Informational meeting about next Getting Ahead group March 13 at the Library

Friday, March 9, 2018

The ninth “Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World” group will begin April 3.

An informational meeting on the program is set for Tuesday, March 13 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the downstairs Kiwanis room of the Putnam County Public Library.

The group is open to those who are barely getting by, living paycheck to paycheck but want to get ahead. With Getting Ahead, hope is just around the corner.

Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World is a group of people who gather around a table for 16 sessions, exploring the causes of poverty, building new resources and writing a “future story.”

The informational meeting will include testimonies from former participants and the chance to ask questions about what Getting Ahead involves.

The new group will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays for eight weeks from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Gobin United Methodist Church in Greencastle, where volunteers in the community will provide a free dinner along with free childcare.

Participants in the group will evaluate their lives, learn unwritten cultural rules regarding employment and financial prosperity and learn about life skills necessary to survive and flourish in society. They will be paid for their participation.

Organizers re also looking for community members who are willing to be allies or mentors to encourage participants in pursuing their future goals. Anyone interested may email gctransformers@gmail.com.

“Forty-five residents of Putnam County have completed Getting Ahead in the last four years,” Getting Ahead Coordinator Lori Miller said. “Some have increased their income, gone back to school, found stable housing, learned how to manage finances, built social capital and realized their dreams instead of being overwhelmed by hopelessness.”

Miller also has been an Ally and says, “It is very fulfilling to build new relationships with people and to empower both individual and community transformation one life at a time, instead of just talking about the problems in our community.”

Transformers from the Gobin Church, The United Way and the Putnam County Community Foundation sponsor “Getting Ahead.” For more information, call 658-6010.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: