Who’s The B.O.M!

Celebrating 20 years of service, the Women’s Center of Fayetteville recently unveiled its new name: the Center for Economic Empowerment & Development, or CEED.

This name better reflects what the Center has been doing for more than 11 years. The nonprofit organization began by providing assistance and programs for displaced homemakers, adding programs to assist first-time homeowners and budding entrepreneurs and small business owners, both men and women.

The Center’s 20 years of service in the community have generated  tremendous benefits not only for its clients but for  the entire area. As a sample of this, the group’s Business Center in the past five years of its 11 years serving small entrepreneurs has helped more than 4,000 clients and provided 200 business loans totaling almost $2.4 million.

Twenty years ago, the vision of Sylvia Ray, CEED founder and executive director, was to serve women as a resource and referral center. Today, her vision is to expand housing programs for low-income families and individuals, particularly affordable housing, as well to expand services to empower small business owners to succeed.

For the past two years, the Center has held the Dancing with the Fayetteville Stars fundraiser, a fun and entertaining event that benefits the Center’s housing program, Lease to Own.

To learn more about CEED visit www.wcof.org <http://www.wcof.org or call 910-323-3377.