Summit House Project

by | Jun 7, 2016 | Summit House, Youth

Summit House Project

In January of 2008, NC97 chose the Summit House-Piedmont in Greensboro, NC for their project. Summit House serves non-violent female felons who are single Mom’s with children up to age seven. Women are able to live in a residential setting with their children for 18-24 months and receive the services they need to transform their lives. The WorldLegacy leadership project included creating a tranquility courtyard garden, eating area, and a fenced in play yard for the kids. The space was transformed from a dry dirt yard to a peaceful, playful lush garden and play yard where residents can connect with their families. Budget: $30,000.

Letters from Summit House July 11, 2007 Dear WorldLegacy Group NC93:

When the women and I were thinking about what we wanted to say in this letter, “thank you” just didn’t seem to cover what your group has done for Summit House. Most of the mothers here have come from extremely difficult situations, have made poor choices, some have lost children, homes, surely dignity and some of the very essence that makes us feel human. From the very start, from the initial contact with Fran, we began to believe in what you were trying to do. We found it amazing that it came together so quickly and with so much joy and energy. Once in a while people cross our path and bring to us enlightenment, compassion, strength and understanding. Your group holds such people. What struck us most was the giving spirit, the willingness to be there, the generosity of time, energy and resources to make our environment a better place for us and more importantly for our children. Everything we asked for was built, everything we suggested that would make it a safe, comfortable place that we could be with our children and with each other came to life! How do we say thank you? Dawn took the time out of that hectic Saturday to explain to me what WorldLegacy was and what they believed in doing for their communities. When I finally understood who NC93 was, and what they were doing, once again it took my breath away. WorldLegacy is the perfect name. “Our” little piece of paradise at Summit House will live on for countless numbers of women and children whose lives until this point most likely included suffering, insecurity and the kind of sadness that’s hard to describe. We women who live here now want to thank you on the behalf of those to come. We want to let you know that because of what you did, hearts were open to new possibilities, hope and a feeling of fellowship and community spirit that in most cases had been damaged so terribly. In turn, these values are passed on to our children. That’s the real gift. In your own way, when you look into the faces of all of us standing here and our children beside us, you’ll know you played a part in changing our lives for the better. We will say thank you, NC93, Dr. Lori Todd, Dr. Rob Katz and WorldLegacy by passing it on. Love. Women at Summit House

Summit House gets a new playground

From Staff Reports

RALEIGH – A Raleigh program for women convicted of nonviolent crimes opened a new playground Monday.

The Summit House allows women to live with their children and learn life skills as they serve time. Those children now have a playground built and paid for by community volunteers.

A ribbon-cutting Monday afternoon signaled the opening of the playground, which features swings, a basketball court, a walking path, a picnic area and a track for tricycles and Big Wheels, according to a news release.

The project was designed and built by the WorldLegacy, a life-coaching company in Morrisville, using $4,200 of community donations, the release said.

Volunteers cleared an overgrown part of the yard to make room for the playground.
Reprinted with Permission of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina.

WorldLegacy Leadership Project at Summit House

I just completed The WorldLegacy Leadership project weekend at Summit House.
This is a place where mothers can go who have committed violent crimes and rehabilitate.  During rehabilitation, mothers and their children under the age of seven, are together in a homelike environment.  We made the place really great  for the families.   We made  a playground, bike path and outdoor family gathering area.  We took something that didn’t exist and turned it into a place of mattering.  I felt like I was an extreme giver.  We raised all of the money and donations which ended up being over  $20,000.  I used every bit of the coaching workshops and distinctions of transformation to be team and create miracles in a short amount of time.  This was indeed a WorldLegacy extreme makeover.

Letters from Summit House July 25, 2007 Dear WorldLegacy Leadership NC93:

July 25, 2007

When I received Dawn’s call on that fateful June 6th morning, I never would have dreamed we’d come this far. Life continues to reveal true miracles as long as we’re ready to receive them and shovel a little mulch! The mastery of commitment, determination, and skill all came together in the manifestation of these live and play grounds.

This has definitely been the quickest, most enjoyable, and without a doubt, the most incredible project I have ever had the pleasure to be involved in. Everyone gave it their all and the families of Summit House are the happy beneficiaries.

