By Dr. Cindye Richburg Cotton
Executive Director
Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center
We have reached another Thanksgiving. It is traditionally the time to give thanks for all the great things that have transpired in our lives during the year and in some cases even longer. At the Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center (BLEC), we have reasons to be thankful for the ability and support we have received to keep moving forward in delivering exceptional programs for adults and youth living in Lexington and Richland counties and many others in the Midlands of South Carolina.
In essence, our thanks extend far and wide. All of our successes would not have been realized without our dedicated and devoted Board of Directors under the selfless leadership of Chairman Bennie L. Sulton and the support from Brookland Baptist Church, led by distinguished senior pastor Charles Jackson Sr. An equally committed professional staff and a host of volunteers also have helped make a difference as BLEC climbed to sustained success during the past year.
It was no accident that BLEC served over 25,000 persons in 2024. As far as numbers are concerned, we trained over 400 individuals in Mental Health First Aid, trained 77 seniors aged 50 and older in AARP technology classes, trained over 75 individuals in Diabetes Management and Prevention, distributed over 16,000 fresh produce bags to families who are food insecure, launched 2 capital improvement projects, registered 52 students in our 21st Century Summer Camp and 42 students in our 21st Century Afterschool program.
We are thankful to have launched our first major Capital Campaign with a goal to raise $1 million to develop the Lakeview School Museum, launched the Emergency Food Pantry to serve families who are facing temporary instability in need of food and launched a new website that we believe will be more user-friendly. Additionally, the BLEC was selected by AT&T and United Way of the Midlands to implement the 1st Connected Learning Center (CLC) in South Carolina. As a CLC, the BLEC will offer free digital literacy resources to the Midlands community. Students can come to the CLC to complete their homework, seniors can connect with their grandchildren, and job seekers can find employment.
We are most thankful to have been awarded a Lexington Medical Center Foundation Grant for $50,000 to continue our mental health and suicide prevention program as well as the Boeing Aerospace Foundation Grant for our Youth STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education program.
From a national perspective, we are both thankful and honored to have been selected to provide three presentations at the American Public Health Association in Minneapolis, Minnesota on the impact of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training on the Latino/Hispanic population, the impact of MHFA Training Across Age groups, and the importance of Social Work and Trust in working with clients, respectively.
In no way was this intended to be an exhaustive commentary on the reasons we are so thankful for attaining the achievements BLEC has amassed so far this year but rather a sample of them.
At the very least, we are most thankful for being able to harness our efforts to develop and implement programs that serve our various communities in the most effective way possible. We will always appreciate the support and contribution from all those who invest in BLEC’s mission, vision and aspirations.
For more information about the BLEC, please contact Dr. Cindye Richburg Cotton, executive director, at (803) 744-7943 or by via at [email protected]