World of Opportunity

WOO GED Cap & Gown Graduation Ceremony - July 29, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

Sun, 11 Jun 2006 03:06:00 -0500

The World of Opportunity (WOO) 2006 GED graduation ceremony will be Saturday
July 29, 2006
5:00 PM
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

Seating is extremely limited so please reserve your place today. Call 205-271-9532 to reserve your seat and for more information.

This invite is especially extended to WOO graduates and alumni, and to GED graduates from other smaller community programs who have not had the opportunity particiapte in a formal cap and gown ceremony.

In addition to the GED graduation, candidates will be inducted into the WOO chapter of the National Adult Education Honor Society, which will also include students from the WOO computer, CNA (certified nurse aide) health care, and adult basic education programs.

Conscious of today's poverty: A Change is Soon to Come, by Warren Goodgain, WOO's 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King Essay Contestant

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:24:01 -0600

Conscious of today's poverty:
A CHANGE IS SOON TO COME

By Warren Goodgain
World of Opportunity (WOO)
Birmingham, AL 35212

Submission for the 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Essay Contest
Sponsored by the National Conference for Community Justice (NCCJ)

First of all, there are ideas in Dr. King's speech from 1968 that relate to our circumstances of 2005. For instance, when he talked about the people that were living in poverty, I think that forty-three years later, we still have the same problem.

Dr. King mentions that he met a woman that was living in an apartment and he describes the conditions which she was living. Those conditions were just terrible. Her rent was a hundred ($100.00) dollars ,for an apartment that was shared with roaches and rats. That's pathetically unrighteous. Today, one of my friends has an apartment where the toilets are backed up all of the time and the landlord won't fix them. She is paying about two-hundred and ninety dollars ($290.00) rent a month, and she, too, has to share her apartment with a few roaches. Has forty-three years really made a difference?

Dear Sister & Brother Evacuees of Katrina: Our heartfelt thoughts are with you. An opportunity to continue your education

Sun, 04 Sep 2005 14:57:31 -0500

Dear sister and brothers, evacuee neighbors of Hurricane Katrina:

The doors and arms of the World of Opportunity (WOO) are open to Katrina evacuees who would like to study for the GED exam, or high school-aged youth who would like to continue their studies until they can enroll at their new high school.

Also, we offer computer operations, computer repair, AutoCAD (computerized drafting), CNA (certified nurse aide) health care training, Spanish, and we will do our best to help with job leads

In addition, we offer counseling or referrals for substance abuse, medical problems, shelter, food, clothing, women's issues, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and more. We are here to listen to your needs and concerns and will stick with you until we can reach some resolution so that you find some peace of mind.

WOO Students Make Civil Rights Journey to Hayneville, Alabama

Mon, 15 Aug 2005 22:13:44 -0500

August 13, 2005

Early Saturday morning at the World of Opportunity (WOO), Veronica and DeMarkus were busy making sandwiches and preparing sack lunches which also included an apple, a bag of chips, water and fruit drink. While other students arrived, Johnnie and Jermaine turned on computers and began to surf the web. Jacqueline and Jermaine helped load the lunches. Finally at 8:35AM, with 13 of us (Corey, Angela, Candace, Javon, Jacqueline, Veronica, DeMarkus, Jermaine, Johnny, Ch'tay, Lucille, David & I) in a van and pickup truck, we pulled out of the WOO parking lot to begin our civil rights journey to Hayneville, Alabama, about 120 miles southwest of Birmingham.

2004-2005 WOO Student Progress and Recognition Ceremony held on July 9th, 2005

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 17:07:11 -0500

The following chronicle and list reads long......but the accomplishments of WOO students are many. We wanted to share some of their progress with you.

On July 9th, more than 140 people squeezed into the WOO Auditorium in downtown Gate City to celebrate the progress of WOO students in many areas of study including adult basic education, literacy, GED preparation and graduation, computer operations, certified nurse aide health care, AutoCAD, community service, parenting, and more. Most importantly, we celebrated our village spirit of all for one and one for all. Tears of joy were shed by students, staff, parents, guardians, grandparents. Against all odds, WOO students have persevered to continue their education for more than 5 years.

Projects for 2003-2004

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:36:38 -0600

Personal Finance Skills
Tuesday 11:15AM - noon
Martha Walters, VP, New South Federal Savings Bank

Job Interviews & Preparation
Wednesday 11:15 - Noon
Larry Angst financial administrator

Congratulations to Corey Howard for earning an Associates Degree in Computerized Drafting and Design

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:29:31 -0600

August 15, 2004

Congratulations to Corey Howard, our beloved WOO Assistant Director, who earned his Associates Degree in AutoCAD (Computer-aided drafting and design) from Virginia College.

Congratulations Teressa Tyus, WOO's 41st GED graduate!

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:28:51 -0600

August 12, 2004

Congratulations to Teressa Tyus!

It took more than three years, delicately juggling motherhood, childcare, employment, and studies for Teressa Tyus to proudly become WOO's 41st GED graduate. Teressa is the proud mother of Michelle and Daniel, and often brought both children with her to class.

To See by Sherene McLaurin

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:26:41 -0600

August 02, 2004

Misunderstanding of one who loves you most
....silent black eyes of one's true ghost.

Can the empty sentences
be solved like a puzzle?

Congratulations to Candace Ferguson! WOOs 40th GED graduate

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:25:44 -0600

July 12, 2004

Candace Ferguson, WOO's 40th GED graduate knocked her exam out of the ballpark. "I'm happy. I'm trying to go on to Miles College and then Tuskegee to fulfill my dreams to be a veterinarian. I hope to start my own business.

Dr. James Michael Lee, RIP

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:25:39 -0600

July 27, 2004

DR. JAMES MICHAEL LEE, September 29, 1931 - July 15, 2004, RIP

On July 15, 2004, sudden illness struck down our beloved Dr. James Michael Lee, a member of our WOO Community Advisory Board, and a faculty advisor of our program at UAB School of Education.

Congratuations to Alexis Hawkins! WOO's 39th GED graduate

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:24:57 -0600

July 05, 2004

When Alexis Hawkins learned that she became WOO's 39th graduate to earn her GED, she said, "To me this means that I have the opportunity to have the diploma which I missed out on
in high school. Getting a GED means a second chance at going to college. I'm thinking about...

LaDerek Riley is WOO's 37th GED graduate! June 10, 2004 LaDerek Riley is WOO's 37th GED graduate!

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:23:10 -0600

June 10, 2004

Not even have two weeks have passed since the May 27, 2004, GED graduation ceremony. The stage is practically still warm since more than a hundred GED graduates marched across it proudly wearing cap and gown on May 27th.

WOO GED graduates on stage in cap and gown

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:21:03 -0600

May 27, 2004

On Thursday evening, May 27, 2004, ten WOO GED graduate students walked across the stage, along with more than a hundred other graduates from across the county. The event was held at First Baptist Church of Gardendale and sponsored by Jefferson State Community College Jefferson County Adult Education Program.

WOO students attend Church of Reconciler homeless advocacy fundraiser

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:16:26 -0600

May 22, 2004

Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, eight WOO students attended the fundraising dinner for Church of Reconciler downtown. The Church of Reconciler is an advocacy ministry which works tirelessly with homeless people in our city.