Linkages to Learning - Adventist Community Services of Greater

October 2013
A dve n t i s t C o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e s
o f G r e a t e r Wa s h i n g t o n
ACSGW W ELCOMES N EW
E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR
Introducing Sheila Schlisner Hendricks,
Executive Director
T
wo thousand thirteen finds ACSGW with a new
Executive Director. Sheila Schlisner Hendricks joined
us last February and will be a vital asset in guiding our
efforts with renewed energy. A human services professional, Sheila has a wealth of non-profit experience. She is the
former Executive Director of Good Neighbor Community
Sheila Schlisner Hendricks
Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her experience includes case
management and advocacy; and having come from an impoverished background
herself, Sheila has a real passion to help the disadvantaged. “God allowed that my
(Continued on Page 4)
ACSGW S PORTS N EW L OGO
AND T AGLINE
ACSGW’s New Tagline Helps Articulate Our
Mission—Helping People Help Themselves.
A
new logo representing ACSGW’s values has been
designed as well as a new tagline. ACSGW strives
to emphasize that people of any religious affiliation are
eligible for assistance and considers the
community as a whole, believing that
helping the less fortunate will, in turn,
help the entire community.
The three-year-old son of an ACSGW
constituent, left, helps show off the new
banner, which was provided by Advent Source in
Nebraska. The banner will be used at fundraising and
other events.
ACSGW A SSISTS T WENTY -S EVEN F AMILIES A FTER
A PARTMENT F IRE
O
n August 26 a fire at Forest Park Apartments in Silver Spring, Maryland, displaced over a hundred people.
With the excellent response of the Silver Spring Fire and Rescue Service, everyone was rescued. While no
lives were lost, the fire caused enormous damage to the building. After the fire the building was uninhabitable,
and residents lost all of their belongings. As the residents attempted to relocate, ACSGW became the lead
organization in collecting funds for fire victims. Generous donations enabled us to help 27 families with emergency
assistance. We are proud to have been of service to the community during this crisis.
A B IG ASCGW T HANK Y OU
TO O UR V OLUNTEERS !
P INEY B RANCH E LEMENTARY
S CHOOL P OOL R EOPENS
Under agreement with
Montgomery County,
ACSGW has managed the
swimming pool located
within Piney Branch
Elementary School since
2009. The pool was closed
due to a school construction project from June 14
until its reopening,
September 8.
Our Volunteers in 2013 are Super-Achievers!
What have they accomplished you might ask?
They’ve helped with case work, administrative
tasks, technology improvements, process
improvements, media production, reorganization,
and education of adults as well as children. They
are the lifeblood of our efforts to meet
immediate needs and to provide sustained
support that will improve the quality of life in our
community. They’ve been Helping People Help
Themselves!
The swimming pool programs are the major part of
ACSGW’s health and wellness initiative. Pool hours
are M-Th 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Fri 6:30 am to 8:30
am, Saturday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Sun 8 am to
8:00 pm.
They CARE and they give with loving-kindness.
A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as
being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass
as half full. But a giving person sees a glass of
water and starts looking for someone who might
be thirsty. —G. Thomas Gale
Come by for a swim. For lessons or pool rentals call
Joyce Seamens, Pool Manager, at 301-565-0190, or
send an email to JoyceS@acsgw.org.
Volunteers don't just do the work ~ they make it
work. —Carol Pettit
ACSGW’ S S EVEN S UPPORTING C HURCHES
Silver Spring Seventh Day Adventist Church, Silver Spring, MD
Beltsville Seventh Day Adventist Church, Beltsville, MD
Sligo Seventh Day Adventist Church, Takoma Park, MD
Burnt Mills Seventh Day Adventist Church, Silver Spring, MD
Takoma Park Seventh Day Adventist Church, Washington, DC
Hyattsville Seventh Day Adventist Church, Hyattsville, MD
Triadelphia Seventh Day Adventist Church, Clarksville, MD
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ACSGW N OW O FFERS C LASSES
D IVERSE L ANGUAGES
IN
R
osa Diaz, Site Coordinator for Linkages to Learning at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School, gets
emotional, she says, when asked about students who recently completed the Introduction to Computers
class at ACSGW. The class was the very first Introduction to Computers class taught in Spanish at ACSGW. Rosa was
responsible for placing parents of at-risk children in her school community in the class.
