members of our community into work. Donate here.

Each year, nearly 700,000 individuals are released from prison with only 30% of that number being able to secure work within one year.

Re-entry into society after imprisonment is often followed by recidivism, the tendency of a convicted person to re-offend, and data shows that roughly 60% of people return to prison within nine years of getting out. To change this statistic, it is important to learn how to overcome the barriers society and employers sometimes pose when our neighbors are looking to re-enter the workforce.

Here at StepUp Wilmington, we work to break these barriers. Our programs acknowledge four steps that those with a background can use when looking to get back to work:

• Be honest about your past
• Explain the lesson you learned
• Identify the changes you’ve made to your life and your circumstances
• Share your plans for the future

Employers respect honesty and integrity — tell them about your past before they find out for themselves. By taking accountability for your actions and sharing the changes you have made to avoid an unhealthy pattern, it shows that you are willing to learn and dedicated to reaching your full potential.

One StepUp Wilmington graduate who overcame this barrier is Ivey, who came to the organization after having trouble securing work due to his background.

“I was left with a scarlet letter “F” — a felon. I couldn’t get decent jobs. I lost jobs because I lied about having that letter. That affected my family greatly… How can you take care of a family on 7.25 an hour?”

Following his participation in the programs, Ivey shared, “Yeah, they teach you skills, but the biggest thing they do is help restore lives. They build you up — your confidence, your esteem, and your self-worth.” He is now an employee of the Wilmington Airport and working daily to be his best self.

 Your story can change just like Ivey’s did. Give us a call at (910) 343-8469 to get started.

It’s time to celebrate another employer partner! Say hello to Sylvia from WAVE Transit.

Sylvia started her journey with StepUp Wilmington in 2015 as a student front-desk volunteer when the organization was still branded Phoenix Employment Ministries. She describes SUW as “the bridge that changes lives for good.”

“My experience with StepUp Wilmington has been amazing. I support them because they are passionate about helping individuals get a second chance and so am I.”

A public servant, she thoroughly enjoys her position as the Human Resources Coordinator for WAVE Transit. Through this work, Sylvia has been able to hire five SUW graduates, three of which are still thriving with the company while two others have moved on to even better opportunities.

Thank you, Sylvia, for your support of SUW and our community!
Looking for employees? StepUp Wilmington has a community of qualified, trained and pre-screened candidates ready to work! Reach out to Ally (ally@stepupwilmington.org) to learn more.