On Monday, The Selma Housing Authority Job Plus Program partnered with Complete 3 Tech Solutions and several neighboring businesses to kick off its 2nd annual community training bootcamp. | The Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information By Faith Callens Special to the Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information On Monday, The Selma Housing Authority Jobs Plus Program partnered with a Birmingham-based computer support company called Complete 3 Tech Solutions to bring a free technology training to its residents, equipping them with the skills needed for today’s workforce. Through the C3TS program’s partnership, residents of the GWC community alongside the Felix Heights community could take advantage of the hands-on basic technology classes offered through a quick sign-up process held at the SHA’s Job Plus office at 414 Martin Luther King Street. “Through our program, we offer three courses,” said C3TS Executive Director Chris White. “Technology 101: Computer Basics, Technology 102: Digital Skills for Work and Life and Technology 103: Workplace Technology and Career Readiness.” White said the classes can give residents who sign up an opportunity to learn more about technology and its benefits while ensuring that they have the foundational skills down pack. “[We want] to make residents feel good about working with a computer, laptop or a tablet,” White said. “Then from there, we build our customized tracks for you. So, if you want to learn how to utilize AI for certain things, we help you with that. If you want to go into computer programming, cyber security, graphic designing or whatever in the space within IT because it’s so broad, we can help you find out your interest level and we are able to customize a good service track for you so that you can get the certification that you need.” White said each course that the residents take will be set up for three weeks and that they will meet twice a week. “We will meet and have a morning class and afternoon class, and we will discuss materials for two hours in the morning or two hours in the afternoon,” White said. “Residents can choose either option and we will be in training for three weeks, then we will take a week off and come back for another three weeks and then we would have the week off again for the next one. These will be hands-on classes for the first area and after that we will set up the hybrid or remote classes that will be more specialized with what each individual resident is looking for.” White also said residents who are interested in the technology training program must be 18 years old or older. In addition to White’s technology program, businesses such as Wallace Community College Selma, CarePro Community Health and Education Services, and Rise and Recover: Substance Use Recovery Services including several others engaged with SHA residents, sharing information about their services and how they can benefit them in the long run. SHA intake coordinator Kewanda Vandiver also spoke to the residents as well. “I work along with the Jobs Plus Program, and we know that a part of their commitment to the community is to bring resources to the tenants of GWC and Felix heights and so one of the resources that I provide is being an intake coordinator with them,” Vandiver said. “When residents come to see the case manager, I also grab them, and I sit down with them and assess what’s going on in their life. I gather information from them and with that information, it gives me a snippet of if some things are going on in the background that we need to dig a little bit more deeper in.” Vandiver said if she senses areas of need when talking to the residents, she will provide them with self-care tips, ways to help them manage stages of grief including providing other ways of support any way she can through her business, Designed to Uplift. On Tuesday and Wednesday, The SHA Job Plus Program hosted presentation days for the participating businesses, allowing them to highlight their services to the SHA community. The sessions held also gave residents who attended the presentation days an opportunity to ask questions, receive in person guidance and have a possible brighter outlook on their future. Job Plus Director Sandra Russell said she is proud of how the partnership with Complete 3 Tech Solutions and the other participating businesses has turned out. “It has been awesome,” said Russell. “We have had a lot of residents come out to participate in the program and sign up. I think this partnership will help them down the road because our program helps break barriers that they may run into trying to gain employment.” Russell said if there are any residents who would like to still sign up for the technology program or learn more about the other businesses’ that were present at the presentation day to contact their Job Plus office at 334-874-6271, ext. 309.

This week, The City of Selma partnered with the Selma AmeriCorps Neighborhood Development Initiative Program to host its annual AmeriCorps Week. | The Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information By Faith Callens Special to The Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information This week, The City of Selma partnered with the Selma AmeriCorps Neighborhood Development Initiative Program to host its annual AmeriCorps Week. The Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information also participated in their week to showcase the members of AmeriCorps and their efforts to beautify the city of Selma. AmeriCorps Week is a nationwide celebration of national service that highlights the measurable impact of AmeriCorps members while they focus on strengthening communities through workforce development, hands on service and civic engagement, according to the Selma AmeriCorps Director Jasmine Robinson. On Monday, March 9, the Selma AmeriCorps Program started their week off with the theme “Member Monday” that focused on the fundamentals of community capacity building through its initial revitalization training held at city hall. The training consisted of members learning their role in neighborhood restoration and economic development while simultaneously learning how to utilize the proper tools to get the beautification experience started in the city of Selma. On Tuesday, March 10, the program held its second day of service through its theme called “Testimony Tuesday” where there was a resident- led revitalization day. The day consisted of the Selma AmeriCorps team partnering together with residents to beautify Broad Street, Washington Street including Riverfront Park by adding new and improved street gardens in Downtown Selma. On Wednesday, March 11, the members of the program specifically continued beautifying those streets and they added one more street to the beautification