Escolar Documentos
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About Us
In order to create a deeper understanding about issues related to poverty both in
Alamance County, North Carolina and around the country, Elon Universitys Program for
Ethnographic Research and Community Studies (PERCS) has partnered with community
agencies to launch a multi-year, collaborative ethnographic research project to examine
perceptions and realities surrounding the welfare system. Our goal is to help ensure that policies
and perceptions related to public assistance are based on a more complete understanding of the
lived realities of people living near or below the poverty line.
Publications, Exhibits & Documentaries
The Welfare Legend Tradition in On and Offline Contexts. 2016. Tom Mould. Journal
of American Folklore, 129 (514).
The Faces of Welfare. Documentary film. 2012. Heather Cassano, Elon Student. A brief
documentary film on the origins and initial stages of the project. Available online:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSjR6Rm-d1c&feature=youtu.be
Conference Presentations
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Voices
Of Welfare
Elon Project Aims to
Voice of Welfare currently working on is releasing a brand new season of content, illuminating
the complexity of the human condition that are often neglected by mass media outlets.
ELON, NORTH CAROLINA- This past month, Voices of Welfare hosted a photo exhibit on the
campus of Elon University. The Elon community was invited to view the exhibit, which was cosponsored by Allied Churches and Elon Universitys Program for Ethnographic Research and
Community Studies (PERCS).
In 2012, a group of Elon students generated the idea to reduce the negative perceptions that often
surround individuals who rely on the welfare system to live a better life. With the assistance of
PERCS and Professor Tom Mould, Voices of Welfare was born as a way to raise awareness of the
benefits of welfare and to highlight success stories that have come from the program.
All though Voices of Welfares initial goals are completed, there is still an issue with perception
of welfare recipients in Alamance countyand nationally. To combat this, the next major step
for Voices of Welfare will be a book written titled Overthrowing the Queen: The Real Stories of
Welfare in America.
Mould believes that the project has had tremendous impact reducing stigmas and telling the true
stories of individuals on welfare. However, he also believes that Elon students and people in the
community can make a bigger impact.
We hope that you find a mutual interest in this incredibly important issue that affects so many
people in the world today. By highlighting stigmas surrounding welfare participants it will help
to ensure a more mutually inclusive society that could help to better our world.
Voices of Welfare believes that welfare is a hot button issue for many in the U.S. But untangling
fiction from truth and perception from reality can be difficult. To help create a more accurate
picture of welfare today, the project: relies on data and statistics to explore the complex truths
about welfare shares the stories of welfare recipients to hear firsthand the challenges of living
close to the poverty line.
For more information about the Voices of Welfare Project, please contact Tom Mould at
tmould@elon.edu
Who Is Involved?
Tom Mould
Tom Mould is Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at Elon University and
Director of the Honors Program. He is the author of three booksChoctaw
Prophecy: A Legacy of the Future (2003), Choctaw Tales (2004), and Still, the Small
Voice: Revelation, Personal Narrative and the Mormon Folk Tradition (2011)and
co-author of two moreThe Individual and Tradition (2011) and Latter-day Lore:
Mormon Folklore Studies (2013). His research areas include folklore, oral narrative,
sacred narrative, legend, American Indian studies, Mormon studies, identity,
ethnography and performance theory. He has produced video documentaries for
public television on folk art and culture in Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina. His
current project examines the impact legends and personal experience narratives
about welfare have on shaping public opinion and policy.
Heidi Norwick
Heidi Norwick became the President of United Way of Alamance County July 1, 2014.
Norwick joined the United Way staff in 2012 to serve as the Director of Community Impact. Prior
to joining United Way, Norwick was the Executive Director of the Womens Resource Center in
Alamance County for 16 years. She most recently was awarded the Founders Award by the
Womens Resource Center for her dedication to mentoring others in leadership and for a
impactful career in nonprofit work.
Kim Crawford
Kim Crawford brings a wealth of experience to the team. She holds a Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Corporate Communication
from Lindenwood College. She also has earned Master of Arts, Religion and Theology from
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Kim is a results-driven leader that uses a
hands-on leadership style to bring value to organizations and foster relationship building.
As a change agent, she has utilized her strong business acumen to turnaround
underperforming programs. Prior to her arrival in North Carolina, Kim was the Executive
Director for 5 years of Life House, Inc. a shelter for at risk homeless children between the
ages of 14 and 20 in Duluth, Minnesota. Kim has enjoyed her transition to North Carolina,
especially the mild weather.