Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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SENIOR CORNER This time of year many groups want by MARTHA OWEN AND SUSAN GUY to share their Christmas cheer with oth- ers. Activity directors at skilled-nursing facilities are overwhelmed with calls from choir directors and scout leaders looking for an audience for their groups. Little children have made ornaments to share, study groups want to share the Christmas story and others want to take holiday meals to the needy. These are wonderful offerings of time and talents to spread one's blessings upon those who are not able to do for themselves. Assisted-living and nursing- home residents adore the hustle and bustle from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Beautiful decorations with bright red poinsettias adorn the doors and lobbies. The staffs have worked tire- lessly to make it special. It is a glorious time! ing as during the holiday season. Music may be played in the back- Assisted-living and nursing-home residents adore the hustle and bustle from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Our suggestion is to consider sharing these talents during the entire year, not just late November and through December. Some of the residents have limited visitors outside of holiday time. The regular décor is attractive but not as excit- 2012. ground but it is not as inspiring as the familiar carols from ones' past. When your club or organization gets back together in the New Year, talk about how you can spread the holiday cheer for 12 months during 2012. Each month has something to celebrate, so put on your thinking cap and create a reason to visit seniors. We suspect that every activity director would welcome visits, crafts and sing-alongs. Nothing brightens the day of a senior more that watching a precious child singing at the top of his lungs. We want you to know how much we appreciate all of the visits and gifts that you have shared with our senior community. Merry Christmas to you and may you have a wonderful MARTHA OWEN & SUSAN GUY Owners of Home Instead Senior Care, COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com FTCC's Small Business Center Offers Free Entrepreneurship Courses by TAMARA BRYANT A new year is just around the corner, and people are starting to plan their 2012 New Year's resolutions! If one of your resolutions involves starting a business or changing careers, the Small Business Center (SBC) at Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) has a great opportunity for you. SBC was awarded a grant from the City of Fayetteville! The City Development Block Grant lets SBC offer the Rural Entrepreneurship Through Action Learning (REAL) course in conjunction with a QuickBooks course. This opportunity is free to individu- als who have a strong interest and desire to start their own business in the service-related fields of welding, carpentry, HVAC services, esthetics, cosmetology or bar- bering. These classes will provide the proper tools and resources for the entrepreneur to start and stay in business. REAL is a business course designed to assist and empower a person with entrepreneurial interests and abilities to plan and start a business or trade. The REAL curriculum uses active learning and experiential methods that have proven to be a highly successful teaching style for adults and entrepreneurs. The objective of the course is to have a complete business plan finished to use as a guide or roadmap to help the entrepreneur navigate through the journey of business ownership. The QuickBooks course assists the business owner with managing the financial part of the business: keeping track of sales, expenses, invoices, payroll and creating financial statements to help stay on top of business obligations with entities, such as the IRS, Department of Revenue, suppliers and vendors. Participants will learn to make sure their business stays profitable and have a positive cash flow. After completion of both courses, the aspiring entre- VISIT US AT: www.upandcomingweekly.com 16 UCW DECEMBER 21-27, 2011 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM preneur will be better equipped to manage a business for success. According to the N.C. Employment Security Commission September 2011 report, Fayetteville's unemployment rate of 10 percent has resulted in 13,958 people being out of work. The solution to the problem is to create and grow jobs. The industry fields listed above are service industries that typically can lead to business opportunities. Individuals who attend a community col- lege to acquire training in HVAC services, carpentry, cos- metology, etc., will likely go into business for themselves. The intent of the grant is to assist individuals with these trades to acquire the knowledge, skills set and resources to create their own business and help decrease the rising unemployment rate. FTCC's Small Business Center mission is to increase the success rate of small businesses in Cumberland County by assisting prospective and established small- business persons reach their full potential by utilizing all resources available. According to last year's SBC statistics, 1,300 participants attended 85 seminars, eight businesses were started and 50 jobs were created and retained. The SBC offers free weekly seminars; counseling sessions are also available to clients at no charge. If you are interested in learning more about the Small Business Center, visit our website at www.faytechcc.edu/sm_bus/. For more information on the dates and requirements on the REAL grant, please con- tact Tamara Bryant at 678-8462/8496. Class size is limited, and income qualifications must be met. TAMARA BRYANT, Program Coordi- nator, FTCC Small Business Center COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com Seniors Love the Gift of Time and Talents All Year