Rep. Wray’s Raleigh report


During the holidays, we should remember to give to others, especially those who are less fortunate.

This session, we set aside money in our budget to help some of the many nonprofit groups that help our communities all year long. These groups often take on necessary initiatives that government cannot. We hope you will keep their work in mind this holiday season.

Thank you for allowing me to share this information with you. Please contact me if I can be of assistance.

Education

K-12

The North Carolina Humanities Teacher Institute Program and the North Carolina Science Math and Technology Education Center received $100,000. The humanities program provides resources for teachers to learn and stimulate intellectual growth. The math and technology center focuses on improving science, math, and technology education in North Carolina’s public schools.

Project Enlightenment and Teach for America each got $200,000. Project Enlightenment provides early childhood education services to Wake County children. Communities in Schools, or CIS, received $1.05 million. CIS aims to bring members of the larger community into schools. The Public School Forum of North Carolina, a think tank that partners education, government and business leaders in North Carolina, received $2.3 million.

Community Colleges

The North Carolina Rural Entrepreneurship through Active Learning (NC REAL) received $250,000 to teach entrepreneurship in rural areas of North Carolina. We appropriated $90,000 to NC LIVE for Private Colleges. NC LIVE is a database of electronic resources available free of charge to public library patrons and college students.

Health and Human Services

Prevent Blindness NC and the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation both received $150,000. Prevent Blindness NC tries to reach people through screenings, publications and health education. The North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation aims to prevent infant illness and death and improve the lives of women and children in North Carolina.

The Adolescent Pregnancy and Prevention Coalition of North Carolina received $175,000 to engage the community and private organizations in the fight against teen pregnancies. The North Carolina Council of Community Programs received $60,000 and the Institute of Medicine received $300,000. The North Carolina Council of Community Programs is an organization dedicated to improving service delivery in local communities. The Institute of Medicine is a nonpartisan organization that provides health policy analysis and advice.

Equality

The North Carolina Indian Economic Development Initiative received $150,000. The program seeks to encourage economic development in the state’s urban and tribal Indian communities. The North Carolina Freedom Monument Project received $100,000 and Sit-In Movement Inc., received $500,000. The NC Freedom Monument Project aims to increase tolerance and improve bonds between diverse people in North Carolina. Sit-In Movement memorializes the mission of the Greensboro Four and aims to prevent racism in North Carolina.

Justice and Public Safety

Women at Risk and Summit House both received $100,000. Women at Risk is a community-based treatment program for female offenders and their families. Summit House is a community-based residential alternative to incarceration for mothers and pregnant women convicted of non-violent crimes. Evergreen received $289,805 and Our Children’s Place received $50,000. Evergreen is a rehabilitation center focused on correctional chemical dependency treatment. Our Children’s Place is a residential program that allows the children of female inmates to live with their mothers during the final part of the sentence.

Natural Resources

We gave the Grassroots Science Program $708,500. The Grassroots Science Museum Collaboration is a statewide effort to improve science and math education through real world experiences. The Coalition of Farm and Rural Families received $300,000 to promote community based rural economic development to limited resource farm families and to rural families.

Please remember that you can visit the General Assembly’s website to look up bills, view lawmaker biographies and access other information.

Please invite me to attend your county, city, community or civic, etc. meetings or events.

As I’ve said many times before, I hope you will continue to let me know how you feel about the issues that are being debated by the North Carolina Legislature and the challenges you and your family are facing each day.

By working together, we can make Northampton, Vance and Warren Counties and all regions of North Carolina a better place to live, work and raise a family.