News
Leadership and Entrepreneur's Camp
Great Oak will conduct their fourth annual Leadership and Entrepreneur's Camp in June 2010. The mission of the Great Oak Leadership and Entrepreneur's Camp is to teach youth successful teamwork, respect for themselves and others, and to bring about positive self-image. The camp participants learned about business and leadership development. The program also features several field trips.
G.R.E.A.T. Program
Great Oak is in conjuction with the Fayetteville Police Department to produce the G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) program for fourth and fifth grade boys over summer break. The 4-day long session provided information and helped the young men stay away from violence, deliquency, and gang membership. A certified police officer conducts the classroom training at Great Oak Headquarters and led field trips as part of the training.
The Acorn
Recently, Great Oak created a monthly newsletter entitled The Acorn. The reason the periodical received that name is because an unnutured acorn will fail to become a great oak. With the proper care, however, an acorn has a better chance of being a strong, fruitful member of the forest (or in this case, soceity). The Acorn provides informative articles for mentors and mentees, a list of Great Oak events, along with a monthly Sudoku puzzle.
Great Oak Provides Cultural Awareness To Men and Boys.
On July 16, 2009, Great Oak and its mentoring program took men and boys on a trip to Washignton D.C. as a part of its Cultural Awareness and Education Intiaitive. The three-day trip included a tour of Capitol Hill, War Memorials, and a meeting with a North Carolina Congressman. The participants were also engaged in visits to Howard University, Virginia Commonwealth, Colonial Williamsburg, and a major league baseball game between the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs among many other events. Great Oak's Cultural Awareness and Education Initiative is an annual planned event.
Great Oak Receives Award For Outstanding Service.
Great Oak Youth Development Center was recently nominated and selected as a Cumberland County recipient of the 2009 North Carolina Award for Oustanding Volunteer Service. Great Oak went on to compete at the state level and was one of 20 organizations selected, finishing with the 3rd highest score.
Staff Represents Great Oak Well On Live TV.
Great Oak's Bobby Washington and Catrina Murphy were interviewed on the Cumberland County Progressives Show. The program was aired on June 16, 2009 on the Time Warner Public Access channel. Click the link below to view the entire interview.
For more information about Great Oak Youth Development Centers, contact Executive Director Bobby Washington at 910-822-2226 or greatoakydc@earthlink.net.