Wellness Hub Opens At Upstate Circle of Friends
Upstate Circle of Friends and Unity Health on Main have launched Unity Health Wellness Hub in Greenville to provide community health resources.
The Wellness Hub, at the Upstate Circle of Friends Campus, 29 Ridgway Drive, is funded through the Healthy Greenville Grant Initiative. The grants are intended to fund health research, health education, and other programs that improve the health of Greenville County residents.
Unity Health on Main received a $1.3 million grant for a collaboration among Unity Health on Main, Upstate Circle of Friends, Just Say Something, and other partners, including the Upstate American Heart Association.
The grant will fund programs that emphasize a holistic approach to family-centered health and wellness – particularly for uninsured families. Services will address medical and mental health care, intensive case management, behavioral health, nutrition, wellness education, and supportive parenting classes in a culturally sensitive environment.
The program will also focus on chronic health conditions, preventive medicine, community wellness and access to food.
Families can also access existing tools at Upstate Circle of Friends, such as Career Café with Employment Readiness Services, Drive Smart Driver Training and Licensing, IT services, and Dream Academy Day Care.
The Wellness Hub is intended to be particularly helpful to residents of Greenville County Council District 25, which has been described as lacking nearby resources and transportation options to access food, services and health care, according to a press release.
“Without transportation, it’s hard for people to access resources. Now, thanks to Healthy Greenville funding, they don’t have to go as far,” said George Singleton, COO of Upstate Circle of Friends.
Norma Jean Suarez, Executive Director, Unity Health on Main, said the program will treat more than illnesses.
“We will emphasize annual well visits, management of chronic conditions like hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, and provide mental health services,” Suarez said.
The nonprofit Upstate Circle of Friends was founded in 2006 by Deloris Pinson to help at-risk children, families, veterans, and seniors in Greenville County through youth development, education, workforce readiness, and community outreach.
Unity Health on Main is a nonprofit community health provider offering medical and mental health services to individuals, regardless of their ability to pay.
Trude Heller Children’s Garden Open At Museum On Heritage Green
The Children’s Museum of the Upstate recently held a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Trude Heller Children’s Garden.
The Trude Heller Children’s Garden honors the life of Trude Heller and her devotion to educating children. She often spoke at schools, churches and organizations about her experiences during the Holocaust.
Members of the Heller family took part in the ceremony.
Trude Schonthal and Max Heller met in Austria as teenagers but separately fled the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people in World War II. They reconnected and married in 1942 in Greenville. Max Heller was mayor of Greenville from 1971 to 1979; he died in 2011. Trude Heller died in 2021.
Entry to the garden is free and open to all children. It includes a mural by artist Adam Schrimmer and a children’s scavenger hunt.
The garden is the first completed phase of Heller Heritage on the Green, a $2.2 million initiative across the campus that will enhance accessibility, beauty, safety, recreation and culture.
The Heller Heritage on the Green project will ultimately include a pedestrian walkway with native plantings, lighting, mosaic art and gathering spaces; art installations; an interactive digital exhibit at the Upcountry History Museum of Max and Trude Heller’s journey; and the “Dear Mrs. Heller” exhibit at Hughes Main Library, featuring correspondence from those she inspired.
The initiative is a collaborative effort among institutions at Heritage Green, with the Community Foundation of Greenville serving as the fiscal sponsor and the Heller family as lead donor.
Heritage Green is located on College Street, just past Academy Street. Heritage Green includes Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville Theatre, Greenville County Library System – Hughes Main Library, The Children’s Museum of the Upstate, Upcountry History Museum and Sigal Music Museum.
Julie Valentine Center Presents Conference About Abuse
Julie Valentine Center will host its 10th annual When Faith Hurts conference from Oct. 14 to Oct. 16 at St. Michael Lutheran Church in Greenville.
Through the conferences, Julie Valentine Center has trained more than 450 participants to recognize, prevent, and respond to abuse that occurs or is reported in faith settings.
The conference prepares participants to respond to cases of sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. Clergy will learn to provide faithful responses to child abuse and sexual assault and learn about its implications for their congregations.
Julie Valentine Center is the first nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center to employ a nationally board-certified full-time chaplain. The position was added after clients articulated spiritual injury from the crimes.
Sessions at the conference will explain the impact of maltreatment and sexual assault on a victim’s spirituality and offer suggestions for working with medical and mental health professionals to help a child or adult survivor.
