Links To Success

Links to Success is a Trident United Way (TUW) collaboration in which CIS staff serve as Integrated Services Providers, coordinating the services of Linking Partners funded by the TUW. Linking partners include the following:

Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs of the Trident Area, Boy Scouts of America, Wings for Kids, Lowcountry Foodbank, Lowcountry Earth Force, SC Maritime Foundation, Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center, Department of Mental Health and SideWalk Chalk.

Links To Success sites for the 2009-2010 school year include: St. Stephen Elementary School, St. Stephen Middle School, Edith L. Frierson Elementary School, Memminger Elementary School, North Charleston Elementary School and Haut Gap Magnet School of Advanced Studies.

Linking Partner Services

Outstanding Programs with Great Outcomes

Reading Soul Mates – A peer-to-peer program designed to increase reading literacy, Reading Soul Mates is offered weekly to any and all students. Students receive training, recognition for reaching reading goals, and free books for participating in the program.

Learning for Life – This life skills program is available for students in elementary and middle school. It aids youth in their development of social and life skills, assists them in their character development, and helps students formulate positive personal values. It prepares youth to make ethical decisions that will help them achieve their full potential.

Charleston-Dorchester Dept. of Mental Health – A full-time mental health worker on staff at a school site can work with up to 30 students and their families who have been identified to be in need of mental health services.

Backpack Buddies – A program of the Lowcountry Foodbank, Backpack Buddies is for students who are food insecure and are not getting sufficient nourishment outside of school on a regular basis.

Big Brothers, Big Sisters Mentoring - “Bigs In Schools” is a mentoring program offered by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Carolina Youth Development Center. Children are matched with volunteer mentors who are thoroughly screened by Big Brothers Big Sisters and will meet for one hour per week on the school grounds. During this time, the volunteer will work with children on activities that are fun and educational, as well as targeting strengths and weaknesses identified by the classroom teacher and a Big Brothers Big Sisters Case Manager. The activities help children learn skills that will result in a more successful performance at school and at home.

Adult Education – General Education Development (GED), English as a Second Language (ESL), and Work Keys

Louie’s Kids Fit Club – This program includes nutritional education; a daily regimen of physical activity and, perhaps most importantly, cognitive behavioral therapy in a group setting. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is widely used by therapists to identify and monitor thoughts, assumptions, beliefs and behaviors that are related to and accompanied by debilitating negative emotions and to identify those which are dysfunctional, inaccurate, or simply unhelpful. CBT was primarily developed out of Behavior Modification and has become widely used to change fundamental ideas about weight loss in obese people.

Earthforce – Environmental Service Learning provides an educational outlet for all youth in the Lowcountry to become better students and active citizens who improve the environment and their communities.

Mandated Reporting Support – Offered by The Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center, professionals offer development training on mandated reporting and provide support to staff who file reports. School personnel in the tricounty area will possess the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively identify, report, and respond to suspicions and disclosures of child abuse and neglect.

Sidewalk Chalk – Volunteers work with students to create written works that will be published. This group also offers visual arts and leads creative arts workshops (short story writing, painting, and photography) in order to promote creativity and improve writing skills through exploring the visual and language arts.

Spirit of South Carolina – Curriculum ties into state standards for science. Lessons are provided to classroom teachers for pre- and post-sailing instruction. A group of 35 students participates in a day sail around the harbor, as they learn navigation skills and science standards tied to water biomes.