 The children want to be on the “playground” all of the time. Some of the moms told me that they go down in the morning before daycare! Can you imagine? These children went from very little yard time because they had nothing to do, to playing morning and night, even longer on the weekends. What a gift! 

The mom’s love it too. They instantly put the patio furniture and grill to work. We brought the grill over on Thursday evening and had a cookout and the moms have cooked out several times since. They are playing with their children, cooking and eating outside; I feel the mental and physical health of our families healing faster already. 

Thank you for everything that you did to bring this dream to fruition. The media coverage and community awareness has been invaluable. Everything that was built in the yard is a true legacy and will last for many, many years, bringing health and joy to countless families as they choose the road away from abuse and addiction and get a second chance in life.

 As a Leadership Team, NC93, you rock!!
With love and respect,
Denna Weston
Assistant Director

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West End Community Center

by | Jun 7, 2016 | West End, Youth

Community Room West End Community Center

The NC62 Leadership Team from WorldLegacy performed an extreme makeover of a Community Room at the West End Community Center as well as educated people on endangered species. Volunteers from as far away as Florida joined more than 50 people for two days of reinvention at the West End Community Center. The volunteers worked alongside residents and teens, which are served by the center, which is located in Durham’s West End and is a part of the Duke University -Durham Neighborhood Partnership. Volunteers stripped away the interior of a former law office and replaced it with bright turquoise paint and striped window shades reminiscent of a tropical scene. The team renovated the center with new chairs, tables, bookcases, original artwork, lighting, and ovens for the kitchen. The team created an endangered species display and conducted a workshop on endangered species. About 75 people — black, white, young and old — attended the Sunday ribbon cutting, which was held on the weekend of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. “It’s one of the greatest feelings we’ve had in a long time. It almost produces tears,” said Juanita McNeil, who used to bring neighborhood children into her home before there was a facility. “Thank you for all the work you put in. I didn’t think it could be done.” The budget was $30,000.

Refurbished Community Room Serves West End Teens

Local residents join effort to spruce up an important resource for the community
Thursday, January 22, 2004

Hard work by volunteers from as far away as Florida brought a new sparkle to the inside of one of Duke’s partner community centers this past weekend. In two and half days, more than 50 people stripped away the boring interior of a former law office that is now the Juanita McNeil-Joseph Alston Community Center and replaced it with bright turquoise and green paint and striped window shades reminiscent of a tropical scene.

About 75 people — black, white, young and old — attended the Sunday dedication of the refurbished center on Kent Street.

“It’s one of the greatest feelings we’ve had in a long time. It almost produces tears,” said Juanita McNeil, who used to bring neighborhood children into her home before there was a facility. “Thank you for all the work you put in. I didn’t think it could be done.”

Thirty-two participants in a leadership training seminar offered by The WorldLegacy in Morrisville chose to spearhead the renovation of the center’s community room as their required community service project. They worked alongside residents and teens who are served by the center, which is located in Durham’s West End and is a part of the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership.

The goal of the Neighborhood Partnership is to improve the quality of life in the 12 neighborhoods near campus and to boost student achievement in the seven public schools that serve those neighborhoods. The nonprofit West End Community Center purchased the center in 2000 with $195,000 from the university. Duke also provides annual operating support with help from The Duke Endowment.

Percy Covington, a member of the WorldLegacy team who is a resident of Southwest Central Durham, convinced his team to “adopt” the center. Covington’s aunt, Mary Davis, is the director of the teen center. “I watched the center and always told myself it was holding on by grace,” said Covington, who works at Measurement Inc. “It’s important for any kid to have an environment that is safe and suitable and to have a space to keep them off the streets.”

The tan rooms needed a major face-lift, especially the community service room, which serves as an after-school classroom for students and a meeting place for parents and community members.

The WorldLegacy team solicited chairs, tables and bookcases and artwork from Duke’s Community Affairs Office, as well as numerous other sources. Duke Dining Services, Guglhupf and Fosters provided free food for the volunteers. A local interior designer donated her services. Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers helped with moving services, lights and ovens for the center’s kitchen. Mr. Maid, owned by Glenister Franklin, made the rooms and furniture smell fresh.

