Newspaper Page Text
14 - The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Big Brothers Big Sisters Needs Support
to Help More Kids Beat the Odds
In recognition of
National Mentoring Month,
Big Brothers Big Sisters of
the Coastal Empire is calling
on not only volunteers, but
donors as well, to provide
support for children who
need mentors.
Big Brothers Big
Sisters is the nation's largest
donor-supported volunteer
network of long-term men
tors for youth, providing
matching, screening and
ongoing support for “Bigs,”
“Littles,” and families.
Big Brothers Big
Sisters of the Coastal Empire
is one of the network's near
ly 400 agencies helping
approximately 235 Littles —
primarily children of single,
low-income and incarcerated
parents - succeed in and out
of school.
The Mentoring Project
of the Harvard School of
Public Health, the National
Mentoring Partnership, and
the Corporation for National
and Community Service
spearheads national
Mentoring Month with Big
Brothers Big Sisters of
America as a lead partner.
“Our priority and what
differentiates Big Brothers
Big Sisters is our commit
ment to providing long-term
mentoring, resulting in
proven positive educational
and social outcomes,
improving kids' chances to
succeed,” said John
Kendricks, Executive
Director of Big Brothers Big
sisters of the Coastal Empire.
“Donors enable Big Brothers
Big Sisters' quality staff,
backed by proven support
systems and structures, to
provide ongoing support for
"Littles," their families and
"Bigs," from before each
match is made, throughout
the course of the mentoring
friendship.”
Independent
research finds Littles are
more likely than their peers
to have better school atten
dance and improvements in
behavior — avoiding vio
lence and illegal activities —
and they are more likely to
have stronger relationships at
home and elsewhere.
Boys, particularly
African American children,
disproportionately represent
Littles ready to be matched
with Bigs. This month, with
emphasis on mentoring, the
organization is expecting a
surge in volunteers.
The hope is that dona
tions will come in as well, so
that all Bigs and Littles who
are ready to be matched can
begin a long, successful
mentoring match, supported
by Big Brothers Big Sisters
professionals who are com
mitted to helping vulnerable
children beat the odds..
Big Brothers Big
Sisters helps vulnerable chil
dren beat the odds. The
organization depends on
donations to help recruit vol
unteers and reach more chil
dren.
Funding is used to con
duct background checks on
volunteers to ensure child
safety; and provide ongoing
support for children, families
and volunteers to build and
sustain long-lasting relation
ships.
Big Brothers Big
Sisters is proven to improve
children's odds for succeed
ing in school, behaving non-
violently, avoiding drugs and
alcohol, and breaking nega
tive cycles.
Headquartered in
Philadelphia and with nearly
400 agencies across the
country, Big Brothers Big
Sisters serves more than a
quarter million children.
Learn how you can
change how children grow
up in America by going to
www.bbbscoastalempire.org
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Sports with Walter Moore
Lady Tigers Fall
Below .500
The Savannah State women's
basketball team fell to 8-9 on
the season after losses to
Georgia and Texas Tech.
Georgia, who was ranked 9th
in the nation, downed SSU
80-45 in Tiger Arena before
over 2,000 fans on December
30. UGA had runs of 27-3
and 22-4 to put SSU away.
Crissa Jackson had 14 points
for Savannah State.. SSU
traveled to Texas Tech on
January 2 and fell 69-40
before over 8,900 fans. The
Lady Tigers trailed by two
with five minutes left in the
first half but were down 37-
25 at the break. The Raiders
had runs of 17-2 and 11-2 in
the second period. Courtney
Long had 11 points and
Alisha Nelson had 13
rebounds for SSU.
SSU Men Lose To
The Citadel
Savannah State (5-10) rallied
from a 15 point deficit and
held the Citadel to one field
goal in the final six minutes
but it was not enough as the
Tigers fell 54-47 in Tiger
Arena on January 2. The
Citadel bench out-scored the
SSU reserves 27-2. Tracy
Rankins scored 17 points for
the Tigers while Rashad
Hassan added 13. On
December 29, SSU held San
Diego without a field goal the
final six minutes but once
again came up short as they
lost to the Toreros 63-56
before over 1,300 fans.
Arnold Louis had 23 points
and 8 rebounds while
Rankins added 15 points.
Tigers Lose Six To
Academics
Six Savannah State basket
ball players were declared
academically ineligible to
play in the spring semester.
The men's team lost four
Walter Moore
players while the women lost
two. Gone from the men's
team are junior Anthony
Jones, sophomore Mark St.
