PRESS RELEASE: National Guard Youth Foundation Launches Workforce Development Pilot Program with the National Black Chamber of Commerce in Louisiana

National Guard Youth Foundation Launches Workforce Development Pilot Program with the National Black Chamber of Commerce in Louisiana


Gulf Coast Chamber Members Pledge to Train, Hire Hundreds of Louisiana Youth ChalleNGe Graduates

Alexandria, VA – The National Guard Youth Foundation (NGYF) is launching a workforce development pilot program with the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) to provide additional skills training, access to technical programs and job placement opportunities to graduates of the Louisiana National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, an alternative education program that provides mentorship, life skills and a pathway to graduation for youth who were previously disconnected from education and the workforce. NBCC has pledged to facilitate training and hiring for hundreds of Louisiana Youth ChalleNGe Program graduates through its Gulf Coast Chamber members.

“To help cadets, we are bridging the gap by engaging in partnerships that provide pathways to fulfilling careers and a lifetime of success,” said President of NGYF Louis A. Cabrera. “We are extremely pleased that the National Black Chamber of Commerce and its affiliates in the Gulf Coast region will be our first partner in our workforce development program to serve these young men and women as they continue their upward trajectory in life.”

NBCC has identified sectors in the Gulf Coast region with an increased need for new employees, such as the energy and construction sectors, and will work with its local chambers and corporate partners to provide apprenticeships, internships and jobs to program graduates.

The Louisiana Youth ChalleNGe Program is a 17-month program which consists of two phases. During the five-month residential phase, students live on site at one of the three locations: Camp Minden near Shreveport, Camp Beauregard in Central Louisiana and The Gillis W. Long Center near Baton Rouge. In addition to earning a high school equivalency diploma and learning life-coping skills, developing leadership skills and self- confidence, participants have the opportunity to earn college credits or become certified

“This is God's work helping our youth in need to identify a vocation and find a pathway to full time employment and quality of life for young families,” said NBCC President Harry C. Alford, Jr.

in basic construction technology. To date, more than 19,200 young men and women have graduated from the Louisiana program.

“This historic and important partnership with the NBCC will be invaluable in allowing the Louisiana National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Programs to continue fulfilling its mission of intervening in and reclaiming the lives of Louisiana’s At-Risk youths. For that, we are grateful,” said COL (Ret.) Michael Borrel, Director of Educational Programs, Louisiana National Guard.

The workforce development pilot program with NBCC is part of NGYF’s Career Development Program, which includes a network of supporting organizations and partners that provides skills training, workforce development, job placement, scholarship funding and access to technical programs directly to ChalleNGe graduates. The pilot in Louisiana will serve as a model for forthcoming workforce development programs and partnerships to be launched in the 29 states and territories where ChalleNGe programs are located. The goal of the Career Readiness Program is to support 2,500 of the more than 9,000 ChalleNGe graduates across the nation with skills training and jobs and improve their economic mobility.

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About the National Guard Youth Foundation

The National Guard Youth Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to addressing the nation’s school dropout crisis by giving youth a second chance through the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program. NGYF advocates for and supports ChalleNGe, run by the National Guard; raises awareness of the impact the school dropout crisis has on our society, economy and national security; and provides ChalleNGe graduates with scholarships and career support to help them continue on their path of success. For more information, visit www.ngyf.org.

About the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program
Conducted at 35 academies across the country, the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program is operated in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, state governments and local sites. The program consists of a 5 1/2- month residential phase framed around eight core components: academic excellence, responsible citizenship, physical fitness, leadership/followership, job skills, service to the community, health and hygiene and life coping skills, and a 12-month post residential phase during which mentors continue to provide guidance and support to graduates.

Helping more than 130,000 teens to date turn their lives around, ChalleNGe is recognized as among the most cost-effective, highly rated programs of its kind for youth who have dropped out of school. An independent, multi-year study of the program by MDRC shows that high school diploma/ GED attainment increased by 29%, college attendance increased by 86% and annual earnings increased by 20%. An independent cost-benefit analysis by the RAND Corporation shows a 166% return on investment in the program – every dollar spent yielded a return of $2.66 in benefits to society.

About the National Black Chamber of Commerce

The National Black Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in Washington, D.C. in March 1993 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to economically empower and sustain African American communities through entrepreneurship and capitalistic activity within the United States and via interaction with the Black Diaspora. For more information on the organization, visit NationalBCC.org.

