/news-archive/tag/cheryl-chapman/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Wed, 24 Apr 2019 17:37:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2019/04/24/ua-little-rock-children-international-celebrates-25-years/ Wed, 24 Apr 2019 17:37:31 +0000 /news/?p=74105 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Children International celebrates 25 years of helping children]]> In 1994, Cheryl Chapman, the founding director of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Children International, wanted to find a way for 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to get more involved with helping students in the Little Rock School District.聽 鈥淲e were tutoring in public schools in Little Rock, and we learned about the needs of the children in the schools. We also had students who wanted to work more with the schools, so it was a perfect match,鈥� Chapman said. Then an assistant dean in the former College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Chapman and her colleagues applied for a grant from Children International. Initially called 鈥淪hare America,鈥� it represented Children International鈥檚 first domestic site in the U.S. 鈥淚n 1995, under the leadership of Chancellor Charles Hathaway, the Office of Campus and Community Partnerships was born and Share America became part of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 commitment to engage students in service and learning activities,鈥� she said. The operation began small with just Chapman and one other employee located in an office on 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 campus. Students from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Student Literacy Corps served as tutors to 60 students at Bale Elementary. In 1995, the Homework Center, Children International鈥檚 current office, opened. Students from Bale and Franklin Elementary schools received tutoring and attended after-school classes in art, computers, reading, and gardening taught by 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock graduate students and local artists. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Children International celebrated its 25th anniversary with an April 19 gathering at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Downtown, where many came together to share stories about the program鈥檚 accomplishments and impact on children in central Arkansas. Director Ryan Davis said the sight of so many friends and supporters at the celebration made him optimistic for the organization鈥檚 future. 鈥淲hen I look around the room, I see all the people we can count as friends, and that is a fortunate thing,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淲e are fortunate to have so many partners who have stuck with us for 25 years, and we are looking forward to many more. This success is made possible by our partnerships with 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Little Rock School District, and so many wonderful parents, students, volunteers, partners, and supporters.鈥� The 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock program serves approximately 2,300 children and youth in central Arkansas. The program has grown extensively over the years and now offers a variety of school- and community-based programs, including after-school and summer programming, cooking classes, emergency food assistance, a children鈥檚 choir, and college preparation and career training. 鈥淲e serve students in kindergarten through age 24 in four areas of focus,鈥� said Paula Rogers, program engagement manager at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Children International. 鈥淲e want to make sure that our kids are healthy, educated, empowered, and employable. We have health programs to develop healthy habits and connect kids with the services they need. We provide quality after-school and summer programs. We build leadership, teamwork, and competence in our youth so they can go out and empower their communities. We help them develop life skills and social responsibility.鈥� Vakeyia Dulaney, a graduate of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Children International鈥檚 program, said being a part of the program changed her life. She started the program when she was 6, went on to graduate from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and now works in forensic science for the state. 鈥淚 feel like Children International was the best thing ever,鈥� Dulaney said. 鈥淚t was a great opportunity to meet kids from other neighborhoods. It offered me a lot of opportunities, and I went on to college with their encouragement and support.鈥� During the celebration, Children International honored several key people and organizations that have supported the nonprofit over the years, including: Outstanding Youth: De鈥橫eir King Outstanding Volunteer: Brandy Jones Outstanding Partner: Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Outstanding Supporter: Windgate Foundation Legacy Award: Little Rock School District Thanks to a generous donation from the Windgate Foundation, Children International will be able to provide additional art programming opportunities for children as well as more scholarships. To start, Children International will expand its summer art camp to include middle school students as well as extend the camp to Fridays. The theme of this year鈥檚 camp is 鈥淎rt in Action.鈥� It centers around creative and performing arts and will provide an opportunity for campers to explore the role they and art play in their communities. Children International will also be able to expand the Hope college scholarship from a one-time scholarship to a four-year renewable scholarship. Additionally, Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation has been instrumental in working with Children International to provide dental services for children. In 2000, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Children International and its partner organizations established the Future Smiles Dental Program to provide services to children without access to adequate dental care. The program started with dental screenings, added a school-based sealant project in 2002, and opened the Future Smiles Dental Clinic in 2005. 