Pivot Ministry celebrates 1st graduating class
Left to right, Pivot Ministry class participants are Teresa Coble, Kathryn Walden, Diamond Murphy, Ann (Marcum) Russell, Lisa Carr, and Sheri Waters. Executive Director Carol Polk is in the red jacket.
A new ministry has sprouted in Winston-Salem.
Six women in Pivot Ministry’s first graduating class received their achievement certificates on Saturday, June 23, at Ardmore Baptist Church, 501 Miller St. in Winston-Salem. Margaret Johnson, news anchor and reporter for WXII News 12, was the featured speaker, and Eddie Bines was the featured singer.
Envisioned in 2015 and initially funded by Ardmore Baptist Church, Pivot Ministry is a new organization in Forsyth County that is based on the successful 20-year-old model of Christian Women’s/Men’s Job Corps. Pivot’s objective is to empower low-income women for better life and income-producing opportunities through classes in life and job skills and Bible study, supported and sponsored by local community resources.
The ministry launched its first class with seven women on March 1, 2018. They met as a small group one day each week for classes and a shared meal for the 16-week semester. Each of the 16 program days was broken up into three to five sessions that varied from week to week. Topics included Financial Management, Interviewing Skills, Behavioral and Mental Health, Change and Decision-making, and Perseverance and Succeeding in Life and the Workplace.
In addition to the weekly classes, each woman was paired with a mentor for one-on-one support throughout the semester and after graduation.
For more than two years, Pivot worked developing collaborative relationships with local organizations to identify gaps in service and strategizing how to work together. They also developed customized content with input from the participants, which is consistent with an asset-based community development approach.
Carol Polk, executive director and site coordinator, said, “Without the support of the community, our partners and sponsors, we could not deliver this high-quality instruction to our participants. Currently, we are selecting women to participant in our next semester, which will begin in August.”
Pivot’s community partners include Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Ardmore Baptist Church, Financial Pathways of the Piedmont (formerly Consumer Credit Counseling), Forsyth Technical Community College, Goodwill Industries of NWNC, Totally Responsible Person (TRP), departments of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Debbie Loftis who teaches “LifeKeys: Discover Who You Are”.
For more information, visit pivotnow.org.
