Training For Life Center, LLC. – Augusta, GA

Training For Life Center LLC. is a state approved and certified by the Georgia Medical Care Foundation. Additionally, the Center is a testing site for the National Health Career Association which is an organization that provides national certification for several programs. The programs offered through Training For Life Center, LLC. include the Certified Nursing Assistant Program, Electrocardiogram Tech Program, CPR/First Aid Course, Phlebotomy Tech Program and Pharmacy Tech Program. Several students have transitioned to higher institutions of learning to prepare for the L.P.N and R.N. careers. Training For Life Center, LLC has placed graduates for employment in long term health care facilities, hospitals, assisted living facilities and physicians’ offices. Their graduates are always encouraged to advance to a higher level. Many students are balancing school, work and caring for families as they focus on progressing in their career and future goals.

Since beginning the partnership with Training For Life, LLC- the directors and staff with this agency have been extremely supportive of UGA Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program “Food Talk” in Richmond County. In addition, Sandra Maddox has been the EFNEP Program Assistant partnering with this agency and has provided hundreds of students with “Food Talk” nutrition education. The directors, staff and students continually look forward to Sandra Maddox delivering EFNEP programming and offering this researched based nutrition education.

Directors and instructors reported students have an enhanced knowledge of nutrition education after completing the UGA EFNEP “Food Talk” program. Many times students will have higher scores on test that include health and nutrition related questions. Additionally, one student shared the positive changes after completing the “Food Talk” program. She has been working to implement many changes in her weekly routine that include: “adding more color to her diet, consuming less sugar, preparing a weekly a grocery list, increasing fiber, eating out less, reading nutrition facts and washing hands.”
Also, many graduates of the EFNEP “Food Talk” program will include the UGA EFNEP certificate to their resume upon graduation.

Stinson & Associates, Inc. began as a place to provide employment service training and job preparation. Now, they are an organization that offers comprehensive services to enhance effectiveness and efficiency in peoples’ lives. This helps convey overall life success and serves individuals who experience barriers to employment.  

The staff’s commitment to the EFNEP program is what makes this community collaboration effective. They understand the mission of EFNEP and how it aligns with their mission of eliminating barriers to everyday 

tasks. The staff 

at Stinson & Associates have seen how their clients have utilized the skills taught through the EFNEP program to change their lives and their families, which has let to a consistent and robust partnership for six years.  

The Salvation Army: Kroc Center-Augusta provides a safe gathering place to provide the Augusta community with facilities and trained professionals to nurture children and adult’s social skills, art appreciation, and athletic potential. The Salvation Army: Kroc Center-Augusta is truly a beacon of light and hope in the Augusta Community. 

The Kroc Center is extremely supportive of UGA Extension EFNEP. The board of directors views EFNEP as an integral partner to help provide a holistic approach to serving our community. 

The participants who have participated in the EFNEP “Food Talk” series have genuinely enjoyed and appreciated the evidence-based programming provided by Carmen. One participant from the Kroc Center recently shared while taking several exercise classes that she realized nutrition is a part of establishing good health habits as well. She learned about making healthy food choices, reading labels, seeing how much salt or sugar we should eat in a day and how much salt the average person does intake per day.

This EFNEP participant said, “Carmen, our teacher as awesome! She gave it to us straight. After taking this class lead by Carmen, I realized that with simple recipes to view, having them actually prepared in our class session, tasting them, and being shown what to do by an experienced teacher, I could do it too, and I did! 

The day after class, I made peach crumble! I’m so glad I took pictures because the next day, I ran into several EFNEP members, including my teacher, Carmen and proudly shared them!  As a result of taking this class, I shop for groceries differently, sanitize my kitchen more thoroughly and tried 2 of the recipes already, to my liking!”

We are thankful for our phenomenal partners who serve the people of Georgia and help families eat better for less! To learn more about our featured agency of the month, visit their website at https://augustakroc.org/about-us/ !

Union Mission, Inc. offers a wide range of services to prevent and end homelessness in the greater Savannah area. These services include housing assistance, behavioral counseling, life skills training, job training, and employment assistance.

UGA EFNEP has partnered with Union Mission for eight years to deliver nutrition education as a part of their culinary arts training program. Throughout the duration of this partnership, over 90% of program graduates have been placed in jobs within the food service industry. UGA EFNEP graduates receive special recognition during the Union Mission graduation ceremony, and some of the UGA Food Talk recipes have been incorporated into the menus that are served in homeless shelters throughout the city.

We are thankful for our phenomenal partners who serve the people of Georgia and help families eat better for less! To learn more about our featured agency of the month, visit their website at www.unionmission.org or connect with them on social media at https://www.facebook.com/pg/UMIsavannah.