ServiceSource NC: Friendship House Fayetteville-Warrior Bridge-Day Program

You can click below to watch for us live now in the Fayetteville Rotary Christmas parade! Float #55

WTVD News Live Streaming Video Watch live streaming video on abc11.com and stay up-to-date with the latest WTVD news broadcasts as well as live breaking news whenever it happens.

We are excited to participate with our ServiceSource NC float in tomorrow's 2023 Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade in downtown Fayetteville. Join us at 10am with over 100 local schools, businesses, organizations and The Clauses. The weather is due to be absolutely beautiful and we look forward to seeing you in the crowd!

Team ServiceSource NC was honored to serve today at the Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch (FAOI) breakfast program. FAOI began serving a hot nutritious breakfast to the homeless and low-income population here in 2007. Over 100 individuals receive breakfast each morning, with over 21,000 meals served this past year. Thank you, Gwen, Anthony, Devonda, Willie, Jason, Tara, Stephanie and Kylie, for serving. We appreciate our opportunities of partnerships in support of creating more inclusive communities.
Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch

The 2023 Bike Giveaway by Ms. Bernie, "The Bike MaDea" of The Healthy Child & Adolescent Network will be held here at ServiceSource NC December 16, and they need your help. If you would like to donate or volunteer, please see the emails below.

To donate: [email protected]
To volunteer: [email protected]

Don’t forget that tomorrow is your last day to vote for our very own Stacey Buckner of Fayetteville, North Carolina. You can cast your vote today and tomorrow at the link below. If you share your votes on social media, they will double. Congratulations to all the CNN Heroes! We thank each and everyone of you for all that you do.  A special well wishes to Stacey Buckner, as she will travel to New York this weekend for the award ceremony live this Sunday night. Tune in and let’s help vote Stacey in for the big win!

Link to vote

https://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/10/

Who will be the next CNN Hero of the Year? Voting ends on Tuesday. Go to CNNHeroes.com right now. Your favorite could receive $100,000 to continue their life-changing work.

Thank you to everyone who donated to ServiceSource NC during the campaign! We want to once again thank the donors who made the match possible: Cumberland Community Foundation, Will Gillis, Elizabeth “Beth” Keeney, Daphne and Ray Manning, Carol and Sammy Short, Fayetteville New Car Dealers Association, Healy Wholesale, and three anonymous donors!

ServiceSource NC joined over 50 local businesses this week by becoming a member of the Consumer Protection Division Program of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber.
The Consumer Protection Division is the Greater Fayetteville Chamber’s newest initiative created to foster trustworthiness, transparency, and fair and equitable practices by
the businesses of Fayetteville and the surrounding area. When consumers see the “certified blue checkmark” on the window of a business, they can receive services with confidence that
this business has met the criteria of being a member of the CPD. Angela Selitto, Director of Consumer Protection Division presented the “Certified Blue Checkmark” this week to
ServiceSource NC Regional Executive Director, Jason Amorose.

We are honored to have Friendship House Fayetteville of ServiceSource NC be selected as the beneficiary of the Cumberland County Schools (CCS) collective Student Government Association (SGA) that includes seventeen of our public high schools. ServiceSource Director of Regional Philanthropy, Tara Hinton joined CCS staff, SGA staff advisors and over 125 students at Gates Four Golf & Country Club yesterday to present and thank the students for all their hard work as we look forward to working with everyone. Thank you for your support.

Thank you to everyone who donated to ServiceSource NC for ! If you have not yet donated- there is still time to make an impact! Gifts received through 5:00 pm TODAY will be amplified! Your gift helps make it possible for our organization to facilitate services, resources and partnerships to support people with disabilities and others we serve, along with their families, their caregivers and community members, in order to build more inclusive communities.

https://cumberlandcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/grant?grant_id=53926

National Giving Tuesday is TODAY!! From now, until tomorrow November 29th at 5 pm, you have the chance to donate to ServiceSource NC and have that donation amplified. Your gift will help us continue to provide vital resources and create more inclusive communities for individuals with disabilities in our community. This years gifts will be amplified by Cumberland Community Foundation, Will Gillis, Elizabeth “Beth” Keeney, Carol and Sammy Short, Ray and Daphne Manning, Fayetteville New Car Dealers Association, Healy Wholesale, and three anonymous donors who will be matching $550,000 in gifts. Thank you to those who have already donated. We greatly appreciate your support.

