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Bridges Out of Poverty Conference |
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I would like to invite you to attend our second annual Bridges Out of Poverty Conference. It will be held on Tuesday, April 8 at BenefitFocus from 9 am to 5 pm. The conference will be lead by Terrie Drussie Smith, a national consultant from Aha! Process, Inc. She will be addressing the root causes of poverty and what the mental mindset of those who live in poverty. The cost is $25 and includes lunch. Since the conference last year, East Cooper Community Outreach has researched and developed strategies to help people become self sufficient. We are beginning to see our programs helping people in more comprehensive ways and we have even changed the mission statement of ECCO! Attached is a flyer and a registration form. Please feel free to share it with other community leaders. Please call if you have any question.
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Dr. Victor Del Bene Becomes New ECCO Board President |
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East Cooper Community Outreach is proud to announce its new President of the Board of Directors for 2008. Dr. Vic Del Bene is recently retired from the Medical University of South Carolina, now Professor Emeritus of Medicine. In addition to being an Internist specializing in Infectious Diseases, he was for fourteen years Associate Dean for Students and Curriculum in the College of Medicine. He has written for many publications and has received teaching excellence awards and awards for humanitarianism during his career. Vic is a volunteer preceptor at the C.A.R.E.S Medical Clinic, a free medical clinic, located at ECCO. It provides him the unique opportunity to serve his neighbors while continuing in the role of mentor and teacher of students at the Medical University. Dr. Vic Del Bene is a man of many talents, interests and experiences. He is a husband, a father, a grandfather, a singer, a physician, a giver, a planner, a creator, a teacher and a student. He likes things done correctly just as he likes to make a difference. He has the ability to see "the big picture" but at the same time he focuses on details which balance effectiveness and efficiency. He is soft spoken while at the same time maintaining direct eye contact that says, as those around him have come to know, he listens carefully before he speaks which makes his words all the more valuable to those that hear them. Dr. Del Bene lives East of the Cooper and is one of the many “neighbors” at ECCO (East Cooper Community Outreach) who has been concerned since the devastation of Hurricane HUGO—the even that brought to the attention of Del Bene and many others the fact that the poverty exposed by HUGO had been there all the time. Vic and Margaret Del Bene have been active parishioners of Christ Our King Catholic Church since 1972 and it was through the leadership of Monsignor James Carter that ECCO was born and that Vic and Margaret volunteered to reach out to those whose lives where changed by HUGO. However, the Del Benes, like so many, saw what HUGO had exposed—a world of poverty and need in the heart of East Cooper––and they have been a part of the ECCO outreach ever since. Margaret continued her work as a volunteer and served as the third president of the Board for several years. Victor joined the Board in May 2005, served as Vice-President, and succeeded William Condy as President of the Board beginning in 2008. The Board, the staff, the volunteers, and those who benefit directly from ECCO’s services are grateful for Dr. Victor Del Bene and what he continues to give to his neighbors in East Cooper and are grateful for his willingness to serve as Chairman of the ECCO Board.
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