Participants will learn ideal child protection policies for faith-based institutions, including how to handle a convicted sex offender seeking to join a congregation, trauma-informed pastoral responses to sexual assault survivors, and how faith communities can offer prevention education to their members and in the community.
This year, Julie Valentine Center will also present sessions about online enticement and sextortion of minors, child sexual exploitation in houses of worship, internet safety, interpersonal violence, threat assessments for congregations, and human trafficking.
The conference will include scenarios and discussions of appropriate and inappropriate responses.
The keynote speaker is Victor Vieth, Chief Program Officer at the Zero Abuse Project. He has trained professionals from all 50 states and 17 countries about child abuse investigations, prosecutions and prevention.
Vieth gained national recognition for his work to address child abuse in small communities as a prosecutor in rural Minnesota and has been named to the honor roll of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and received an award from the North American Resource Center for Child Welfare.
The Board of Examiners of the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation has approved continuing education units for licensure of professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psycho-educational specialists who attend the conference. Credits for victim service providers have not been approved but are pending.
To register for the conference, go to julievalentinecenter.org. St. Michael Lutheran Church is at 2619 Augusta St.
Julie Valentine Center is a nonprofit organization that provides recovery support and free confidential services and treatment to survivors of child abuse and sexual assault – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Proceeds from the conference help JVC continue to support those who have experienced sexual assault and child abuse and to devote resources to advocacy, education and outreach.
Barbara Stone Foundation Event Offers Insights Into Disabilities
The Barbara Stone Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports and creates visionary programs for individuals with disabilities, will host its annual CAN Talks from 6:40 to 9 p.m. Oct. 21 at Centre Stage, 501 River St. in Downtown Greenville.
At the event, six individuals with disabilities who live in the Upstate will share their stories and insights to spark conversations, challenge outdated stereotypes, and broaden perspectives.
This year’s speakers are Andrew Angalet, Daniel Battle, Andy Lecture, Kathleen Stoller, Alex Wallace and Chrystal Washington. Jake Kellett and Betsy Knowles, two speakers from the 2024 CAN Talks, will be the emcees.
CAN (Collaborative Action Network) coaches are Caroline Avinger, Dana Gantt Moore, John Moore, Dann Publicover and Leigh Whitaker.
“The Barbara Stone Foundation created CAN Talks so that individuals living with a disability could share the contributions they have made to our community despite the challenges and barriers they face every day,” said Lara Ceisel, Executive Director of the Barbara Stone Foundation.
“The speakers have developed their speeches from a place of vulnerability and share deeply personal information to broaden the community’s perspectives about disabilities and to showcase their self-advocacy,” she said.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception. In addition to the speakers’ presentations, the Barbara Stone Foundation will present its Fall Community Innovations Grants.
A sign language interpreter will be available. Accommodations will be made upon request. Only eight spaces are available for wheelchairs.
Admission is $30. For tickets and information, go to GVLCANtalks.org. Virtual tickets are available for $10. For further information or to donate to the Barbara Stone Foundation, contact Ceisel at lara@barbarastonefoundation.org, (864) 214-5798, or barbarastonefoundation.org.
Since 1991, the Barbara Stone Foundation’s focus has been to influence community systems, policies, and culture to create equitable opportunities for individuals with disabilities in the Upstate. The organization’s signature initiatives are Greenville CAN and UP (Upward Professionals) Employment Initiative.
Greenville Art Museum Celebrates Antiques & Design
The Greenville County Museum of Art’s signature event – the 39th anniversary Antiques, Fine Art & Design Weekend presented by United Community – will take place Oct. 17 through Oct. 19.
Dealers from throughout the Southeast will exhibit their fine antiques, fine art and designs. Admission is free. The museum is located at 420 College St.
Fine art, folk art, jewelry, primitives, porcelain, linens and silver, along with antique furniture, will be sold.
Programming on the Saturday and Sunday of the event includes Dealer Talks, where attendees can listen to experts and explore their collections.
Lunch and desserts are available for purchase.
“This event is eagerly awaited not only by art enthusiasts, but also by those with a passion for antiques and interior design,” said Tom Styron, Executive Director of the Greenville County Museum of Art.
“It is a rare chance to experience a wide range of leading exhibitors in one setting, and we are excited to share it with the community.”
For information and a schedule of programming, go to gcma.org/antiques.
The Greenville County Museum of Art, considered among the premier American art museums in the South, is home to the world’s largest public collection of watercolors by iconic American artist Andrew Wyeth.