Checks must be made to Cumberland Community Foundation, and Giving Tuesday-ServiceSource in memo or you can make your impact directly online at: https://cumberlandcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/grant?grant_id=53926

It was a bit chilly yesterday, but the love was warm as we celebrated Friendship House Fayetteville turning 5 and visiting with all of our great community members who stopped in to join us in fellowship and purchased fresh wreaths to benefit our community partner, Friendship Community Gardens and handcrafted Bloom items made by our ServiceSource residents and participants. A good time was had by all, and thank you for your support ServiceSource Fayetteville NC

Some of our residents helped get our tree all trimmed this weekend and ready to celebrate our opening 5 years ago this month of Friendship House Fayetteville! Stop in today from 2pm-5pm for our “Jingle Bells Birthday Bash” for shopping handcrafted Bloom items made by our residents and participants, while enjoying hot chocolate, birthday cake and decorating holiday cookies by the fire with us. See you soon!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and hope that you can join us Sunday at Friendship House Fayetteville to celebrate our 5th birthday! We will have our handcrafted Bloom items made with love by our participants that now include candles and holiday cards that make great Christmas gifts! Join us for shopping, birthday cake, hot chocolate and cookie decorating. See you then!

As we reflect on our Thankfulness, we are grateful for the opportunity to help those in need in our community. Last week, ServiceSource NC participated in the 2023 H&H Community Stand Down Information and Resources Fair for our homeless and at-risk by providing meal kits, Veteran's with disability resources, and tennis shoes donated by Fleet Feet in partnership with Off-Road Outreach. Thank you to our Warrior Bridge Veteran Participants for sorting and organizing these items! And a big thank you to Freedom Christian Academy for the donation of 900 can goods to our Warrior Bridge program that will help feed so many in our community now and in the coming days. We were thrilled to help our first Warrior Bridge family with these goods. Happy Thanksgiving to the Gonzalez family and to you all.

is here! Please consider a donation to ServiceSource North Carolina today and have your gift amplified. A match of $550,000 is available for gifts received TODAY through November 29. This GivingTuesday, give local! Our mission to facilitate services, resources and partnerships to support people with disabilities and others we serve, along with their families, their caregivers and community members, in order to build more inclusive communities.

Link to make an impact.
https://cumberlandcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/grant?grant_id=53926

Our Community Inclusion Day Program looks forward to each Wednesday for Art Therapy classes with support from the Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County. This week, our participants enjoyed the beautiful weather by bringing their art from outside with pairing an activity and refocusing overall engagement to a therapeutic tactile experience. Participants created beautiful autumn wreaths from surrounding nature here at our ServiceSource NC campus. Great job everyone! And thank you Arts Council of Fayetteville-Cumberland County.

Robert Hall, a participant of our ServiceSource NC Individual Placement & Support (IPS)-Employment Rehabilitation program has been employed and working hard at Staples in Fayetteville, NC as a sales associate, and was quoted by his supervisor, “they wish they could clone Robert”, due to the effectiveness of his work ethics. Mr. Hall has been without personal transportation for four years and expressed his desire to have his own vehicle as he utilized the city bus for work, church, etc. Mr. Hall qualified for the Wheels4Hope (W4H) program by working these past six months with no interruptions as our Employment Development Specialist worked to provide guidance and support. Mr. Hall attended the W4H orientation and excitedly awaited the past eight weeks to receive his 2009 Hyundai Sonata. After providing proof of car insurance, Mr. Hall proudly signed the paperwork for his new vehicle! Mr. Hall was supported by members of his church and ServiceSource IPS staff Zeyta Curtis, Anita Rickenbacker and Nateesta Oliver. Robert was truly over the moon to receive his car keys. Congratulations, Robert and thank you, Wheels4Hope!

Congratulations ServiceSource North Carolina staff Kelsey Greene, Brayden Ciani, Delaine Carlisle, Gina Tilke, and LaTesha Bright for advancing their knowledge base and completing an ACRE-endorsed training curriculum in Employment Services. Congratulations also to Jason Amorose, Narda Rogers and Dwayne Beason for their Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP) recertifications. These accomplishments are a great benefit to our programs and the individuals we serve.

As we recognized and honored our Veterans this past weekend, we are excited to announce that ServiceSource Virginia and North Carolina were recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as Medallion Award recipients for our commitment to recruiting, employing, and retaining Veterans. "It’s our duty to ensure veterans have meaningful employment opportunities when they return to civilian life," says ServiceSource President and CEO Bruce Patterson.