聽Delta Dental has provided generous funding for the program as well as medical personnel to staff the dental clinics. Dental students from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences also volunteer at the clinics. Outstanding Youth De鈥橫eir King, a junior at Hall High School, was brought to tears as she spoke about the impact Children International has had on her life. 鈥淲hen I hear about Children International, I get emotional. I love being a part of it,鈥� King said. 鈥淐I has become my home away from home. I know that whatever I do, I will be greater because of CI. They have helped me find my voice. Thank you to CI for knowing that I have no limitations.鈥� In the upper right photo, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Children International celebrates its top supporters and partners during its 25^th anniversary celebration. Those pictured (L to R) include Joseph Lampo, director of development and external relations for the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences: Little Rock School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Poore; Outstanding Volunteer Brandy Jones; Outstanding Youth De鈥橫eir King; Chrissy Chatham and Weldon Johnson of Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation; and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Children International Director Ryan Davis. Photo by Stephanie Jones.聽]]> /news-archive/2018/12/12/edna-rodgers-grad/ Wed, 12 Dec 2018 15:12:00 +0000 /news/?p=72934 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock student鈥檚 degree is 20 years in the making]]> Most people may remember 1999 for the song (鈥淧arty Like It鈥檚 1999鈥�), the Y2K scare, and the excitement of the start of a new millennium.聽 For Edna Rodgers, 1999 is the year she first embarked on earning her Master of Arts degree in professional and technical writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. After nearly 20 years, her hard work and heartaches have come to fruition with her upcoming graduation on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Jack Stephens Center. 鈥淚 feel great,鈥� Rodgers, 66, of Little Rock, said. 鈥淚 just feel like I have run that mile and finished the race. It鈥檚 a real good feeling.鈥� Rodgers earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from Philander Smith College in 1995, but it wasn鈥檛 long before she realized she wanted to get a graduate degree to improve her chances at getting a better job. 鈥淲hen I worked at Children International, the former director, Cheryl Chapman, inspired me to pursue a field in technical writing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted to improve my writing skills and develop myself further professionally. Later, when I went to work at 糖心Vlog传媒MS, I had to take a lot of meeting minutes and help with CV revisions for faculty members. I also helped revise the course syllabi and post them online. When you do a lot of writing and editing projects like that, you really need to know how to write and format different documents.聽Besides personal development and helping me with my work assignments, I was interested in teaching at a junior college. I always wanted to be a teacher growing up, but I never pursued it. Since I have my degree, I can pursue that now. A lot of people have a second career that they love after they have retired. I am one of those people who would like to obtain a second career as a part-time editor and technical writer.鈥� While working on her master鈥檚 degree, Rodgers usually took one course a semester as well as having to balance work and raising two daughters. 鈥淎nother reason why it took me so long to get my master鈥檚 degree was because of a life-threatening illness, a battle that nearly cost my life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 thank God each day for restoring my health. There were so many challenges in between that time, which is what took me so long to graduate. All of them were beyond my control. I was determined to finish what I had started because I just wouldn鈥檛 feel good about myself if I hadn鈥檛.鈥� After finishing the coursework for her master鈥檚 degree, Rodgers began working on her thesis in 2008. After facing a series of life challenges, Rodgers got back to her research and successfully defended her thesis this month, a project in which she researched methods designed to teach senior citizens computer literacy skills. 鈥淚 remember when I first started out using a computer, I was actually intimidated by it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how to use it, and I faced a lot of anxiety using the computer until I was given more assignments to use the computer instead of a typewriter. That is the main reason I wanted to do that topic.鈥� She is thankful to her thesis advisor, Dr. Karen Kuralt, and her thesis committee, Dr. Allison Holland and Dr. Earnest Cox, for helping her complete this monumental achievement. After graduation, Rodgers wants to use the training manual she created as part of her thesis project to teach older adults at Dunbar Community Center in Little Rock. 鈥淎 lot of the adults I surveyed mentioned wanting to learn computer technology to pay their bills, keep in touch with their family and friends, and wanted to get better job opportunities,鈥� she said. Now that her school work is finished, Rodgers plans to spend time with her family before embarking on the search for a new job. 鈥淚 got laid off from 糖心Vlog传媒MS in February, but it worked out for my good because I was able to go ahead and complete my thesis. I looked at it as a positive,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like now that I have my master鈥檚 degree, I am hoping it will open doors for me to obtain a technical writer or an editor position. Now that my school work and thesis defense is completed, I am planning on relaxing for a little while and enjoying my only granddaughter, Jasmine, who is 2. I spend a lot of time with her. Eventually, I will start looking for an editor or technical writer position.鈥� In the upper right photo,聽糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock graduate student Edna Rodgers is surrounded by master’s degree thesis project papers dating back to 1999, the year she started working toward her own master鈥檚 degree. Photo by Benjamin Krain.]]>