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educationpoverty

Former graduates lead program that seeks to break cycles of poverty

Ten people graduated from Catholic Charities of South Carolina’s (CCSC) Getting Ahead program in December 2025. Ten people graduated from Catholic Charities of South Carolina’s (CCSC) Getting Ahead program in December 2025. The courses are designed to help individuals experiencing poverty to understand why they are “just getting by” and to build concrete plans toward long-term stability. Graduates Brandon Anderson, Martha Cobb, Willa Dorsey, Kashonda Grant, Bernard Hazel, David Hazel, Jacqueline Hazel, Rosa Hazel, Chanda Sanders and Tammie Scott completed this financial literacy and life-skills course just before Christmas. This was a milestone celebration, too. It was the first class facilitated by two former graduates, David and Kendra Blango. The program, based on “Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World” and the “Bridges Out of Poverty” framework, has been offered at CCSC’s Georgetown office twice yearly since 2018. The program is now expanding to Charleston and other field offices as part of the Catholic outreach’s services that assist more than 50, 000 individuals annually. Building pathways out of povertyParticipants attended group sessions over 16 weeks, exploring the realities of poverty, local community barriers and the “hidden rules” of economic class. They completed a personal “future story,” where they built budgets, identified local resources and set practical goals around employment, education, housing and family stability. Crystal Geathers is the grants specialist for CCSC and helped initiate the Getting Ahead program in 2017, working with Sister Mary Francis Bassick, a Daughter of Charity. Geathers said the program is important because it gives participants needed support and tools to see their own potential with new clarity.“We walk alongside individuals who are working hard to build stability for themselves and their families. Getting Ahead helps them not only understand the challenges they face, but also discover their strengths, set meaningful goals and create a path toward lasting change. It empowers people to realize that their future can be different, and that they already have what it takes to get there,” she said. The program boasts a 97% success rate. At least 35 individuals completed the program in Georgetown in its early years, with many achieving significant life changes. Stability means everythingGraduates have moved from unsafe, unstable housing into safe, subsidized apartments after learning to navigate housing systems and expunge records. Others have launched small businesses, including a lawn-care company, using the financial planning, resource-building and confidence gained in this workshop. Rhett Young, executive director of CCSC, said “mission” is what drives this statewide nonprofit. He said their work is inspired by St. John Paul II’s Redemptoris Missio (Mission of the Redeemer).“The missionary is urged on by ‘zeal for souls,’ a zeal inspired by Christ’s own charity, which takes the form of concern, tenderness, compassion, openness, availability and interest in people’s problems. Jesus’ love is very deep: he who knew what was in man (Jn 2: 25) loved everyone by offering them redemption and suffered when it was rejected” (RM 89).“This is the bedrock of all of our programs,” Young said, “to serve with the heart of Jesus with a zeal for souls inspired by Christian charity caritas.”Kendra Blango added that “learning in love always helps when trying to get ahead.”.

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entertainmentpoliticssocial media

Unrepentant MAGA influencer suddenly ‘not political’ after slew of club bans

The Miami New Times reports Miami venue moguls gave MAGA influencer Clavicular [Braden Peters] a dressing down after he and far-right “manosphere” influencers Andrew Tate, Nick Fuentes, Myron Gaines, and Sneako celebrated and sang Kanye West’s “Heil Hitler” at a Miami Beach club.“They’re not really going for subtlety here,” said Bulwark podcaster Tim Miller while reviewing the widely spread video of the event. “You can see, I think that’s Gaines . just doing the full Nazi salute over and over again while they’re videoing themselves [in a van]. Nick Fuentes is in the back looking a little uncomfortable and chuckling.”Later the group took a table at a club, Vendôme, where they prodded the DJ to play more Kanye so they could do more Nazi salutes, sing and party. After the video went live, Vendôme released a statement calling the video content and imagery “deeply offensive and unacceptable” and claiming “Vendôme and our hospitality group do not condone anti-Semitism, hate speech, or prejudice of any kind.”“In the days following the incident, the 20-year-old ‘looksmaxxing’ influencer Clavicular, who frequently uses the N-word and wears a hat with the N-word written on it, said that he would not apologize for what he did,” reports the Times. “He maintained that ‘it’s just a song.’ A week ago, he streamed himself in his Sprinter van dancing to ‘Heil Hitler.’”“You can ban me from clubs, you can s talk me on Instagram, but I’m not sorry about any of it,” the Times reports Clavicular saying on a livestream. “Not at all. Not even a little bit. F–the clubs. I would rather have free speech and the ability to make jokes and do content a thousand times over rather than being a little b– who you know has to censor himself and do all that sh– because if that’s what’s required to go into these dogs hit Miami clubs, keep me the f– out.”“However, it appears the ongoing bans hit a breaking point for the 20-year-old influencer,” the Times reported. “As he continued having difficulty partying in Miami, Clavicular sat down with Grutman and Papi Steak owner David Einhorn earlier this week.”On his Kick livestream on Tuesday, the Times reports Clavicular says he’s no longer doing politics.“I just said, ‘Look, I’m not trying to do politics anymore, and I would never want to be associated with politics,” said Clavicular, recounting his conversation with Grutman. “. I was like, ‘ Yeah, bro, of course. I’m here to mog. I’m here to lookmaxx. I’m not political whatsoever.’”He later posted a photo of himself sitting at a table with the club owners on Instagram with the caption: “No more politics, just mogging #kingsofmiami @davidgrutman @davideinhorn.” There’s no telling whether the tension is gone, however, report the Times. “He has yet to publicly apologize, only claiming that he is not political. Meanwhile, he continues to say the N-word,” the Times said. Read the Miami New Times report at this link.

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obituary

Obituary: Cecil Ray Boyd

Cecil Ray Boyd, passed away on Jan. 27, 2026, at the age of 74. Born on Jan. 13, 1952, in Cullman, Alabama, Cecil was a devoted and compassionate person who lived a life filled with love and generosity. Cecil was a resident of Cullman, Alabama, where he spent 55 years working as a hairdresser. His [.].

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