Fort and freshmen Darius
Baugh and Cedric Smith. The
Lady Tigers lost freshman
forward Darice Fountaine
and sophomore forward
Raven James.
SSU Athletes Join
Honor Society
22 current and former
Savannah State student-ath
letes were recently inducted
into the Golden Key
International Honour Society.
The SSU students are in the
top 15 percent of their gradu
ating class. Being inducted
were: William Baxter (golf),
Darien Campbell (baseball),
Nathaniel Clay (football),
Gabriel Davis (track),
Vonetta Epps (golf), Wansley
Harrison (track), Crissa
Jackson (basketball), Tiffani
Kelley, Courtrevez McTier
(baseball), Brandon Miller
(football), Danielle
Richardson (volleyball),
Sadie Sellow (track), Marcus
Stallworth (track), Ruth Tilus
(tennis), Antoine Toombs
(football), Brandon Webster
(baseball), Jessica
Weimerskirk (softball),
Channing Welch (football),
Erika Wheatly (cheerleader),
Derek Williams (football),
Zachry Gelow (golf) and
Milan Johnson (basketball).
Newton Signs With
Auburn
Former Florida quarterback
Cameron Newton has signed
a scholarship to play at
Auburn. The son of former
Savannah State football star
Cecil Newton led Blinn
College to a junior college
national title this season. The
Atlanta native was kicked off
the Gators team for stealing a
laptop last year but the
charges were dropped in
early December 2009.
Savannah State-
Missouri Game To
Be televised By
ESPN360.com
The Savannah State men's
basketball game with
Missouri on January 6 will be
televised live by
ESPN360.com.The game
will be played in Columbia,
Missouri in Mizzou Arena.
This will be the second over
all meeting between the
schools.Missouri won the
first meeting in the battle of
the Tigers in 2000.
ESPN360.com is ESPN's sig
nature broadband sports TV
network. ESPN360.com is
available free of charge to all
students who get their high
speed Internet access through
the on-campus network, to
anyone getting their high
speed Internet through one of
ESPN’s affiliated ISPs, and
to U.S.-based military per
sonnel who access the
Internet via on-base servers.
If fans are unable to attend
the game in person - whether
they’re in the dorms, in the
library, or on the road -
ESPN360.com provides them
with a great alternative to
catch all of the action.
New Tax Credit Includes Current
Homeowners
(NAPSI)—Many current
homeowners can now qualify
for up to a $6,500 home buyer
tax credit.
The initial success of the
$8,000 first-time home buyer
tax credit convinced
Washington to expand the
program and extend it until
April 30, 2010.
This extension, however,
will be the last.
Under the extended
home buyer tax credit, current
homeowners are eligible as
long as they have lived in their
present residence for five con
secutive years within the past
eight.
First-time home buyers
who haven't owned a home in
the past three years are still
eligible for up to an $8,000 tax
credit. Singles who make up
to $125,000 and married cou
ples who make up to $225,000
can qualify for the full credit.
Those who exceed those
income limits may qualify for
a reduced amount.
"The new provisions and
modifications make an
already enticing real estate
market even more attractive
and accessible. Interest rates
are low and home prices are
more affordable now than
they have been in decades,"
said National Association of
Realtors® (NAR) Chief
Economist Lawrence Yun.
"There's never been a better
time for potential buyers to
invest in their future through
homeo wnership."
Many areas are already
seeing a rise in home prices
and demand, with multiple
bids on properties becoming
more common.
According to the NAR
Profile of Home Buyers and
Sellers, first-time home buy
ers became homeowners in
record numbers over the past
year, comprising 47 percent of
all home sales between July
2008 and June 2009.
This flood of activity
helped shrink housing inven
tory levels. Reduced invento
ry is a sign the market is
returning to a more balanced
state and helps sustain home
values.
Yun said that while
the housing crisis isn't over,
the extended and expanded
tax credit is a step in the right
direction.
"The bottom line is that
the housing market is doing
much better now than one
year ago, and the home pur
chases using the tax credit
should continue to reduce
inventory to acceptable levels.
The extension is a big win for
consumers, but to take advan
tage of this rare opportunity,
would-be buyers need to get
the ball rolling and contact a
Realtor® who can help them
on the path toward owning a
home."
For more informa
tion about the tax credit, visit
www.HouseLogic.com/home-
buyertaxcredit.
Thanks for Reading
Wot ^abannaf) tribune
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