President Brian Dement opened the meeting. Cliff Parker prayed and led us in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Cliff also introduced his guest, District Attorney Pat Nadolski. Next week Bonnie Whitaker will provide our speaker. Brian mentioned that the Graham Rotary Club will be having the State Superintendent of Schools as their speaker at their meeting on March 15 at the Graham Civic Center. Dale Greeson asked about the progress of the launch of the new Mebane Rotary Club. Micah Fox said that they have 19 committed, but need 20 to charter the club. They want to have 24. There were no “Happy Dollars.” Jason Crutchfield was welcomed as our newest member.
Speaker: Heidi Norwick
Carrie Theall told the club a little about herself before introducing Heidi. She is the Executive Director of the Alamance Partnership for Children. She was born outside of Orlando and later moved to NC. She received her graduate degree from UNCG and has worked at the Partnership for the last 10 years.
Heidi Norwick became the President of United Way of Alamance County in 2014. She joined the United Way staff in 2012 to serve as the Director of Community Impact. Prior to joining United Way, she was the Executive Director of the Women’s Resource Center in Alamance County for 16 years. Heidi was awarded the Founder’s Award by the Women’s Resource Center for her dedication to mentoring others in leadership and for an impactful career in nonprofit work.
Heidi serves on multiple Boards of Directors and committees including the Alamance County Children’s Executive Oversight Committee, Healthy Alamance Board of Directors, Alamance Achieves Executive Team, Community Oversight Committee, and the Alamance Chamber Board. All of these commitments focus in United Way’s key priority areas of health, education, and financial stability.
Norwick has a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from New York Institute of Technology and a Duke Certificate in Non-profit Management. Norwick was born and raised in Franklin Square, New York and moved to Burlington, North Carolina in 1993. She has been married to her husband Howie for 32 years and they have 3 grown children. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, cooking and getting to the beach whenever possible.
Program: Poverty in Alamance County
2016 census statistics reveal that 159,688 people live in Alamance County. The median family income is $43,209. 16.1% live in poverty. Heidi indicated that the current number is 19.2%. The federal poverty level only addresses the issue of food. NC has developed what is called a self-sufficiency standard, which represents the income needed for a family to cover all the bases economically. Under federal guidelines, 29.1 % of our children are below the poverty line, but under the NC Standard, that number rises to 57%.
Selected Findings from the Self-Sufficiency Standard for North Carolina 2017
- In North Carolina, the amount needed to be economically self-sufficient varies considerably by geographic location. For instance, the amount needed to make ends meet for one adult and one preschooler varies from $14.40 per hour ($30,402 annually) in Richmond County to $23.86 per hour ($50,397 annually) in Orange County, or from 190% of the federal poverty guideline (FPG) to 315% of the federal poverty guideline.
- The Self-Sufficiency Standard also varies by family type, that is, by how many adults and children are in a family and the age of each child. One adult living in Guilford County needs an hourly wage of $9.89 ($20,886 annually) to meet basic needs. For families with children, the amount needed to cover basic needs increases considerably. If the adult has a preschooler and a school-age child, the amount necessary to be economically secure more than doubles, increasing to $24.45 per hour ($51,631 annually) in order to cover the cost of child care, a larger housing unit, and increased food and health care costs.
- For families with young children, the cost of housing and child care combined typically account for approximately half of the family’s budget. For example, for a family with two adults, one infant, and one preschooler in Forsyth County, child care is 29% of the family’s budget while housing is 16%, food costs take up 14%, health care is 11%, and transportation is 9%.
- The 2017 Self-Sufficiency Standard for Charlotte is more expensive than most comparably-sized cities. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for one adult, one preschooler, and one school-age child in Charlotte ($28.51 per hour) is more expensive than Atlanta, GA ($22.44 per hour) and Baltimore, MD ($25.22 per hour), but less expensive than Virginia Beach, VA ($31.06 per hour).
- Over the past two decades, cost increases have far outstripped wage increases. While the Self-Sufficiency Standard for a four-person family in Buncombe County increased by 128% since 1996, workers’ median earnings increased by 34% (from $20,508 to $27,456) in Buncombe County over the same time period, a rate less than a quarter of the increase in costs.
- The federal poverty guideline for three-person families ($20,160 annually) is set at a level well below what is minimally adequate to meet a family’s basic needs. For example, the federal poverty guideline is 42% of the Standard for one adult, one preschooler, and one school-age child in Franklin County ($16.20 per hour and $34,207 annually).
- Although a quarter of North Carolina workers hold one of the top ten most common occupations in North Carolina (measured by the number of workers), only one of these occupations have median wages above the Standard for a family of three in Catawba County. Only registered nurses have median wages above the Self-Sufficiency Standard for one adult, one preschooler, and one school-age child in Catawba County, which is $21.67 per hour ($45,767 annually), while the median wages for the other nine occupations are below this family type’s Standard in Catawba County.
- Maintaining an emergency savings fund is a crucial step towards economic security. A single parent with a preschool-aged child living in Burke County needs to earn $2,681 per month to meet their basic needs. The parent needs to earn an additional $92 per month to have an emergency saving fund. If the family lives in Wake County they need $4,051 per month to be self-sufficient and an additional $112 per month to save for emergencies
Children in poverty are negatively affected in education, healthcare, and developmentally. They are 30% less likely to complete high school, which serves to perpetuate generational poverty. They are more likely to commit crimes, too.
Conclusion
Micah Fox’s table had the winning lottery number, but Micah failed to draw the elusive Ace of Hearts, leaving the pot to grow yet another week. We all stood to recite Rotary’s four way test before Brian adjourned the meeting.