“I thought it was particularly fitting that this project took place on the weekend of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration,” said Diana Bello, one of the Legacy participants. “What we did together as a community exemplified what this wonderful man fought and died for.”

Reprinted from Duke University News and Communications, Durham, NC

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Central Children’s Home

by | Jun 6, 2016 | Central Children's Home, Children, Youth

Central Children’s Home
Central Children’s Home is an orphanage that was established in 1883. It is the second oldest children’s home in NC and the oldest black orphanage in the US. In 2000, NC34’s leadership project involved painting buildings, landscaping, installing a playground, repairing a fountain and sidewalks, and engaging children in painting murals. Budget: $57,000.

In July 2011, WorldLegacy’s NC129 leadership team chose this orphanage for their project. This was an extreme makeover of a cottage as well as a monetary contribution for the day-to-day operation of the orphanage. This leadership project created the following: $10,000 for day to day purchasing of groceries and supplies, appliances (two sets of washers and dryers) ten beds, mattresses and linens, six dressers, chests, desks, and chairs. For the sitting/game room, they provided two couches, four chairs, a coffee table, two end tables, two new TVs and a piano bench. There were major repairs of the cottage including carpeting in over ten rooms, twenty-three blinds, drywall, painting over twelve rooms, and four new computers. Budget: $40,000.

In 2015, NC152 caused an amazing project at the Central Children’s Home in Oxford, NC. Their mission was to inspire the young men currently living in the McDougle Cottage as well as the boys who have yet to move in. They created a space that would feel like home. They refurnished six bedrooms with new bedding, blinds and hampers. They painted accent walls in each bedroom and added inspirational quotes to those walls. They supplied three bathrooms with new towels, shower curtains and towel racks. They created a five-person computer lab in a multi-purpose recreation room, complete with desks, chairs, and internet access. They painted an original mural in the multi-purpose recreation room along with the youth who lived in the orphanage.They furnished the living room area with a large flat screen TV, DVD player, and DVDs. Budget: $30,000.

Central Children’s Home – Masonic Home for Children – COVID 19
In March, 2020, WorldLegacy NC181 caused an amazing project at the Central Children’s Home in Oxford, NC at the exact time that COVID 19 was gaining momentum in the United States.

With vision and commitment anything is possible, even in the time of COVID-19. WorldLegacy’s NC181 Leadership Team, provided everything necessary for the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford, NC (MHCO) to have an extreme makeover of the boy’s living quarters. Originally, eleven people from all over the world were going to paint eight bedrooms and create a fully functional and beautiful game room and a storage room during the weekend of March 20 – 22nd, 2020. In addition, the team was donating new bedding for the bedrooms, all the paint, new window treatments, ceiling tiles, gaming equipment, furniture, TVs, shelving, and inspirational artwork for each room. This project was driven by a vision to leave a lasting gift to these children and have them get that they matter.

When WorldLegacy received the call that the MHCO was closed to non-essential people, the administration assumed the project would be cancelled. Throughout their Leadership training, NC181 Leadership experienced achieving “impossible results” and how a great team can have a huge impact on the lives of others. Obstacles are just opportunities to play an even bigger game. The project was not cancelled. NC181 Leadership chose to complete everything required for the extreme makeover by March 22nd, except for painting the rooms and the final installation of the furnishings. In addition, the team chose to raise $5000.00 so that MHCO could hire painters when the Home was reopened.

WorldLegacy NC181 Leadership has a vision of a connected world filled with responsible and courageous people. They are committed to a world where children grow up believing in possibility and that they matter. During the weekend, without any of the children knowing, a team of angels prepared for a future surprise. Little did they know it would be an entire year before the team was allowed to deliver everything to the orphanage. NC181 Leadership is committed to creating a space where children, who cannot live with their biological families, feel like they are valuable, are loved, and have a home.