Pictured are some outstanding individuals in our Warrior Bridge program, which supports veterans with disabilities seeking employment, self-sufficiency, and improved quality of life, followed by photos from the 2023 HIRE Vets Medallion Award virtual award ceremony hosted by the Department of Labor. Warrior Bridge NC is also a proud Community Impact Partner of United Way of Cumberland County. We are proud to continue supporting those who have served us.

Congratulations Stacey! You can vote daily for Stacey from now through December 5 at the link below. 

https://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/10/

After suffering a stroke, CNN Hero Stacey Buckner found her purpose by helping homeless vets around her hometown of Fayetteville, NC. Driving her Jeep loaded with a shower, laundry, and kitchen, she is serving the men and women who sacrificed so much for their country.
Get to know Stacey and the other Top 10 CNN Heroes at CNNHeroes.com. Don't forget to vote for CNN Hero of the year and help decide who will receive $100,000.

We would like to thank and salute all of our Veterans who are our greatest patriots and their family members for their sacrifice. Today we will join multiple military organizations and resources for our service members at Dirtbag Ales for the annual “Heroes Homecoming” event. The Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the famous chili cook-off as well, with partial proceeds from the event benefiting our Warrior Bridge program (providing support and resources to Veterans with disabilities in our community), live music by Ethan Hanson and a free family photo booth sponsored by Boone Trail Fit Body Boot Camp. We hope you will join us! 12-4p

Also, you can scan the QR code on the flyer below for Stacey Buckner, AbilityOne employee of ServiceSource NC who is in the top 10 running for CNN Hero of the year for her tireless efforts and outreach to our Veterans and the homeless population here in Fayetteville.

Congratulations to our Friendship House Fayetteville Friend Residents and Community Inclusion Day Program Participants in their 2nd Annual Sensory Friendly Fall Program Production today at Cape Fear Regional Theatre! Thank you Marc de la Co**ha for your passion for this program, and ServiceSource Friendship House Program Coordinator Diana Drew’s for your support. Make sure to get your tickets to see these awesome young people in the sensory friendly stage production of Cinderella on February 11. Well done friends!

ServiceSource North Carolina staff, at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, joined in the annual celebration honoring the 248th birthday of the establishment of the United States Marine Corps and the dedication and sacrifice of its members. The team was also honored to host a visit with NC Division of Vocational Rehabilitation staff from Craven, Carteret, Pamlico, and Jones counties and representatives from Easterseals UCP North Carolina & Virginia where they got a first-hand view of all the hard work their participants put forth as ServiceSource AbilityOne employees to make this event a success. Happy Birthday United States Marine Corps.

We are honored to recognize Senator Ted Budd (NC) as an AbilityOne Congressional Champion! ServiceSource President and CEO Bruce Patterson, VP of External Affairs Ashlie Strackbein, NC Regional Executive Director Jason Amorose, Director of Regional Philanthropy Tara Hinton and AbilityOne contract employee Stacey Buckner presented the plaque to Senator Budd today at his Capitol Hill office in Washington, DC. Thanks to Rick Terrazas, SourceAmerica VP of Government Affairs, for attending, and to Senator Budd and his staff for championing veterans and people with disabilities in the workforce through the Program. We appreciate your support! Senator Ted Budd

Look who is celebrating 5 years! 🎂 That's right! Friendship House Fayetteville turns 5 years old this month and we want to celebrate with YOU and our community. Join us for a "Jingle Bells Birthday Bash"🥳for Friendship House Fayetteville on Sunday, November 26 from 2pm-5pm. And our friends at Friendship Community Gardens are back with their annual holiday wreath sale. Don't wait, they go fast! Below is their link to order by November 17 and pick up at our event. We will have hot chocolate, birthday cake, handcrafted Bloom items made by our residents and participants, and the opportunity to decorate your own holiday cookies. 🍪 It's a great time to pick up your beautiful fresh wreath, purchase your holiday gifts, and celebrate by the fire with us! See you Sunday, November 26!

