"Because of significant and consistent support by the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis of our Women Empowered to Succeed Program, Neighborhood Christian Centers can target specific needs of women and provide the non-traditional approaches necessary to create an atmosphere these caregivers need to change their current living conditions and future outlook. In 2010, having served 11,867 women agency wide, we recognize the tremendous impact of women in families and communities. Together, we are making Memphis a better place and changing generations - one life at a time."

- Ephie Johnson, President/CEO

In the midst of what seems hopeless to many, Neighborhood Christian Centers (NCC) shines a light of hope, striving to break the cycle of poverty and dependence in the Memphis community. NCC experiences success when a mom, who lives in despair, steps proudly forward because she's now working and is receiving guidance and encouragement through one of the life skills and job training programs such as Women Empowered to Succeed (WES). The Women's Foundation has provided grant funding for the past five years for this initiative, which is designed to support and strengthen women in the core life areas of home and work. WES provides the chronically unemployed with opportunities to learn essential skills while they earn points that can be redeemed for transportation, groceries, clothing and more. The program, available at five NCC satellite locations, works with the participants over a period of one to four years and transitions the women through three phases: assessment, career exploration and training in hospitality and customer service fields and finally, employment placement, savings and community support services.

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On September 30, WFGM celebrated the first class of students who completed the Memphis Goes Green program. Twelve Memphis HOPE residents from the University Place, Legends Park and former Cleaborn Homes communities graduated with their Weatherization Auditing certification. These students completed twelve weeks of soft skills training, career development, job readiness and more at Lab Four Green Jobs Training Center. The program is designed to enhance their ability to acquire and retain employment. The weatherization field exercises prepared the participants for their energy auditing certification test. Five of the twelve students are employed and two are enrolled in GED classes. The other graduates are actively seeking career opportunities. Please contact the Memphis HOPE employment specialist, Karolyn Taylor, via e-mail or at 901-544-1348 if your company or organization has potential job openings.