experience, which was the city’s historic Water Avenue. As the team gathered the mulch for each street and the flower baskets to improve the street gardens, the team honored their Wednesday theme called “Working Together Wednesday” by putting forth a collaborative effort to stay on task and work together. AmeriCorps member Tammi Holley said during the city beautification efforts Wednesday that she has been a part of the Selma AmeriCorps Program before, back in 2001, and has decided to come to back to assist the program through her job, mStreet Fiber Alabama, LLC. “We’re building a fiber network here that’s going to stretch across 13 counties and Dallas County is our first flagship area,” Holley said. “With us being a part of the community, this is one of the things that we are trying to do, and we will continue to do.” Holley said with mStreet Fiber Alabama, LLC, she is the digital equity manager, who would tell anyone interested in the Selma AmeriCorps Program that it is truly a service opportunity. “If you are looking for something to do or don’t know how to get involved into the community and want to volunteer and just do not know where to start,” Holley said. “AmeriCorps is a good opportunity for you to start. Then that way, you can get yourself acclimated with the area that you are in and be a servant for your people.” About 28 members from the Selma AmeriCorps team helped with the beautification project for the city of Selma. The City of Selma’s Planning and Development Community Engagement Coordinator Tasha Dangerfield said the efforts of the beautification projects should not just rely on the members alone. “We would love to have more community participation too,” Dangerfield said. “What I notice is that we always have a bunch of people saying what Selma needs and what can be done and like what we should do but just like today, the weather is decent. Yesterday, the weather was decent too and we had 28 members out here working hard to beautify Selma. So, I feel like the community too, should have enough pride and say, “you know, let me get out and help, even if it’s just two plants.” Dangerfield said it takes a team to make some differences happen in the city of Selma. AmeriCorps member Jayden Robinson said that the three core values the organization stands upon is to revitalize, recharge and restore. “That’s our theme for this week,” Dangerfield said. “What I have noticed with the members is that they work well in teams. So, teamwork is another component. They also can do critical thinking to figure out the task and what do we need to do to make sure we execute the job and get it finished. Overall, they have worked well together.” Dangerfield also said another skillset that was developed by the team was conflict resolution. “It’s like when one team member has an idea about something and another team member feels like their idea can work too, but at the end of the day, they finally come to one idea and a mutual agreement,” Dangerfield said. “So, that’s been good.” Dangerfield also said when the members can come together and critically work things out, she feels it gives them a sense of pride too. “When they get done and they ride down the street, they will be able to see and say, “That this is my work. This is my hand and that I took my personal time, got in and put my hands in the soil of Selma to make it look better,” Dangerfield said. “So, in a sense, too, it’s planting seeds of love while putting a little bit of themselves into this space. So with these projects that’s the same thing that I do. It’s planting seeds of hope, showing that this city is worthy and deserving of a better name. It stood for so much. But even with the civil rights and all of that, there’s so much more to Selma. It’s arts, its people, great culinary skills, history, all kinds of amazing people that come from this space and people that come into this space. I’m one of the implants and I’ve come here and it’s like I found my way. So, it’s a wonderful place and a unique gem.” Dangerfield and AmeriCorps member Jayden Robinson agreed that the city overall just needs a little tender loving care. To wrap up the Selma AmeriCorps week, members of the city, Mayor Johnny Moss, III and the members of the Selma AmeriCorps team attended a wellness and recharge day at the George P. Evans Reception Center and Safety Building on Thursday, March 12. The wellness day included several grounding and mindfulness sessions with Cheryl Pettaway Colvin to commemorate their Thursday theme catered to tension release. The day ended with recognition and acknowledgement of the Selma AmeriCorps members and their efforts contributed to the beautification of the city of Selma. The event also reminded every individual of the Selma AmeriCorps team that they can do all things in the world if they put their mind to it. For more information about the Selma AmeriCorps Program, contact Jasmine Robinson at 334-327-7074.

On Feb.13, the Dallas County Health Department named its community room after Vera Jenkins Booker. Booker was a trailblazing nurse in the Selma community who broke racial barriers, being one of the first African American nurses hired by the Dallas County Health Department. | Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information By Faith Callens Special to the Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Information Just a day before valentine’s day, the Dallas County Health Department named its community room after Vera Jenkins Booker. Booker was a trailblazing nurse in the Selma community who broke racial barriers, being one of the first African American nurses hired by the Dallas County Health Department. Prior to Booker joining the Dallas County Health Department , she was employed at Good Samaritan Hospital that was located on the corner of Washington Street and Voeglin Avenue in Selma. In 1965, Booker was the nurse supervisor on the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift when civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson was brought to the hospital after being shot during a voting rights protest in Marion, Alabama. Booker helped care for Jackson before he succumbed to his gunshot wounds eight days later, according to the Vera Jenkins Booker Community Room dedication program. The program said that Booker dedicated her entire career to improving the health and well-being of all residents in Dallas County, especially during times when access to healthcare for African Americans were severely limited. On Feb. 13, The Dallas County Health Department County Administrator Sarina Stewart joined Senator Robert Stewart alongside Dr. Constance Smith Hendricks and many others in welcoming the public to the dedication and renaming ceremony of the Dallas County Health Department's community room in honor of Vera Jenkins Booker.