Your source for news and information since August 1999

The Caring Place Youth Development Center strives to aid inner city youth entangled in the ills of today's society including drug abuse, teen pregnancy, violence, crime and a sense of hopelessness about their future.

The Center provides activities as well as sessions aimed at preparing youth to become healthy, productive citizens and overcome their current state. The Caring Place Programs:

• Tutorial Program
• Sign Language Instruction
• Science Lab Programs
• Computer Training Leadership Workshops
• Teen Hotline
• Entrepreneurial Program
• Piano Lessons
• Free Health Clinic

This is the time of year to reflect back over our good fortune and share with those who need us the most." There are three ways you can become a Christmas Angel:

1. You can drop off an unwrapped gift at The Caring Place
2. Call or e-mail us and we can provide you with a child's name and their Christmas wish list
3. Give a monitory gift which will be used we will used to buy gifts for the children that were not adopted

Featuring Evangelist Shirley Graham on Thursday evening, Prophetess Juanita Bynum Weeks on Friday evening and Pastor Wynell Freeman on Saturday evening. Workshops will be held from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Workshop speakers include Pastor Reina Olmeda, Dr. Grace Cornish, Tracy Bernard and our very own, Pastor Juanita Davis.

For more information, please call (610) 252-5640

On Sunday December 12th. , Gospel Brunch will have live performances by your favorite local artist! Place: Elliot's American Grille (Next to Apollo Grille) 81 West Broad Street, Bethlehem PA. 12:30-3:00pm Reservations Requested.

Call (610) 997-8680 Parking available on the deck around the corner. Up to 2 hours parking validated thru the restaurant. Pricing $20 Adults, $10 Children.

In 2005, the YWCA of Bethlehem will celebrate the 30th Anniversary of its annual Women and Teens of the Year Awards Dinner.

Every March, to celebrate Women's History Month, the YWCA of Bethlehem honors local women and teens for their outstanding contributions to our community. Women who live or work in Bethlehem who have an outstanding record of volunteerism will be considered for the award.

The deadline for nomination submissions is December 15, 2004. Female, high school seniors attending Bethlehem area public or private schools who have an outstanding volunteerism in the community, financial need, extracurricular involvement at school and academic achievement will be considered for the award. The deadline for nominating a teen is January 1, 2005.

Please call the YWCA of Bethlehem for nomination forms. The 2005 Women and Teens of the Year Awards Dinner is scheduled for March 25th at the Holiday Inn East Gateway Conference Center. For more information please call the YWCA of Bethlehem at 610-867-4669 or email Flordelisa P�rez at flordelisa@ywcabethlehem.org

The Rwandan conflict of the 1990s marked one of the bloodiest chapters in recent African history. The genocide was made all the more tragic by the fact that most of the world chose to ignore the conflict and the plight of the Rwandan people.

While occasional reports about "tribal warfare" in Rwanda were carried by international news agencies, the horror of the conflict, instead of causing international outrage, seemed to be written off as another "third world incident" and not worthy of attention.

Over the course of 100 days, almost one million people were killed in Rwanda. The streets of the capital city of Kigali ran red with rivers of blood, but no one came to help. There was no international intervention in Rwanda, no expeditionary forces, no coalition of the willing. There was no international aid for Rwanda. Rwanda's Hutu extremists slaughtered their Tutsi neighbors and any moderate Hutus who stood in their way, and the world left them to it.

G.W.C.Y.L. is a Christian support group for recovering alcoholics and addicts. We share our experience, strength and hope with one another to help solve our common problem and to enhance our personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We use God's Word and the Twelve Steps of Recovery, believing that Scripture and the Twelve Steps are important healing tools. If we regularly apply these tools to our lives, we open ourselves to God's healing love and grace.

Monday Nights 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Greater Shiloh Church The Enrichment Center Easton, PA

Thursday Nights 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. St. Paul's Lutheran Church 8th * Walnut Street Allentown, PA

The Community Action Development Corporation of Allentown (CADCA) will begin its fourteenth (14th) Start Your Business program on Monday, February 14, 2005 and will be held Monday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 for 20 consecutive weeks at The Lehigh County Government Center, 17 S 7th Street, Allentown.

A fee of $64.00 is payable at the third session but will be refunded upon completion of the program. This entrepreneurial training program was created for people of low- or moderate-income who are thinking about starting a business or expanding their current business in center city Allentown.

The course begins with a three-week preparatory segment called 'Getting Ready for Business', in which participants will have the opportunity to assess their entrepreneurial skills, the soundness of their business idea, and their readiness to start a business within six months to one year after completing the program.

The program focuses on all the essential aspects of starting a business, such as marketing, finance, management and legal issues. Students will learn the tools for business success, ranging from market research and promotion to record keeping and cash flow projections. The class format will be a two-hour combination of lectures and workshops. Local, successful business owners will bring their experience and expertise to each session. By the end of the program each participant will be expected to have completed a business plan which will qualify him or her to apply for a 'microloan' to help start or expand their business. The Start Your Business Program is part of CADCA's mission to assist and promote neighborhood revitalization and community spirit by providing access to economic opportunity, creating and sustaining businesses owned and operated by neighbors. CADCA is a subsidiary of the Community Action Committee of Lehigh Valley. To register, please call Alicia Keegan, Business Development Director, at (610) 433-5703.

• Worship Services: Sundays at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.
• Bible Study: Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 19, 2004 Join us as we celebrate Christmas through a unique dramatic experience. This year's Christmas production, "Give Hope On Christmas", will incorporate music, dance, poetry, and biblical principles. This is an event the whole family can enjoy. The play will start at 6:00pm with doors opening at 5:30pm. Entrance is free; however, there will be a free will offering.

Friday, December 31, 2004 New Year's Eve Watch Night Service at 10:00 p.m. New Year's Eve Celebration for Teens - 10:00pm at Shiloh Enrichment Center. Music, prizes, food, and much more. For details call 610.252.5640.

January 20-22, 2005 Women of Excellence Conference - Beauty and the Beast - ...there is a another law at work within me that is at war with my mind....Romans 7:23 Featuring Prophetess Juanita Bynum-Weeks, Evangelist Shirley Graham and Pastor Wynell Freeman. There will be morning workshops and evening services. For more information, call (610) 252-5640

Lehigh Valley Black News Network (www.lvbnn.com) is an informative eNewsletter designed to inform you about events and information related to the connection and inclusion of Black / African American communities throughout the Lehigh Valley and the State of Pennsylvania.

LV BNN is distributed twice a month to over 2500 responsive email readers from the Lehigh Valley Region, parts of Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Reading Pennsylvania.