Procrastinator: Blogging From A to Z

My name is Cari and I am a procrastinator. If I could choose one word to describe me, besides floaty (don't ask), that would be it. Most people in my life do not understand it. when it comes to everyday chores, I want to get them done, but when I have a project or article due, I tend to be a last minute gal. I blame it on working well under pressure, which I do. However, I think it has more to do with my perfectionist tendencies and my fear of failure.

I have this horrible fear of failure. When I was in school and had a project due, paper due, or test that I wasn't 100% confident in, I would get physically ill. I mean running a fever, nausea, body aches, almost like the flu. It got to the point that my mother went to a counselor about it. They explained to her that I had school phobia, and that is what happens. I had such a strong fear of failure that it would make me physically sick. My mom's solution was that when I had something major, she would set a timer and have me work on it a little at a time, each day, to make sure I wasn't feeling overwhelmed and had more time to make it perfet. It worked, but I would still get anxious.

Even now, I know that if I don't procrastinate, my stress levels aren't as high, but those tendencies still stick around.

Optimism: Blogging From A to Z

 I try to stay positive, no matter what I am doing. It's one of those things my mother drilled into me. It doesn't matter if someone is dying, I look at it optimistically, it is just in my nature. Usually when someone is at that point, I feel in my heart it will get better- there was only one time that wasn't like that. When my great-granny died, I saw it differently than most of my family. She talked to me before she went in the hospital, I didn't understand at the time, but when she actually got sick, I understood.

The conversation started with her telling me that she wanted to go home. Well, at 90 years old, 12 years a widow, and declining health, she didn't need to live alone in her big house full of memories. She told me that I was misunderstanding. She was ready to be home with Hoyt, my great grandaddy. It was then that I understood that she was ready to leave us. I was completely heartbroken. 

She told me to stay positive, that she needed this and that I no longer needed her. She was wrong. I did need her. Little did I know that she needed me to stay optimistic because she needed me. She needed me to run interference. Everyone was telling her to get better and go home, but that wasn't what she needed. She was tired. She needed to be done with her mission and she felt she was. She knew in her heart that we had learned what we needed. She had taken the time to cryptically tell me the things I needed to know about the paranormal world to keep me safe. She was the strongest woman I have ever known. You will learn more about this amazing woman in my book to be released sometime in the near future, My Life: After Dark. 

MeCam: POV for Everyone + #Giveaway

Disclosure: I was offered a product to review. All opinions are my own.

You know how it is, every once in a while, you run across the coolest gadgets that you don't think you can live without. As a paranormal investigator and bigfoot researcher, that happens quite often. While we have the normal equipment that we can't investigate without, there are other things that come along that just make the experience more enjoyable and help so much, even if they aren't "necessary." Well, to me they are because I am a complete gadget geek.

MeCam is one of those items for me. I just pin it on my shirt, belt, or backpack strap and catch all the action without making sure my other camera is catching it. Say, I'm setting up equipment and a shadow goes across the room, my MeCam caught it, although my other cameras are not in use at the moment. Say I'm traipsing through the woods in the middle of the night- I'm watching where my feet are going, not capturing the action around me. No worries though, MeCam caught it. The MeCam Classic is my new best friend.

The MeCam is outfitted with a safety pin to use as a lapel pin, as well as holes for a lanyard. You can use it practically anywhere, even as a stationary camera if the need arises. The 7 IR lights allow for filming in the dark, which I do a lot. It can take stills and video with or without the IR lights. The camera charges via USB, takes a micro SD card to save and even comes with the adapter to use it in your computer. There are even indicator lights to help you make sure it is charged, and help determine which mode the camera is currently in. There is a learning curve to the MeCam, but that is the case with anything worth using.

MeCam actually has 3 different cameras available, at amazing price points. The MeCam Classic, and the MeCam HD. There is also the MeCam X, wish is an action camera with a full line of accessories included for just $229.99- quite a bit of difference from the well known action camera.

MeCam has become one of my favorite investigative tools and I will be using it on each investigation. I'm starting a youtube channel that will feature these videos so that you can see what actually happens on an investigation. Be sure to look for Cari's MeCam on Youtube (The paranormal Sass)

Want to win one for yourself? I'd love to hear how you would use a Mecam Classic. Just comment and tell me your ideas.  A winner will be chosen April 24, 2015. Good Luck!

Get Ready For Summer With Labels

Disclaimer: This is part of a campaign through LabelDaddy. All opinions are my own,

I don't know if you guys are or not, but I am steady prepping for summer. Part of my summer prep includes gathering labels and labeling everything the kids leave the house with. That may seem like overboard to some, but even toys are labeled. I have too often come across the situation with one of my kids and another kid having the exact same item and we go through so much trying to get the right items to the right child. We've had a similar problem with drinks and snack containers. I also color code Tbomb and Kodabug so that I can tell their drinks and snacks apart quickly. 

