Outreach : Guest Dr. Tom Barton and Rev. Ron Carpenter
Welcome to momentum. I am Wendy Walden. Today I am speaking with two non-profit organizations about community outreach initiatives within Greenville County. I am joined with Dr. Tom Barton, President of Greenville Technical College and Pastor Ron Carpenter from Redemption World Outreach Center. For those who are not familiar with Redemption, they are a multi-cultural mega church with a membership base of over 11,000 people. It is perhaps one of the largest churches in the state of South Carolina. Welcome Dr. Barton, Pastor Ron
Pastor Ron: Absolutely, great to be here.
Dr. Barton: it is nice to be here Wendy
Wendy: Thank you for the opportunity. Let me ask you, both of you have a need and that is to meet a need of the community of the Upstate. Dr. Barton, you through higher education and through training for work force; to meet work force development needs. Pastor Ron you through ministries as well as helping inter-city families. Let's start with you what is your vision for empowerment to break down social economic barriers in the community as far as education is concerned and training?
Pastor Ron: Our vision is the holistic ministry. We have a very active church. A part of our general theme, the thread that runs through our church is not just attending but it is to being active in our area of giftness and because of that we have great tentacles into the community of Greenville and really a lot of the most hurting communities, the most impoverished, the most of the high school drop out rate is the greatest, gang related activity and people who has somewhat found themselves locked in a certain level of life. What we have tried to do is to put together systems and programs and ministries, not to just to go and give them a ministry message. I feel like if I have given you hope through any preaching or teaching that has inspired you and caused hope to arise but then have no opportunity, I frustrated you. So we are trying to put together systems in place that will take somebody at any point of life that they are presently living whether they are in a reentry program; whether they come out of an addictive life style or whether what I would call a misplaced worker. In other words, Greenville has changed. Maybe they have to be re-educated to be part of the work force. People who need to finish their schooling. We have put those systems together and tried to take it to them. In other words, we have something that will carry you; you don't have to come press through it. If you just get on it, it will move you and in doing that Greenville Tech has become an absolute strategic part of what we are doing because we don't want to re-event the wheel at what Greenville Technology is already doing excellently and has been doing it for years.
Wendy: Absolutely, now you teach through empowerment and motivation and you give them some vehicle propel them if you will to the next step and Greenville Tech like you said, has been instrumental in that process. Talk to us a little bit about your job connection services. You have some strategic partnerships in the community, some business partners and organizations to help to find placements of jobs with people through that service. Tell us a little about that.
Pastor Ron: Well, we not only have worked with Greenville Tech and Quick jobs and some other job services which here again these strategic partnerships. We do have favor with several businesses and some relationships are stronger with some than others; the postal service, BMW, just to name a few. Many times during seasonal hiring’s and things like that they know that we have our hands on the part of the community that really needs jobs. And many times when they have these entry level jobs, they will notify our job offices. We have literally in our services ask for people to come forward at the end of the service who may need of a job or some type of employment and not only do we have a chance by virtue of being a ministry we certainly pray for them but then we take them right out to our corridor to our job services office and sometimes through the relationships we have with businesses and other organizations, we have sometimes have one hundred to two hundred jobs available immediately. And last year we were graced to be able to put 1100 precious people in first time jobs.
Wendy: If that is not helping the community, I don't know what is. Now I have to say we have had people who have come through our employee readiness program and we have sent them over to your job connection services and their very successful in finding employment so again thank you.
Pastor Ron: nods
Wendy: Dr. Barton, let's talk a little bit about a dental program. We have an outreach program which is a mobile dental unit which goes into inter-cities. Tell us about that.
Dr. Barton: Well first I would like to welcome you and second time today.
Pastor Ron: thank you
Dr. Barton: Its nice to have you. I was delighted to hear your comments about the programs you have taken advantage of right here.
Pastor Ron: Yes sir.
Dr. Barton: Especially, the quick jobs that’s a unique program that’s a program for a certain group of people and they really need that particular program, I can assure you.
Pasto Ron: And it has serviced well.
Dr. Barton: With all these textile industries that has moved on, they left back behind them huge numbers of people that probably had basically had an 8th grade education and that’s really tough on a community.
Pastor Ron: Yes sir
Dr. Barton: and we came up with this program maybe five or six years ago and they have touched thousands of people helping get jobs same thing you doing, same thing.
Pastor Ron: Right and our ministry really, for whatever reason has taken on the nature of ministering to those type people but I can employ them so we have been able to partner with you. I tell you it has been a great service to some people who at times that have been desperate, desperate need.
Dr. Barton: We know that and we appreciate it and respect what you are trying to do.
Pastor Ron: yes sir
Dr. Barton: we really do. Now to answer the question, Wendy on the dental. There is a lot of poverty in this community.
Wendy: Sure
Dr. Barton: a lot of poverty, people don't see that much but we have done enough research to know it is real and it is out there. And we are working with the St. Frances hospital with this unit we refer to. It was very expensive to buy to start with. I think it was somewhere around half million dollars.
Wendy: And this is the medical dental unit we are talking about?