The list of items the team procured in one weekend and delivered one year later is as follows: complete painting supplies, 24 gallons of premium paint, five commercial grade wire shelves, 16 heavy duty storage bins with lids, two 40 inch. 4K HDR TVs with stands, one XBOX, three Xbox games, two big and tall racing style gaming chairs, solid wood coffee table, area rug, six foot brown leather couch, sixteen twin sheet sets 550 thread count, seventeen cordless blinds, eight pillows and comforters, posters for each room, and ceiling tiles.
Budget: $24,490.

 

WorldLegacy Project:  Santa arrives early at children’s home

By Artelia Covington
Date: December 18, 2000

OXFORD – With Christmas just around the corner, Santa and his elves arrived early for the Central Children’s Home in Oxford. The WorldLegacy of Chapel Hill gave the home a new playground and some much-needed landscaping.Starting in mid-September, the WorldLegacy’s members spent their Saturdays for 10 weeks working at the home. Besides the playground and landscaping, they repaired a fountain in front of the home’s chapel and did some painting.

“I loved those times,” said Stewart Wilde, a participant. “The kids would come out while we were working. They were so happy to see us and would even work with us.”

The group wanted to show the home’s children that they, too, can make a difference in someone’s life.
I think it gave them a sense of satisfaction that they helped make this all work,” said Wilde.
The WorldLegacy provides seminars or workshops offering professional training for young people. About 30 people belong to it.

“I got involved in the program because, while I considered myself to be successful, I wanted to get better,” said Wilde.

The Central Children’s Home, on West Antioch Road near Oxford, was founded in 1883, making it the second oldest children’s home in Oxford, after the Masonic Home for Children. The Central Children’s Home is on 345 acres and includes five cottages, an administration building, a gymnasium, dining hall, a chapel, and 24 acres of farmland.

At its beginning, the home was supported primarily by Baptist churches, Sunday schools and private donations. In 1887, the state began providing some funding.
Now, the home’s two largest contributors are the General Baptist State Convention and the state. The home also receives money from the Duke Endowment Fund.

The home currently serves 42 children ages 4 to 18. It can serve as many as 56 children. Most of the children are from adoptions that failed and who are in foster care. Others are placed there by the Granville County Department of Social Services to protect them from abuse or neglect.
The staff of 35 includes social workers, counselors and administrators. Two resident advisers live with the children in cottages.

“We hope that people will understand that while there are things that the children may need as far as material possessions, we give them all the love and nurturing that they need,” said Michael Alston, the home’s executive director.
Wilde echoed Alston.
“The Central Children’s Home had very little in terms of things, but the kids were happy, and it was obvious that they were loved,” he said. The WorldLegacy held a party at the home to celebrate when the project was completed in November. The children created murals and other artwork on the playground. “The kids wrote a rap song in celebration of the completion of the project,” Wilde said. Alston said that the group plans to come back and complete other projects including a volleyball court and a pavilion.

Reprinted from The Herald-Sun, (Durham, NC)

One Giant World of WorldLegacy Givers

As a member of WorldLegacy’s NC129 Leadership Team, I was part of an absolutely amazing team project! We sourced a children’s home that needed many repairs as well as love. The “meat” of the project was completed before we stepped foot on the property by enrolling others in our vision and collecting donations, both monetary and in kind. By the first day of the project we had 2000 sq. ft of carpet and a professional crew of people to install it, 20 gallons of paint, $7000 in IKEA furniture, $6000 toward our goal of $10k to be used by the home for groceries, three computers, an artist to paint a beautiful mural, volunteers to help us complete and food to make them happy! Working as a team the remaining items came naturally and our project was complete on time in excellence! With the vision in mind for the girls we were making a difference for, it was simple. We knew these girls mattered and are going to make a huge difference in the world and now they know it too! This WorldLegacy project has forever changed my life! Sarah H. Adams

The Children and staff at the Central Children Home of North Carolina, 211 W Antioch, Oxford, NC, are receiving an extreme makeover this weekend! Members of the NC129 Leadership Team from the WorldLegacy in Morrisville, NC are partnering with the local community and a number of local retailers such as Lowes, to create a new, beautifully decorated living and working space for the children they serve. This project is a part of their three-month leadership development program at the WorldLegacy. This extreme makeover will include carpeting, new furniture, bedding, televisions, computers, painting, window treatments and repairs to make their space fabulous, and much more!