“Before taking the class,
many of them didn’t know
any basics at all, even how
to turn on a computer.”
Linkages to Learning is a collaborative, school-based partnership among the
Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services,
Montgomery County Public Schools, public and private agencies, and families
and communities assisting at-risk students and their parents. ACSGW and
Linkages agreed to pilot the 6-month program starting January 2013.
During a recent interview Diaz also shared how proud she feels when seeing parents “happy and more
independent,” going on to say that “they are very humble, simple people and are extremely grateful for the opportunity. Now those parents feel they are living according to the times,” added Rosa. “Before taking the class, many
of them didn’t know any basics at all, even how to turn on a computer. Now they can Google, job search, help their
kids with school work and be more productive in their small
businesses. Their kids are excited too,” she offered, “with comments such as ‘I can’t believe my Mom is doing PowerPoint!’
These parents now feel more empowered.”
Funding provided currently by Linkages covers about 50% of the
actual cost of the program.
As a direct result of the success of the Linkages to Learning
effort, ACSGW is working collaboratively with other groups and
has increased the number and variety of its education/job training programs to include GED preparation and technology
programs taught in the most prevalent languages of our diverse
community.
New classes offered are:
 GED Preparation taught in Spanish
 Introduction to Computers taught in Spanish
 Introduction to Computers taught in Amharic
 Introduction to Computers taught in Mandarin
Graduates of the First Spanish
Introduction to Computer Class at ACSGW
FROM LEFT, FIRST ROW: Victoria Lopez, Johana
Lopez, Rosalina Bravo. SECOND ROW: Maria Ixquiac,
Cecilia Santos, Luvia Perez. THIRD ROW: Carmen
Mercedes Luna, Blanca Herrera, Rosmery Saravia,
Ana del Carmen Lopez. BACK ROW: Kevin Ferguson,
Education Director, and Rosy Aguayo, Instructor
Donors and sponsors are needed to cover the entire cost of these
programs!
CONTACTS: The following staff members may be contacted by calling 301 -585-6556.
Sheila Schlisner Hendricks, Executive Director
Pat Tyser, Administrative Officer
Vee Akehurst, Executive Assistant, Case Management
Kevin Ferguson, Education Programs, IT Administration
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John Reed, Housing
Alicia Tucker, Communications Specialist
Joyce Seamens, Food, Clothing, Health and Wellness
(Continued from Page 1)
personal experiences include extended periods of scarcity and that, in turn, has allowed me to truly understand
the plight of those who walk through the doors of ACSGW.”
ACSGW “Reboots” in 2013
ACSGW has adopted a holistic approach to serving our clients. Beyond providing emergency assistance we offer
programs that will enable our clients to become self-sufficient. To that end Sheila instituted a “rebooting” program on her arrival.
A new client database was introduced to enable better case management. A donor relationship management
system, which was designed for nonprofits, will allow for consolidation of donor information, streamlined communications, mass mailings and more.
While continuing with our core programs in 2013, ACSGW hopes to expand the scope of our services with new
programs and partnerships. “Our partnership with Linkages to Learning (a collaborative school-based partnership among the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Montgomery County Public
Schools, public and private agencies, families and communities assisting at-risk students and their parents)
allowed us to begin offering computer classes in Spanish,” Hendricks stated. ACSGW is now offering classes in
diverse languages such as GED Preparation in Spanish and Introduction to Computers in Spanish, Mandarin and
Amharic. (See related article on Page 3.)
Please check out the re-designed ACSGW website at www.acsgw.org. ACSGW also sports a newly designed logo
that we feel reflects our mission. “Our goal is to really be a “hand up,” not just a “hand out,” says Hendricks. She
concludes, “We’re people helping people help themselves.”
Pat Tyser, Administrative Officer
H
oliday Food Distribution
Please help with the holiday food distribution.
ACSGW will participate as part of the
Montgomery County Holiday Giving Project.
ACSGW needs your help. Please give
today by visiting our website
www.acsgw.org, or mail a donation
to:
This year we will be expanding our participation to
include the December holiday as well as Thanksgiving. To make a
monetary donation, please visit our website at www.acsgw.org; or
you may mail a check to Adventist Community Services, 501 Sligo
Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
ACSGW
501 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Thank you for your generosity!
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