Abilene Core Community

One of the first three projects that the members of CARES Coalition of Dickinson County worked on was the Abilene Core Community project.  This program is derived from Youth Core Ministries, and it is a specific program that focuses on helping individuals and families develop skills to break the cycle of poverty.  In this program, poverty is not only defined by a lack of financial resources, which is instantly what people think of first when they hear the word poverty.  Instead, it is defined as “anywhere a person lacks a resource”.  Core Community identifies the following ways in which a person can be impoverished:
 

How Does It Work?

• Individuals and families will enroll in a 22-week program.   
• Once the enrollment reaches 25 members that particular class is closed.  The 25 members will bond over 22 weeks.  The idea behind the closed session is to enable the enrolled members to build trusting friendships and create a strong support system within the group.  Working through the program can uncover personal details that individuals and families would rather not share in any other setting.  A sense of support, trust, and security is imperative to the success of the program.
• Enrolled members meet weekly. 
• Children are welcome as there are caregivers and a meal is provided.

What Does the Program Look Like?

• Enrolled members are called "Core Leaders" because they will lead themselves out of poverty.  They will learn to build financial, emotional, and social resources, as well as an Economic Stability Plan.
• Enrolled members will partner with trained middle-to-high-income community volunteers, called "Core Friends", who support a Core Leader's efforts through networking, listening, and guidance.
• Attend weekly community meetings with peers, Core Friends, and other interested community members for planning, support, and networking opportunities, and support each other through discussions around systemic barriers to escaping poverty and the strategies needed to remove them. 

Core Community is a weekly evening program.

Weekly Meetings
Enrolled members meet each week on Mondays at 5:30 p.m.  The weekly program starts with a family-style meal provided to our families.
At 6:15 our families' children go to childcare where they experience fun activities with caring adult volunteers during which time enrolled members of the program join together to share their lives and grow together through various curriculums and programming.

How to sign up for the Abilene Core Community program:

Join the next 22-week program!  Please contact any of the following individuals to get more information.

Cindy Whittington 785-200-5012
Crystal Radenburg 785-280-0388

At the heart, we are creating a safe place of unconditional love and non-judgement.

In the safety, in the community, all who come to the table are changed forever.