Founded in 1992, Housing for New Hope serves individuals experiencing and at risk of experiencing homelessness in Orange and Durham Counties.  In Durham, HNH is one of CEF’s  founding partners, helping CEF volunteers conduct Opportunity Classes that serve residents of the Dove and Phoenix recovery houses and Williams Square Apartments.

Jessie Hughes, the Transitional Housing Coordinator at HNH, recently provided CEF with a stellar letter of support for one of our upcoming grant applications.  Her words were incredibly kind and we wanted to take a second to thank her and Housing for New Hope for their immense support, and to share some of their sentiments with you all here.  Thanks so much Jessie!

From Jessie’s letter:  

“What I know is this: CEF is real, they really mean it, they are the genuine article.  I have seen CEF representatives treat homeless, drug-addicted, unemployed citizens with the same dignity and respect reserved for public officials.  I have watched as they tailored their program to the needs of those they served without hesitation.  I h ave witnessed them express authentic joy when sharing a success with one of their clients…”

“I have been a part of many partnerships in my career.  My partnership with CEF is the partnership I am most proud of.  They are truly unique in their flexibility and willingness to serve.  CEF leaves things better than they found them.  That is the essence of their work.  No job it too big or too small, no project beyond hope.”

Thank you Stewards Fund!

The Stewards Fund challenge begins today!

Donate between March 1st and June 1st, and your donation will be doubled.

Act now, and your $25 donation becomes $50, your $100 gift becomes $200, your $250 contribution becomes $500… doubling your gift for twice the impact in our community.

Why donate to the Community Empowerment Fund? Because you provide one-on-one and ongoing support to unemployed and under-employed individuals, and help low-resource micro-entrepreneurs start and sustain businesses. You bring a unique community of college students and community members together, working alongside each other towards each individual’s financial freedom and well-being.

See the stories of transformation your support makes possible. Meet Maria. Meet Gary.

Join the movement, and help us reach our challenge of raising $10,000 before June 1st. Together, we can get meet the challenge. Thank you for your partnership.

Tommy and Rufus, two CEF Members, helping their fellow member move her furniture into her *new* apartment

When a CEF Member had to move out of her old apartment and into her new home last week, her fellow CEF Members were the first people there to offer a hand and help.

For all of us, the best part about being involved in CEF is the family. For Equashia’s big move, her CEF Advocate (the wonderful Kemper) recruited her college roommate to come and help, and Tommy and Rufus (see pictures!) helped Equashia move all her furniture and boxes in, and got it all done in just an afternoon. Thank you, Tommy, Rufus, Kemper and Sarah!

In gratitude, Equashia is organizing a clean-up day at Tommy’s this coming Saturday, March 10th. She is recruiting fellow members to come help Tommy clean up and settle in to his new place. If you are interested, please contact info@communityempowermentfund.org — Equashia and her fellow CEF Alumni would love to have your support.

Unloading the moving truck

Equashia (CEF Member), Kemper (her CEF Advocate), and Sarah (Kemper's roommate who came to help!)

We loved this picture and had to share it with the world. Sherry Kinlaw, our beloved Board of Directors Treasurer, sent us a surprise delivery of delicious cupcakes a Friday morning a couple weeks ago. Our volunteers and members made quick work of them — thanks, Sherry!

We host “CEF Coffee Hour” every Friday at the Community Empowerment Fund’s office on Franklin Street. Join us some Friday! We don’t always have cupcakes, but we do always have good cheer, plenty of coffee and bagels, and great company.

See you on Fridays!

Thrillife is a brand started by UNC student and clothing designer Ryan Cocca in an effort to make “Conscious Streetwear Culture”. Thrill City, the Chapel Hill offshoot of Thrillife, is staying true to its mission as a “launchpad of everything socially positive and creative in Chapel Hill, from concerts to art exhibits to social justice campaigns,” by dedicating 10% of their revenues to the Community Empowerment Fund. That’s a lot of love, and we can’t thank Ryan and Thrill City enough for their support of CEF and the Chapel Hill community. Checkout the insert that ships with all Thrill City merchandise.

John Miller recently came into our office to work on his resume, cover letter and job-searching with us.  He sent us a thank-you note after his visit that was just too good not to share! We are so grateful to have had John come in to the office and we hope to have a continuing relationship with him. Thanks for your kind words, John!

“Hi.

I know you felt that what you were doing was just a part of that
organization’s mission, but still I am very grateful for the
assistance. I could of course have gotten Services for the Blind to
help, and if I continue to require further aid I will solicit and make
use of their resources. But the bureaucracy would not have moved
quickly enough to respond to that immediate opportunity, and I don’t
really know if I would have gotten that kind of thorough vetting of my
resume from a team of people. I extend my thanks to all of the
individuals who contributed some form of suggestion as to how that
document could be enhanced, actually.
I have placed the resume and cover letter in the person’s box who
agreed to forward it on, and now I await the determination of whether
I can proceed with preparing to do this job. I will of course keep you
updated as to what happens.
Thanks again for the time and effort put into that. I really don’t
take it for granted.

Sincerely,
John”