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Alfre Woodard In Town To Campaign For Hillary Clinton
Florida Youth Challenge
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Instead of going home after working overnight at Tampa General Hospital last Thurs- day, Deana Jolliff headed straight to Open Café on Tampa’s east side.
The breakfast of grits, scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, and coffee, however, wasn’t Jolliff’s main draw to the popular eatery.
The chance to hear well- known actress, Alfre Woodard stump for Demo- cratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was worth sacrificing a few hours sleep, Jolliff said.
“It’s empowering to see a lot of African-Americans get out and get the news out about how important it is to vote,” she said.
Ms. Woodard’s visit to Tampa was part of the Clin- ton campaign’s efforts to push voters to participate in early voting, which ends Nov. 6.
Early voting “is a blessing” of which Floridians should take advantage, Ms. Woodard said.
While her opponent, Repub- lican nominee Donald Trump has been grabbing headlines for his outrageous comments, “this election is not about him,” she said. “It’s about us.”
Ms. Woodard urged the group of about 50 to “do the uncomfortable thing” and reach out to family, friends and urge them to vote.
Getting Clinton to the White House will require sup- porters using “the human touch” to rally others, espe- cially women, she said.
“There will be women who get in that voting booth and it will occur to them ‘yes, I want equal pay for equal work’,” she said. “When you move women forward, you move boys and girls and men forward.”
Chloe Coney, founder of the CDC of Tampa and district director for U. S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa), said Clin- ton’s election to the White House is a “do or die” for the Black community.
“(Trump) can’t do any- thing for us,” she said. “We cannot lose 50 years of progress.”
Academy To Host
Orientation Meeting
Well-known actress Alfre Woodard addressed those who gathered at the Open Café. She is with State Sena- tor Arthenia Joyner. (Photo- graph by BRUNSON)
“Fannie Lou Hamer
would be turning over in her grave if she knew about early voting,” she said, invoking the name of the late civil rights ac- tivist.
Ms. Woodard, who’s film credits include “Crooklyn,” “The Family That Preys,” and “12 Years a Slave,” said Hillary is a “candidate who has been walking the walk for families for a lot of years.”
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Saturday, November 5th, the Florida Youth Challenge Academy Program will host its inaugural orientation in Tampa. The purpose of the or- ganization is to empower at- risk youth between the ages of 16 and 18 to become success- ful.
The meeting will begin at 8 a.m., and will be held at the Embassy Suites, Tampa, 3705 Spectrum Blvd., Tampa, FL 33612.
Robin Tyler, Recruiter for the program described it as a Quasi-military leadership academy. During a 17-1/2 month program, the teenagers are assisted in becoming “pro- ductive citizens by leading training and mentoring through a highly disciplined and motivational environment free from outside ‘distrac- tions.’”
He further stated that this is the first time the program is being offered to youth in Tampa. The next session be- gins on January 8, 2017, and parents must attend one of the orientation programs if their child will attend.
The Florida Youth Chal- lenge Academy Program is 5- 1/2 months long, for the first phase.
The program is a residential program that is designed to re- move the youth from distrac- tions.
During the 5-1/2 month program, the youth will obtain his or her GED or credits needed for graduation from high school.
They will learn leadership and followership skills; the program patterned after the military discipline and struc- ture; it is located on a military base; and the student must wear uniforms.
Upon completion of the program, the students are pre- pared for placement in high school, the military, college, or
ROBIN TYLER
... Recruiter, Florida Youth Challenge Academy
given career job opportunities with a mentor.
The second phase of the program is 12 months long and is a post residential pro- gram where the student re- turns home with the skills taught. While at home, they work with a mentor.
Upon its completion, the students will have learned the 8 core components of the pro- gram which are: Academic Ex- cellence; Service to the Community; Job Skills; Lead- ership and Followership Skills; Life-Coping Skills; Physical Fitness; Health Edu- cation; and Responsible Citi- zenship.
To be eligible the youth can be male or female; be a U. S. citizen or legal resident; be a resident of Florida; can be a high school dropout; cannot have any pending or open court cases; must be drug free on admission day; must be physically and mentally able; and must volunteer for the program, be interviewed, and attend an orientation pro- gram.
The Florida Youth Chal- lenge Academy Program is state and federally funded and there are no tuition or monthly costs for its partici- pants.
For more information call 1 (904) 559-1726; or 1-866- 276-9304. You can also visit the Florida Youth Challenge Academy on youtube.
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