ADVANCE MEMPHIS

Advance Memphis – Teaching men how to fish…

We have all heard the saying, “Give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach a man how to fish you feed him for life.” It’s one of those old sayings so familiar that we often forget the wisdom it represents. If you closely examine the poorest neighborhoods in our city you will often find that many of its residents are trapped in a welfare system that hands out lots of fish but rarely teaches anyone how to find those fish for themselves. I say trapped because many of our poorer neighborhoods are filled with 2nd, 3rd and even 4th generation welfare recipients. What chance does a child have to become a productive citizen if it has absolutely no frame of reference of what hard work, savings and sacrifice are? One of those 4th generation welfare communities is the 38126 zip code in downtown. Known as the Foote/Cleaborn homes community it is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States. 70% of its residents are unemployed, 60% don’t own a car, 50% don’t have a high school diploma. Thankfully for this neighborhood there is an organization with a heart for its people and a mission to break the welfare cycle its residents find themselves in and replace it with a culture of productivity and self worth.

Advance Memphis serves ADULTS in the Foote/Cleaborn homes community by helping residents acquire knowledge, resources and skills to be economically self sufficient through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I highlighted the word adults because so many ministries rightfully focus on youth, but in a 4th generation welfare neighborhood sometimes the best way to serve the youth is by empowering the adults to become productive citizens who in turn become role models for the areas children. Now teaching adults as opposed to children presents a lot of challenges. Many of Advances students have been living the welfare lifestyle for so long that the old habits can be hard to break. As Steve Nash the ministries executive director says “character and integrity aren’t pills we swallow they are traits we develop.” That’s one of the reasons why relationship development is a foundation of the Advance mission. The leaders at Advance know that to truly change lives they need to get to know the person, love the person, sacrificially invest in the person and be there for the long haul to help the person back up if they fall. Here are some of the ways Advance knows, loves, invests and supports the students that go through the program.

The Jobs for Life program is a program that teaches financial freedom and computer literacy. The class guides leads and inspires its participants to find and keep meaningful employment. G.E.D. tutoring is also a big focus of Advance. Passing the G.E.D. is a first step leading to more education and employment opportunities. Advance also has an on site outsourcing program. This gives Advance students “real world” experience in a teaching environment. Students participating in the outsourcing program learn things like the importance of productivity, punctuality, leadership and safety while also pulling down an hourly rate. A.L.L Steps is an ongoing part of the ministry that encourages graduates to stay involved, keep learning and most importantly serve as role models to new students. My favorite program of Advance is its IDA Development Program. IDA’s are special savings accounts that graduates invests in and the ministry puts $2 in the account for every $1 the graduate puts in! That’s what I call a nice return on investment! The money in these accounts can only be used for 3 things, the purchase of a house or car, starting a small business or obtaining a degree. The goal is to increase net worth through the habit of saving. In a neighborhood that many of its residents have no or negative net worth this is a fantastic incentive to turn that around.

At Advance there are lots of ways for you to help out. Job coaching, counseling, speakers, prayer partners, tutors, preparing meals and financial contributions are just some of the ways you can serve a much under served part of our community. Do you own a business? If so think about hiring an Advance graduate. Your company will be getting a person trained in how to make themselves valuable to an employer. Giving somebody a fish will feed them for a day. That’s a good thing. Teaching someone how to fish will feed them for life and that’s a great thing!

To learn more about Advance Memphis check out their website at www.advancememphis.org