Dr. Barton: that’s right. It is equipped with latest technology and x-ray and everything
Wendy: and dental chairs
Dr. Barton: Yes, and it is really incredible with what they have done with it. And what we have said look don't let that thing parked to long.
Wendy: right
Dr. Barton: Let's get it out there where these kids are. There are kids out there that never have had their teeth inspected in any way.
Wendy: sure
Dr. Barton: and to x-ray their teeth and to get a trained dentist for free.
Wendy: That’s right
Dr. Barton: for free, these dentists work for free to do this. We have to admire them for doing it and we have been very successful with it so far with this particular project. It kind of paving the way for projects for us, we are looking number of things there we are looking to in the future to broaden getting to the people who need it the most.
Wendy: absolutely
Dr. Barton: that’s what we are talking about
Wendy: And what so great about that program Dr. Barton is that it goes into communities that are improvised like you just said.
Dr. Barton: That’s right, that’s right
Wendy: But also for people who don't have insurance, the uninsured, the under insured and also the people who don't have Medicaid which is very important so it sort of goes back to what you were saying.
Dr. Barton: Excuse me for interrupting but the beauty is when the do those x-rays and there being done by competent dentists. They are not dental hygienist that get into that. We take dental hygienist on board
Wendy: Right
Dr. Barton: but when these people get through and are identified some problems with the teeth after the x-rays, then they refer these people and they can get the work done for free.
Wendy: Wow
Dr. Barton: You can’t beat that system and I think that we are doing it for the people who really need it the most in this particular case.
Wendy: absolutely
Dr. Barton: It is just so much of that in this community. People out there say gee I did not realize we had all this poverty. Well it is out there
Wendy: It is out there
Pastor Ron: Yes sir
Dr. Barton: It definitely is out there
Wendy: and this forum is the perfect forum to get the word out in the community that we do have these services
Dr. Barton: yes
Wendy: Through the church as well as through Greenville Tech to provide the services and again to meet the needs of the community.
Dr. Barton: And if we go to a community and work on these kids at that age, somewhere like six to twelve, whatever the age brackets are.
Wendy: Sure
Dr. Barton: A lot of those same kids are going to hear Greenville Tech for the first time
Wendy: That’s right
Dr. Barton: and when they go the o school somewhere we hope they do, and then somewhere down the road. They are going hear that and they will think about this school and we hope it will be a recruiting tool for us in the future, to get them out here.
Wendy: absolutely
Dr. Barton: Wendy you mentioned something that I always like to say here. And anybody that is watching this program, please hear this and he has trouble with it in his church I know. I heard him talking about it. Young people today that have not been out in the real world as the saying goes are intimated by something this big or maybe a church the size of yours. I can't imagine your church is 11, 12,000 people?
Pastor Ron: Yes sir
Dr. Barton: Gee, that’s, I doubt few people even know the size of your church
Pastor Ron: it has become a large place
Dr. Barton: yea, you better believe it has and it has been a lot of hard work to get it there. We know that side of it too.
Wendy: Absolutely. Dr. Barton let's change gears a moment and talk about the bridge agreement. This is another perfect example of you trying to look after the community and children in the community. Once they complete their associates degree they can continue on for another two years.
Dr. Barton: yes, yes
Wendy: at a four year institution, tell us about that
Dr. Barton: that was the whole concept to start with. Back in 1972, quickly here, prior to 72 we did not have any collegiate college level courses here that could transfer to major universities, none. The law passed in 72 and we implemented that program shortly there after. It has grown a vertical pattern ever since. This fall there are over four thousand people in our system that is preparing themselves to go to a four year university somewhere when they leave here. A lot of people don't know all this. They don't know that we have all that we have so we said look the first thing we are going to do and we ran into this in a manner that we could easily see that it was a problem. Some of these people coming in fifteen, twenty years ago would come into the school take their courses and transferring to these big universities they would not take all their credits. They would say gee what is the matter with you people. Well we found out they just did not think all of our standards, accreditations, and all the things we have to meet were up to standards and people just really didn’t know. So we got busy and said okay we are going to change that. We are going to go to them. We are going to show them. We are going to bring them to us and see what they are doing. All of a sudden and we were going over the whole state. We meet with five of the black universities, historical, black historical universities and that was an interesting trip for us to meet those presidents of those schools. A lot of them came themselves to see what was up here. They didn’t even know. I mean. You can see why their workings in their own venue sort to speak and they are taking care of that and they did not know what we were doing. All of a sudden we ended up with about twelve new universities opened up bridge program which means simply that if someone comes here they take a course or associate degree or whatever is a credit type program. They can transfer that back to all of those schools with no questions asked. With no questions ask, we got an agreement on that. We signed it.
Wendy; It is a wonderful program
Dr. Barton: and got the University of South Carolina in two places in Columbia and over in Spartanburg, USC Upstate. We got Francis Marion. We have college of Charlestown, across the state. We have the medical university. I don't know that there is any left out.
Wendy: I think It is a great program Dr. Barton, I might add, it is a wonderful program. Let's change gears a little bit and talk about what are the major needs of the community. And that is children from families or parents; where mother, father, brother, sister have not completed their high school education or receive a GED. How do we break the generational curse where we can encourage these young people to go on so they don't have to be a product of their environment but more so how do we motivate them to understand and that there is more out there?
