First State Community Action holds 53rd awards presentation

First State Community Action Agency held its 53rd anniversary celebration and award ceremony Nov. 19 at the Dover Downs ballroom. Awards presented were the Stanford L. Bratton Award, a Personal Achievement Award and the Community Partner Award. The keynote speaker was Congresswoman Lisa Blunt-Rochester. 

Syronda Barksdale was the recipient of the Personal Achievement award. Barksdale is a resident of New Castle and a recent client of First State’s Housing counseling and First-time Homebuyer’s Program. Barksdale admits to always having dreams of owning a home someday but just didn’t know it could ever be achieved. “I promised my children that one day I was going to buy them a house, a place to call their own,” she said. “Today I can say I did just that, thanks to Marva Hammond and the First State First-time Homebuyer program.”

Dr. Anne Farley was the recipient of the the Stanford L. Bratton Award. Currently she volunteers as chair of the United Way of Delaware’s Public Policy Committee; vice chair of First State Community Action Board; a board member of the St. Patrick’s Society, which addresses poverty in the City of Wilmington; a board member of The Way Home, which provides re-entry support services to persons returning to the community; and a board member of Peace by Piece, which provides housing and workforce reintegration to persons who are re-entering community after institutionalization, incarceration or chronic homelessness.

Comcast was the recipient of the Community Partners Award. Comcast believes technology is empowering and the company is focused on making technology accessible to everyone. In addition to ensuring access to basic digital literacy training, it’s also vital to help individuals gain the digital skills needed to compete for 21st-century jobs, to leverage technology to start and grow small businesses, and to fully participate in the innovation economy. Along with access to expertise and technology, Comcast provides grants to charitable organizations and uses its unparalleled reach to help communities and partners create and share their inspiring stories to educate more audiences on critical social issues and the game-changing solutions at work.

Blunt-Rochester gave the keynote address. She said that the leadership and staff of FSCAA have GRIT. “G is because they like to get stuff done. R because they are resourceful. They have Integrity, they mean what they say and say what they need. And they are Tenacious.”