What makes this project unique is that the WorldLegacy Leadership team must design the project start to finish, cannot use any of their own money, must involve the community to do 75% the work and need to have it complete in two days.

This facility chosen for this project provides a safe environment for the children who would otherwise be at risk as they play and learn necessary life skills. This project helps to keep these children in a safe and nurturing environment, far away from the probable likelihood of being abandoned or left alone and in harms way. The NC129 Leadership Team requests your help to make this project possible this weekend, July 23rd and 24th, 2011.

This is your opportunity to give back to the community and make a difference. Volunteers, monetary and in-kind donations are requested. The refurbished facility will send a powerful message to these children that they matter, are loved and are valued.

PRESS RELEASE

Project Dates:
Saturday, July 23, 2011 – 8:00 AM start time
Sunday, July 24, 2011 – 8:00 AM start time

A team of leaders representing WorldLegacy have come together and taken a stand to make a difference in the world. Our diverse group of empowering leaders, from several regions of the United States and Canada, decided to focus on the domain families for our team’s community project and identified the Central Children’s Home of North Carolina (CCH-NC) as a place where we can make an impact and difference in the world starting in North Carolina.

About Central Children’s Home of North Carolina
CCH-NC provides family centered services, via an appropriate period of residential group care for children and youth from age 9 – 21. These children cannot remain in their own homes due to substance dependency, neglect or abuse. By providing a wholesome atmosphere conducive to their emotional, educational, social, spiritual and physical growth and development CCH promotes positive family functioning and/or independent living.

Details of the Project
As members of our own respective communities throughout the US and Canada, we understand the essential component of a community is FAMILY. When children and families are healthy, well cared for and shown love and support their self-esteem and self-worth improve, which ultimately creates a strong community foundation.

Our WorldLegacy Leadership team, known as NC129, is committed to creating an empowering environment for the children of Central Children’s Home by providing upgrades and improvements to Bryant Cottage, the campus’ girl’s cottage.

To create this environment we are asking for support in the following areas: volunteers to donate their time, skills, and talents; monetary donations for one year of groceries and supplies; equipment and household items to include washers and dryers, televisions, bedroom furniture, lounge furniture and computers; and home improvement materials and labor to include carpet, drywall and paint. We will also need food and beverages on the actual work days to keep our volunteers in good health as they work!

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Therapeutic Dog Training Program WorldLegacy Leadership

by | Jun 6, 2016 | Animal Domain, Swannanoa Youth, Youth

Therapeutic Dog Training Program

In two days during a snowstorm, NC 116 created a project at the Therapeutic Dog training program at Swannanoa Valley Youth Development Center. This is a secure custody juvenile facility for young men incarcerated for serious acts of delinquency. The program is now integrated into the treatment program. Incarcerated youth who participate in therapeutic pet programs are less likely to re-offend. They fenced in an entire acre for exercising and training dogs, installed a 100 ft by 100 ft canine agility training course and a fenced-in potty pen, acquired eight dog crates and built a 12’ x 16’ wood building to house the dogs. Budget: $30,000.

WorldLegacy: Dogs Heal Detention Facility
Swannanoa, North Carolina February 13-15, 2010: WorldLegacy: Dogs Heal Detention Facility. Young men at the Swannanoa Valley Youth Development Center (SVYDC) in Swannanoa, North Carolina will be receiving everything they need to start a dog training and adoption program. Members of the NC 116 Leadership Team from WorldLegacy are partnering with the NC Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP), Project Challenge, a non-profit community service and restitution agency, and dozens of volunteers to create a canine agility course, an acre of fencing, and a building to house the dogs at the facility in Swannanoa. This project will allow youth to give back to the community by socializing rescued dogs to make them more adoptable. The therapeutic pet program will provide powerful experiences for incarcerated youth to master complex social skills. Through their involvement with the dogs, youth will develop loving, trusting relationships, learn through structured experiences and build skills essential for life. Youth will learn responsibility, communication, teamwork and leadership.
WorldLegacy offers bold leadership workshops and coaching for people committed to creating extraordinary results, a meaningful experience of life, and impacting the world. Every Leadership team creates an extraordinary project that leaves a legacy. The team members cannot use any of their own money and the project can only take one weekend to complete.
The SVYDC houses 48 teenage males who have been committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for chronic and/or serious acts of delinquency. Youth are committed for an indefinite period of time, the average stay is one year. This project will positively impact the community by increasing the successful rehabilitation of juveniles, rescuing dogs, and creating a safer community. Research shows that incarcerated youth who participate in therapeutic pet programs are less likely to reoffend.
There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday February 15, 2010 at 11am with members of the Department of Juvenile Justice, SVYDC staff and youth, and WorldLegacy staff present to celebrate the completion of the building.