Pastor Ron: I would like to respond to that. Number one, I can tell you from my view point. Dr. Barton may tell you from a little bit of a different perspective but from my view point the person who is like that is usually deals with some level of embarrassment. There is usually some level of embarrassment of something they didn’t complete. A lot of times it was not their fault. Family issues mediated immediately started working and never went back. There are a lot of different reasons that can cause that effect on a person’s life. But number two, I think they feel if a lot of time elapses that it is too late to go back and rectify that. And another one, they are working somewhere and say how can I find the time to do it. Here again, we just had a Greenville Tech awareness day at our church. We had two services. We took our entire gym, amazing how we opened it up, how Greenville Tech awareness day. And Dr. Barton I am sure this just happened so I am not sure if the numbers have reached your desk. If I heard right from my reports there were over six hundred people went and signed some type of paper saying they either wanted more information or something and my understanding is that almost two hundred of those were to finish high school.
Wendy: absolutely, the GED program
Pastor Ron: so we removed the intimidation and then what was so comforting to people was that there are courses offered in morning, noon, evening and night.
Wendy: that’s right.
Pasto Ron: So no matter where you are in life, there is something at Greenville Tech to accommodate you. You just don't find that in a lot of places what you have here. Again hats off for what Greenville Tech has been able to provide and build through the years and it is something that we can immediately just take our people and begin to assemble them to but that’s a lot of people in one day that want interest in what does Greenville Tech do.
Wendy: Sure
Dr. Barton: That is really incredible to good to hear such a thing, and I appreciate your comment you just covered there. I really do
Wendy: but how do we get to the children how do we change environment and that mindset with children
Dr. Barton: well you can start out with churches. That is a very good base to start from. You can start out with community organization. You got to mobilize all these people. You can start out with volunteers you would be surprised. You would be surprised if you said we got an area in Greenville and we need fifty volunteers. We need some kind of experience in the following areas. How many would apply
Wendy: absolutely
Dr. Barton: you go retired people all over the place looking for something to help people basically. You can use that group to help you get off the ground. You can use institutions like this and like his. Of course, we just got to get out there. They won't come to us. The people we are talking about them get here.
Pastor Ron: That is an excellent point.
Dr. Barton: They won't get here. We've seen it down through the years. We got to go to them and we have to convince them that you need additional education that you need stay in high school, you need to not fail. If you drop out of high school you need to find a way to get a GED because otherwise you will come up short at every where you go.
Wendy: do you think some of this should reside in churches that go out reach initiatives more and more or this more.
Pastor Ron: I believe, I have a strong belief that every church ought to be involved in their community. We are more of; we have become more of a state wide church. We do a lot of meeting with governors and senators this and that and the other because we are trying to remodel some of the services we provide into Columbia, Charleston and surrounding areas. but every church whether its a smaller church or larger church it does not matter there is need in their community. And I think it is up to that church to keep the services that it is not just available by the church but anybody within the certain locale like at Greenville Tech. We got to keep it in front of the people. Like he said a lot of people don't come to you so what do you got to do you have to find a way to take it to them. We have, Dr. Barton may not know this, there are about two thousand outreach children we run our buses, 23 busses into the intercity and bring them in on Saturday, every Saturday. Not counting another 1800 that already come to our church. There’s about four thousand kids from your elementary age up to high school. Four thousand kids we have influence with. I want them to know Greenville Tech is an option.
Wendy: Sure
Pastor Ron: I don't want them to be released into the work force unskilled and a lot of people think college is so expensive and moving away from home not knowing that I think we have one of the best technical schools in the nation in your back yard. It is very affordable and there have been many scholarships awarded to people who have come through Redemption Outreach and we have been able to scholarships are some difficult situations and these are people whose lives have been changed. We are talking about people who have moved from a welfare system to home ownership.
Wendy: Absolutely
Pastor Ron: By virtue of the training they got at this institution so we are dong all we can. I almost am a preacher for Greenville Tech
All: laugh
Pastor Ron: you know because they say I don't have this skill or I used to be textiles and now everything changed and I am no longer marketable in Greenville. I say well let's get reeducated. Well they say I can't go all four years and I say well you can do this in one year.
Wendy: or through the quick jobs we have 30, 60, 90 day programs
Pastor Ron: there you go, immediately
Dr. Barton: you said something earlier, I just wanted to emphasis. You touch on the term flexibility for programs. These people all work and if we don't adjust our schedules they are not going to get her. Now if you give them eight to ten options they won't get here. The fastest growing one right now is on line education. They can do at home on the computer.
Wendy: there is virtually no reason why someone could not go back to school
Dr. Barton: there is something here for everyone. He said it and we going
Wendy: that’s right
Dr. Barton: I can pay you if you keep on saying it
All: laugh
Wendy: Well pastor Ron and Dr. Barton thank you very much chatting with us on this important issue that affects our community. I appreciate your time.
Pastor Ron: I am honored to be here.
Dr. Barton: We are honored to have you.
Wendy: thank you
Wendy: absolutely and thank you for watching momentum. We will see you next time