Link to order wreath:
https://neartail.com/sm/7BHOTBOld

Now that was fun! Thank you so much to the YMCA of the Sandhills here in Fayetteville for having our Community Inclusion Day Program participants join in at the Thursday line dancing class. Our participants had the best time! The YMCA on Fort Bragg Rd. has so much to offer to our community. They have a beautiful new heated indoor pool, gym, dry sauna/steam rooms, basketball courts, childcare center, camps, after school program, fitness/dance classes, and more! Check out their memberships! Thank you to the wonderful new Executive Director, Jeff Darling for having us!

CNN’s Anderson Cooper just announced Stacey Buckner, an AbilityOne employee of ServiceSource North Carolina, a top 10 finalist for the 2023 CNN Hero of the Year Award! Every year, CNN receives thousands of nominations for a CNN Hero Award, recognizing individuals making a positive impact in their communities. This morning, ServiceSource North Carolina hosted a live viewing party to watch as Stacey made the top 10 list of nominations. But here's where YOU come in! The ultimate winner is determined through an online viewer vote, and we need your support to help Stacey secure the title of CNN Hero of the Year. Voting is open until December 5, 2023, 11:59 p.m. PT. CONGRATULATIONS Stacey!

Vote for Stacey: https://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/10/

Join us LIVE here on FB with Stacey for the viewing party in just a few minutes at 8AM!

Link to vote: https://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/10/

CNN Heroes 2023 Voting Disclosures | CNN CNN Hero of the Year voting is conducted on www.CNNHeroes.com: Begins November 1, 2023 (8:30 a.m. ET); continues until Tuesday, December 5, 2023 (11:59 pm PT).

This just in! As you may know, our very own AbilityOne employee and creator of Off-Road Outreach NC, Stacey Buckner was nominated and selected as a 2023 CNN Heroes awardee. After thousands of nominations, the Top 10 will be announced tomorrow and we will be posting LIVE here 👇on our page at the ServiceSource NC viewing party with Stacey at 8:00AM! No matter what, Stacey is a winner in our books for so much and we are beyond proud of all the tireless work and dedication she puts into her job and outreach to support our Veterans and homeless population in our community.

Immediately following the announcement, the link below will be live at 8:30AM for voting. Congratulations, Stacey and thank you for all that you do.

CNN Heroes 2023 Voting Disclosures | CNN CNN Hero of the Year voting is conducted on www.CNNHeroes.com: Begins November 1, 2023 (8:30 a.m. ET); continues until Tuesday, December 5, 2023 (11:59 pm PT).

Happy Halloween!! 🎃 Our Community Inclusion Day Program, staff, family, and friends celebrated in spirit at our annual office Trunk or Treat party last Friday. ServiceSource NC staff look forward to this fun tradition in decorating our trunks to hand out sweets to our excited participants! After trunk or treating, we were off on a scavenger hunt and later showed off some groovy moves on the dance floor. And no party would be complete without decorating cupcakes, pizza and candy apples. Thank you staff members and volunteers for helping create this time of memories.

To learn more about our Day Program for adults with disabilities, visit www.servicesource.org or call 910-826-4699
We hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween this evening. 

What a fun and busy weekend we had! ServiceSource NC staff and Friendship House Residents got into the fall spirit by participating and helping at three wonderful Fall Festivals in our community this past weekend. We started off Friday night at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church by handing out candy for the Trunk or Treat, joining the Special Olympics of Cumberland County for their Fall Festival Saturday held at the Kiwanis Recreation Center, and wrapped up the fun yesterday at the first annual Boone Trail Centre Fall Festival. We enjoyed meeting so many great organizations, business owners, volunteers and community members at all these wonderful events. Fun was had by all! We look forward to sharing our Community Inclusion Day Program-Halloween Party photos with you tomorrow!

We had a blast last night at the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce “Rock n’ Boil” Oyster Roast with hundreds of local businesses, organizations and community members at Dirtbag Ales. The oysters were hot and so was the music by Rivermist! ServiceSource NC was honored to support our chamber and our community.

Tonight is the night! We are getting excited for the Greater Fayetteville Chamber "Rock n' Boil" Oyster Roast at Dirtbag Ales starting at 5:30pm. We are honored to be a sponsor in support with other great local community partners Highland Paving, Zaxby's, First Health of the Carolinas and more. A beautiful outdoor night is set for freshly steamed oysters, wing eating contest, BBQ, Lowcountry boil and one of our favorite hometown bands, Rivermist! If you haven't secured your tickets, below is the link to get them before the price goes up at the door or sold out! We look forward to seeing you there!