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Alexander Youth Network WorldLegacy

by | Aug 13, 2015 | Alexander Youth Network, Environment, Youth

Alexander Youth Network WorldLegacy Leadership Project

This NC108B WorldLegacy Leadership project created two gardens, and improved the grounds at the youth group home of the Alexander Youth Network including, fencing, benches, pieces of outdoor art, garden signs, and a gazebo.  This WorldLegacy Leadership project created a beautiful and healing outdoor environment that promotes freedom for the children and unity between the home’s residents and their natural environment.  The improvements to the property (fences, benches and sign) were artistically executed, bringing color and creativity to the space. The gardens will be a part of the home’s “Growing with Garden” curriculum. These gardens will be used to raise flowers, vegetables, and create a beautifully groomed park atmosphere. Budget: $19,500.  March 2009.

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Watts School Getting Amphitheater

by | Aug 4, 2015 | Article, Watts School, Wattsschoolarticle, Youth

Watts Elementary School, Durham, NC

This NC48 Leadership project involved designing and building an outdoor amphitheater on the playground of Watts Elementary School. The amphitheater accommodated a minimum of 120 children, or two entire grades at once. July 2002.

Watts school getting amphitheater

By Michael Petrocelli, The Herald-Sun
August 4, 2002 7:02 pm

Nikki Rice of Chapel Hill and Fran Bateman of Creedmoor haul a bench into place as members from their WorldLegacy Leadership Program team create an outdoor amphitheater on the grounds of George Watts Elementary School. The 19-member team is completing a community service project.

DURHAM — It may not be on quite the scale of the ones built by ancient Greeks and Romans, but this school year students at George Watts Elementary School will have an outdoor amphitheater to call their own.

Volunteers from the WorldLegacy, an adult-education organization, were putting the finishing touches on the small structure this weekend, donating labor and materials to the Trinity Park school.

Laurel Ferejohn, a Duke University employee and member of a leadership seminar at the WorldLegacy, said her group was looking for a project that would help low-income children.

She asked the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership for suggestions. It set up a meeting with educators from Watts, which has one of the district’s highest percentage of poor children, to come up with ideas.

Watts is home to a program that emphasizes literature, and teachers were lamenting the fact that the school did not have a space for readings and performances of plays, said David Stein, who heads the Duke community organization.

“Someone said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had an amphitheater?’ and Laurel just about jumped out of her seat,” Stein recalled.

What makes the structure an amphitheater is not its size — Principal Carol Marshall expects it will seat about 150 pint-sized spectators — but its curved, tiered seating looking onto an open stage.

The stage will be used for performances of student-written plays and readings by local children’s authors, Marshall said.

Previously the only place to hold such events was in the school’s acoustically challenged gymnasium, where the constant echoes made it hard for students to pay attention, she said.

The project by the roughly 20 WorldLegacy volunteers will be an ideal complement to what educators are trying to achieve at the school, Marshall said.

“It came from talking about what children need at school and what adults could offer as resources,” Marshall said.

Stein agreed, saying the amphitheater will give teachers a chance to get their students out of the classroom for a nice change of pace.

“Sometimes if you’re in an outdoor space, it resonates more with kids,” Stein said.

For now, the amphitheater is only targeted for use by the school, but Marshall said it will not bother her if local residents get the urge to tread its boards after-hours.

“When there’s a stage, it’s kind of hard for kids not to get on it,” she said. “It’s kind of a natural draw for anyone that’s going by.”

Reprinted from The Herald-Sun, (Durham, NC)

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