Edwards Family Empowerment

People always ask me, “Why non-profits?” My answer: Don’t let the non in non-profits fool you. All the money in the world is tied up in Non-profits. Any cooperation you can name has a 501 (C)(3), a non-profit status attached to it. Non-profits will never go broke. There will always be money and resources for the poor. Being currently employed by Alabama Community College Systems at Calhoun Community College as a Career Advisor and prior employment at Concordia College Alabama as an Academic Advisor has afforded me the opportunity to have more tools in my tool box. My area of expertise consist of:  • Career Advising (Your Interest can be your income) • Career Exploration • Resume reviews and resume writing • College entry resume  • Mock Interview • Academic Advisor • “What Can I do with my Major” • Networking • Changing Careers • Learning Disabilities and resources So, if you are thinking about a higher education, go for it! You are never too old.  Just...

Selma AIR allowed my mother to do that for me. Momma never drove, so she had someone to pick us up to take me “us” to work and to pick us up after work. When I felt good enough to get out into the communities (8 counties in very rural parts of the Black Belt of Alabama) to educate, test and get those infected into care.  Mom got me my first cell phone which I still have the number for until this very day to stay in touch with me while on the road.  I stayed with Selma AIR for almost 12 years. One day when Selma AIR was being audited, AIDS Alabama stopped the auditing process, and asked to interview me for a career opportunity with AIDS Alabama working from the top of the state to the bottom because of my outstanding work at Selma AIR. I accepted the offer to move to Birmingham, Alabama to work at AIDS Alabama. I decided on my last day with Selma AIR not to go to Birmingham due to the gang activity in the city.  I was not willing to take a chance on losing my son to gang v...

As soon as I received the degree in my hand, I asked myself, “What can I do with this degree? My answer to self, “Not anything”. While my mother was the only one who was proud of me and my accomplishment. I felt unaccomplished.  All that went through my head that day, May 12, 1999 was this degree means nothing. I wanted more, but struggled with math. I always thought of myself becoming a Social Worker. I looked for the best way to become a Social Worker without going through anymore math. By this time, I’m feeling as though I’m at least 15 years behind.  Once again, printed in the Selma Times Journal was an announcement about Faulkner University holding classes to earn a BS degree in Management of Human Resources in one year. I’m like close enough to Social Work for me. I enrolled in that rigorous one year program. While in the program, I landed a job, contingent upon earning my degree, at Selma AIDS Information and Referral Services as the HIV / AIDS Education Coordinator and...

I was born without a fully developed right hip. During my recovery process from “Bone Displeasure surgery” I attended Selma University, a couple of doors down from our home house for a semester or two before transferring.  Our family was members of Ward Chapel A.M.E Church where higher education was promoted. I decided to attend one of our church's schools, Paul Quinn College in Waco, Texas, Dear old Paul Quinn. I survived two years there, because again, I didn’t have a plan for college, plus I was very homesick and wanted to be with my momma because she was home in Selma alone.  I could not bear the thoughts of my momma at home by herself, plus I felt a sense of safety when I was with or around my mother. Maybe it was because my mother was my biggest and greatest supporter ever. It was my mother that pushed me towards greatness even when I didn’t see my way through. One thing my mother taught us all, (sisters and brothers) was to be the best at whatever we did, and I must say...

Felicia Gill, mother of one son, Lawrence and his wife Kraneisha, two grandsons, Lawrence Jr., Andrew, and one on the way. Unlike the other family members that have presented their careers, my career is what I refer to as “Planned Happenstance”. Being a fighter since birth, I have had to persevere my way through, making something from nothing. I am grateful for this opportunity to share with the family my career path, and how I got where I am today, by Happenstance.   Currently, I serve as Career Advisor at Calhoun Community College- Decatur campus. As some may already know, I served as an Academic Advisor and Director of the Rosa J. Young Center for Women at Concordia College Alabama, as well as served as a representative for Concordia in various capacities. This however was not a career path I chose. The career path chose me.  I want to refrain from saying I was a late bloomer, but rather choose to think that I had to get to the place where I stumbled upon my purpose. M...

  When you die without a will, you are said to have died, "intestate".  Can you recall anyone wealthy who may have died without having a will to let the world know how that person wanted their earthly possessions to be handled?  Aretha Franklin, Prince, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, and more celebrities have died intestate.  This is why estate planning is so important. it allows you to provide for your loved ones when you eventually pass on. Think about the state you're currently living in.  Do you trust your state to make decisions for you while you are living?  What happens if you don't have a will, is that the state will make decisions for your loved ones about whatever you leave behind. Impersonal, untailored decisions is what you can expect to be made, at a time when it is most convenient for them. This means when they have time in court to hear whatever situation you have left behind and then the time it will take to resolve it.