SECURE YOUR TICKET HERE:
https://chamber.faybiz.com/events/details/2023-carolina-rock-n-boil-oyster-roast-31749?fbclid=IwAR3o_byTaqUBWCy-AV6isusOBjqaz8HWqDR2o-nKvLTLOU8HXzlDOxmLeZ8

ServiceSource North Carolina celebrated 47 employees at its annual Service Excellence Award (SEA) event at Cape Fear Botanical Gardens in Fayetteville, NC! Approximately 300 individuals attended the event, including ServiceSource President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Patterson, Chief Operating Officer Ken Crum, and ServiceSource Board Members Dr. Brandt Wood, Weyher Dawson, and Bill Warnecki. Awards were given in Administrative, Mail, Food, Logistic, and Rehabilitation Services. A special shoutout to our Community Partner of the Year, Fayetteville Woodpeckers; Community Placement Employee of the Year, Shankiya Summers; AbilityOne Employee of the Year, Shantrell Mansfield; and ServiceSource Staff Employee of the Year, Jennifer DeVlieger.

Thank you to our event sponsors Billy’s Plumbing Services, Inc., Diversified Electrical Company, Mid-East Services Inc. and R&L Supply, and a big congratulations to all our participants and award winners! Keep up the great work. Thank you for what you do.

Save the Date! This year we are participating in GivingTuesday – a national day of giving that will take place on Tuesday, November 28. We are asking our donors to show their support for ServiceSource North Carolina by donating online at cumberlandcf.org on . A match of $550,000 is available for gifts received through Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc. online GivingTuesday catalog – so be sure to donate that day in order to have your impact amplified!

We would like to thank Cumberland Community Foundation, Will Gillis, Elizabeth “Beth” Keeney, Daphne and Ray Manning, Carol and Sammy Short, Fayetteville New Car Dealers Association, Healy Wholesale, and three anonymous donors for making this match possible! ServiceSource

A glimpse into our 2023 Expanded Leadership Meeting, hosted by ServiceSource North Carolina. Attendees gathered at our Fayetteville, North Carolina, regional office for meetings focused on collaboration and updates regarding our Long-Term Strategic Plan. The team also visited ServiceSource employees at Fort Liberty Food Services, formerly Fort Bragg, and toured local programs, including Friendship House, Warrior Bridge, and Veggies for Vets.

We are thrilled to join Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Taproom, Dirty Whiskey Craft Cocktail Bar and the Hope Mills Chamber of Commerce on November 11 at the Chili Cook-Off for the annual "Heroes Homecoming" as we honor our Veterans who served in our armed forces. Tickets to taste all the delicious chili are just $10 through the Chamber of Commerce. Dirtbag Ales will be releasing their "Heroes Homecoming Pilsner" of which $1 from each pint sold will benefit our Warrior Bridge NC Program that provides support and resource for over 600 Veterans in our community with disabilities. Kids can enjoy the playground, coloring, and fun photo booth sponsored by Boone Trail Fit Body Boot Camp. Don't miss this fun family Military Appreciation event that will serve those who served for us. See you there!
Boone Trail Fit Body Boot Camp

Wow! What a FUN time last night at our first Bloom Fall Festival at Friendship House Fayetteville with our amazing community! A big thank you to over 25 local vendors for joining us, Parnell Acres for providing the pumpkin patch and pumpkins for carving, and all of you who came out to enjoy the fun. Congratulations to all 10 winners of the Stars and Guitars tickets from WKML 95.7 FM. And last but not least, thank you to our special friends at Fizzy Friendz Bath Bombs and Giving Back Warm Hugs for helping coordinate our vendors with us. What an amazing community we have here. A good time was had by all with delicious food by Jermaine, treats, costume contest, face painting, shopping, and of course the awesome live music provided by the Parson’s. It was so much fun…let’s do it again next year! 🎉. 🏡
Fizzy Friendz Bath Bomb

Check out what just arrived in time for next Monday's "Bloom Fall Festival!" We are geared up for the big event October 16 from 4:30p - 7:00pm at Friendship House Fayetteville with over 20 local vendors, pumpkin carving, costume contest 6pm, food 5pm-7p, sweet treats, live music 6pm, face painting and tickets to WIN Your Way In to the SOLD OUT Stars & Guitars show. You'll have a chance to win tickets to additional upcoming shows by the Crown Complex, and more!
FREE admission. Food donations benefit Friendship House Fayetteville. Cash and card availability may differ per vendor.