As many of you know buying good labels for our kids can be an expensive task, especially this time of year; while we're getting ready for camps, day camps, and vacations. Never fear though, Label Daddy has a deal for you. Their peel & stick washable labels are now 20% off when you use code USFAMILY20 at checkout. 

They have many packages, including camp labels, school labels, and a luggage pack. Their label sizes include extra small, small, medium, large, and a variety of circle labels. Even the designs offered are amazing- choose between sports teams, Marvel, Disney, and basic icons. They even offer allergy labels, return address labels, and even a variety of household labels. Other products include zipper pulls, photo stickers, spice labels, and luggage tags. 

This is definitely time to stock up on labels for the whole family. Go wild and label everything. I'm going overboard this year- labeling some of their clothing, my normal labeled items, equipment, and anything else I can stick a label on. Grab this discount and go crazy. 

Uqique Voice Recorder and #Giveaway

Disclaimer: I received a product to review. All opinions are my own.

As most of you know, I am a Bigfoot researcher and paranormal investigator. I am also about to start another show, which will be quite exciting. I love investigating, but the downfall to it is the equipment that is needed. The bare necessities are a camera, flashlight, notebook, and voice recorder. The camera, voice recorder, and even flashlight can cost quite a bit of cash, so you can imagine what the fun equipment costs. Basically, what I'm saying is that paranormal investigators spend a lot of money on equipment. Some of these items, we even need backups of.

For instance, we need a backup voice recorder. This would be in case our main one fails, we are needing to leave one alone in a room (or the woods), or even to accompany a camera or motion detector in another room. Now, who wants to spend $100+ on an extra voice recorder? No one!

You're in luck, though. I have discovered the coolest little voice recorder. The Uqique Digital Voice Recorder ($26.99 on Amazon) comes with everything you need to start recording. No batteries are needed, it charges via USB cable. The recorder comes complete with the recorder, headphones, and charging/ data transfer cable all in the box.

The Uqique Voice Recorder is of amazing quality, especially for the price. I was amazed at the sounds it picked up, even as subtle as touching the table it was sitting on. The audio quality is amazing. While I didn't catch any EVPs while testing it out, I'm sure if there are voices in the room, even those our human ears cannot hear, this recorder will pick them up.

Boasting internal storage of 8gb, I'm sure that you will not run out of storage room before you can transfer to another device/ computer. That amount of storage is perfect for using it as an MP3 player as well. In a pinch, you can use it as a flash drive, as well. This recorder is small enough to carry anywhere. You can use it to record lectures, interviews, as well as for capturing EVPs. We actually like to use it to lie next to a camera while recording (most cameras do not have that great of audio). We also put it in a waterproof bag and hang it from a tree to capture sounds in the woods overnight in our research area. On a single charge, you can record up to 10 hours of continuous audio- you can record all night! You can actually store up to 96 hours of audio without having to empty.

My favorite feature of the Uqique Digital Voice Recorder is how easy it is to use. Simply turn it on and it starts recording- it really cannot get any simpler. No selecting folders, or anything-, so be mindful of that.  just turn it on. To stop recording, just turn it off. There is a 3 second delay to record once turned on, so be mindful of that. When you are ready to listen to your recording, plug your headphones in and turn it on, it will automatically start playback.

On top of these amazing features, this recorder has high definition audio recording. It features intelligent noise cut filtering microphone and voice amplification with a built-in ADPCM algorithm. The Uqique records in .wav format, but has playback in .wav, mp3, and .wma formats.

 When you decide it is time to transfer files to your computer, there is no installation needed. This plug and play feature is great for those of us that have spent so much time installing the software for our equipment.

My other favorite feature is its quick charge. It only takes 30 minutes to reach a full charge. I know we all spend at least a whole day charging equipment and going through a ton of batteries, I'm sure this is a relief. Have you ever had your batteries drained in the middle of an investigation? If this happens, just plug it into a battery pack or computer and you'll be ready to go in no time.

Are you ready to get your hands on one of these handy recorders? You are in luck! The makers of the Uqique Digital Voice Recorder have offered a giveaway for readers of The Palmetto Queen. In fact, they have provided 5 codes so that you can purchase this recorder for just $0.99. That is an amazing deal that you just cannot pass by. To enter to win one of these 5 codes, just comment below and tell me how you would use this recorder. (Don't forget your email address) Five winners will be chosen April 23, 2015.