Good News: A Grant and a GED!

THANK YOU TO THE WOMEN'S FOUNDATION FOR A GREATER MEMPHIS
We are so proud to share that the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis has selected Advance Memphis as a grant recipient for 2010-2011. The Women's Foundation is a great asset to Memphis, working to encourage philanthropy and foster leadership among women and support programs that enable women and children to reach their full potential. Their support will help to fund the participation of women in our Jobs for Life program, and will also provide funding for some of michael dawson GEDthose women to continue on to participation in our Warehouse Readiness vocational training program.

Thursday night we attended the Women's Foundations's Grant Showcase event. Two Jobs for Life program grads were in attendance, making us proud: Cindy Goad, Advance Memphis Employment Assistant and Clintonia Moore, Floating Lead for Advance Memphis Staffing Service. THANK YOU, WFGM!

WORK IT MEMPHIS CONTINUES
We've got our Athletes registered and they are exercising! Now it's time for YOU to join us as a Sponsor. Just go to the Work It Memphis! site and click "New Sponsor" and choose any Athlete to sponsor -- or just click "Donate Now" to make a flat donation to the campaign. All proceeds will go directly to our efforts to expand capacity and serve more of the Memphians who want to go to WORK!


ANOTHER GED--CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL!
We celebrate with Michael Dawson, who dropped by this week to show us his GED. Michael completed Jobs for Life in 2005, and immediately begin pursuing his GED with the help of volunteer Bryn Wilson. This year, Michael came back for more tutoring and accomplished his goal of obtaining his GED. Excitement fills the building when anyone gets their GED. A few women were studying this week and discussing who would be next! Thanks for inspiring us, Michael!

ADVANCE MEMPHIS BECOMES A CERTIFIED "DRUG FREE WORKPLACE"
Last week Advance was informed that we had met all standards to be approved as a Drug Free Workplace. We're glad to make these standards an official part of our office, our Staffing Service, and our Outsourcing Program.

ISAIAH 61:14
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Work It Memphis gets started!

HELP SUPPORT ADVANCE MEMPHIS! Work it Memphis! is a new kind of fundraiser, designed to harness the power of the internet and social media and raise money to help Advance Memphis expand capacity to serve more people. Two weeks ago, people spent the night outside our building in order to secure their place in our upcoming class. People WANT to work, and Advance Memphis wants to grow our programs to serve more people. We need YOUR help to raise money to make it happen.

To be an Athlete for Work It Memphis, just choose any sport, get sponsors, and keep track of your miles (or dances, or laps).

To be a Sponsor for Work It Memphis, just look for Athletes you know at the bottom of the Work It Memphis! web page, and then click "New Sponsor." You can also make a flat donation to the campaign here.

SO GET STARTED! : The easiest way to get involved as an Athlete or Sponsor is by going to our Facebook app. But you can also get started by going to workit.advancememphis.org.

WATCH THE VIDEO!: Here's the link to the 90 second video that explains more about Work It Memphis! Check it out!

THANKS AGAIN TO 2PC & CITYSERVE!
As you may have heard, Advance was blessed to have a LOT of help during 2PC's CityServe weekend. Volunteers from 2PC's Emmaus class and from our neighborhood came to help and we accomplished an incredible amount of work in a short amount of time. Advance has been blessed recently by the addition of a photographer to our family: staff member Mike Shaw recently married Gretchen who is a talented photographer. Click here to go to the whole slideshow.

WAREHOUSE READINESS CLASS GRADUATES
Advance Memphis is again providing advanced Warehouse Readiness training, including fork lift certification, for some of our Jobs for Life graduates. 8 students graduated from this program on Thursday and will receive raises in their positions with Advance Memphis Staffing. Our prayer is that they will also now be more eligible for full time, permanent positions that become available. We are proud of you, grads!