The museum also has a collection of paintings and prints by contemporary artist Jasper Johns, the largest institutional collection of pottery by enslaved artisan David Drake, and the largest collection outside the Smithsonian Institution of paintings by South Carolina-born artist William H. Johnson.
Ranging from portraits to contemporary abstractions, the museum’s Southern Collection allows viewers to survey American art history through works with ties to the South.
Women’s Barbershop Chorus Performs Free In Simpsonville
The Vocal Matrix Chorus – the women’s barbershop a cappella chorus from the Upstate – will attend an international competition in late October. Before then, the chorus is inviting the public to a free performance at 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 2240 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville.
The mini-concert will help the award-winning, nonprofit Vocal Matrix Chorus prepare for the Sweet Adelines International Chorus Championship.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
The Vocal Matrix Chorus has been sharing four-part harmonies throughout the Carolinas and beyond for more than 20 years. Dr. Kimberly Graham directs the group.
Vocal Matrix competes at regional and international levels as part of the Sweet Adelines International Organization, which includes more than 21,000 members on five continents.
The chorus is available for bookings, but members also volunteer their time and talents at Artisphere and Fall For Greenville in Greenville and other civic events and organizations.
For information, go to VocalMatrixChorus.com.
Caring For Caregivers With Free Lunch, Resources
Bon Secours St. Francis Health System will present a “Caring for the Caregivers: An Appreciation Lunch & Learn for Family Caregivers” from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 16 at Senior Action, 3715 E. North St. in Greenville.
The free event is designed for parents, spouses, adult children and other adult family members. It will include resources, support, speakers, time to connect with other caregivers, and encouragement.
Lunch is free, and door prizes will be given. Registration is required by contacting Amanda Mlinar at (864) 242-9733 or amlinar@scacog.org. The deadline for registration is Oct. 9.
Sponsors are Bon Secours St. Francis Health System and the Appalachian Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging.
Chamber Event Features Servpro, Children’s Museum
The Simpsonville Area Chamber of Commerce Women’s Impact Network will meet from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Oct. 7 at the chamber office, 105A W. Curtis St.
This month’s featured business is Servpro of South Greenville County, which provides storm, fire and water restoration. The featured charity is The Children’s Museum of the Upstate, which specializes in play-based learning for children – infants through age 12. The museum has 30 exhibits that explore arts, science, health, transportation, the environment, and more.
Women’s Impact Network is a way to start the day with coffee, networking with fellow businesswomen, and giving back to the community. Guests this month are asked to bring bags of Halloween candy for the museum’s trick-or-treat fundraiser.
For information, go to simpsonvillechamber.com and click on the Calendar.
Flywheel Tech Slam For Software Developers
Tech Slam n’ Eggs, presented by Flywheel Coworking Greenville, is a peer-to-peer event for the developer community. The event will be from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Oct. 15 at the Crescent Innovation Center, 25 Goldsmith St. in Greenville.
Lead developers will discuss discoveries, insights and problems they overcame. This event is designed exclusively for the software developer community. It is not a pitch event. It is a collaborative atmosphere for developers to innovate and connect.
The event is free. To register, go to flywheelgreenvillesc.com and click on Events.
Entrepreneurs Pitch At Flywheel
Flywheel Coworking Greenville will present Pitch-Space Live from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Crescent Innovation District, 25 Goldsmith St.
Featured entrepreneurs will pitch their businesses to a panel of investors, who will provide feedback. The audience can take part in a question-and-answer session. The event is free.
Pitch-Space is open to founders, investors and community members interested in making connections and learning to present to investors.
For information or registration, go to flywheelgreenvillesc.com and click on Events.
Catalyzer Helps Solo Founders
Catalyzer, presented by Flywheel Coworking Greenville, focuses on scaling professional service businesses from a solo founder to a growing team or a growing entity.
The event will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Crescent Innovation District, 25 Goldsmith St. Catalyzer is a free event.
Catalyzer takes place quarterly. Events will be facilitated by professionals who have successfully scaled their businesses. Topics will include sales and marketing automation, avoiding the feast/famine loop, 1099s vs FTEs, productivity tools, and legal and HR issues.
For information or registration, go to flywheelgreenvillesc.com and click on Events.
Men’s Engagement Network
The Simpsonville Chamber of Commerce Men’s Engagement Network will meet from 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at 129 N. Main Street. The event provides a relaxing way to end the workday while networking with fellow business professionals.
The networking event will include presentations from a sponsor and a local nonprofit organization, as well as time for guests to network. For information, go to simpsonvillechamber.com and click on the Calendar.
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