Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Sinkfield. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Emma Ficklin Sinkfield is a native of Warrenton, GA. She is the 5th child out of 13 siblings born to the parentage of the late John and Iris Ficklin. She is highly supported by Pauline, Iris, Catherine, Marlene, Gloria, and Douglas. She misses Geraldine, Betty, John, Mattie, Annette and Annie whom God has called home. She was a wife to Mr. Kenneth Sinkfield for 39 years and a mother and grandmother to Chranda (Lee) and Skyy Emilyann Baker. Emma was educated in the Warren County Elementary School, The Germantown Central Middle School of Germantown, New York and the Hudson High School in Hudson, New York until she became a senior and graduated in 1970 from the Warrenton Elementary and High School. Emma is an honor graduate of Augusta State University in the class of 1997, where she received a BA degree in Sociology with a minor in Social Work. She is a first-generation honor graduate of ASU and the recipient of many awards to include Citizen of the Year, the Girl Scouts of America’s Women of Excellence award, Humanitarian of the Year for the CSRA EOA, several community service awards and the “Cher Best Sisters Only Club Shero Award.
Emma is a real jewel. She has a passion for families and children, her church and her community. She loves people and hopes that what she does with her life will make God Smile. A mission and a change are active in her local community because of her presence and actions. She has made a formidable change in her local community for the last 41 years. She is employed at the Warren County Family Connection where she serves as the Executive Director of the local collaborative that consists of 67 Plus partner agencies pulled together by her work to provide resources for families and children in her community and surrounding counties. Give her a call sometimes to let her know that you see that she is still standing and still committed. Help her to realize that for the future of Warren County. Together, we will address the challenges we face and the incredible opportunities ahead. “It’s a good thing to start out at the bottom.” When it comes to Family Connection of Warren County, Inc. I get the big picture.
After all, I grew up as a “program child” in Georgia. I joined a community advocacy group as a young adult, I helped build the Family Connection Collaborative and served on the Family Connection Partnership Board of Directors in Atlanta. Like too many children in Georgia, I grew up with the odds stacked against me. “I came from a hyper-poor family with 12 siblings and a mom and dad who only had ten years of education between them,” Fortunately, my parents were passionate about their family. My dad couldn’t find work in Georgia, he went to New York and found work driving a concrete truck to support our family. When my mom discovered that education held the key to breaking their cycle of poverty, she became determined that all of her children would finish high school. All 12 of us did. In 1989, I turned my passion into purpose when I joined the Quality of Life Association for Warren County, Inc., and later became the Executive Director whose mission is to help families become self-sufficient. We are currently called the Family Connection of Warren County, Inc.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Back in the early 1990s, conditions for children and families in Warrenton were among the worst in the nation. The private and public sectors—though working hard to improve the lives of our most vulnerable citizens—weren’t working together. Information from a community assessment led to the organization of the Quality of Life Association for Warren County Inc., organized in 1989, which is a community-based, grassroots, minority-led, non-profit organization whose mission was dedicated to improving the life conditions of people in Warren County through support services and education. The association is committed to the development and self-actualization of individuals in need through grassroots efforts at the community level, sponsored by public and private partnerships with full participation by local citizens. Local boards are required to consist of a cross-section of community leaders and citizens at large. The board’s responsibilities are to assist in determining high-priority problems and needs, to network with established social service, educational and governmental agencies in order to create a climate in which individuals can participate in bringing about a positive change in their lives and quality improvement in their communities. Our goals are not program driven but rather process-oriented. Our association does not endorse any single program but supports a process and structure in which communities and individuals identify goals and objectives and work together for their achievement.
Since 1989, Family Connection of Warren County, Inc., Inc. formerly QUOLA, Inc. has been successful in accomplishing the following programs: serves as the only social services agency that offers support services to DFCS clients, in the first year of inception we provided 225 children under the age of five (about 50% of all children under five) with structured daycare, trained 54 volunteers as parenting assistants and mentors, organized a club for teens-it beginning name was-Teen Connection, today it is called Teens-In-Action, a peer counseling program called Project TACT (Teens Always Concern About Other Teens) which was implemented with the assistance of the local ministerial council organized by our office, offers assistance to teenagers seeking part-time employment and summer jobs, helped fund and initiate the Georgia State PEACH (National Jobs) Program, served as Adult Literacy Agency for Warren County since 1991 & implemented an adult education program called RUSH, organized a ministerial association to pool resources and produce coordinated community wide outreach efforts to provide food and clothing as well as ministerial counseling services. Coordinated bus transportation to major employment sites for over 300 Warren County citizens to allow them to take advantage of regional job opportunities, brought the first Head Start program to Warren County in fifteen years, established an educational outreach committee which focuses on promoting student self-esteem, providing awards for accomplishments, and sponsoring spirited school activities, successfully implemented an annual youth day and youth crusade, a yearly family & community day, implemented a welfare to work program that taught Work simulation to individuals leaving the welfare system, played the leading role in bringing Family Connection to Warren County.
We also created and implemented a spring break camp for over 105 children and a summer reading camp that now enrolls children referred by the local school system that are struggling with their reading and math classes. Developed and implemented an annual 3-day 2 night youth prevention retreat that is currently in its 15th year. Family Connection of Warren County, Inc., mission and programs support the goals of our state partner, The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program that is focus on getting families to self-sufficiency and children to permanency and safety. Family Connection of Warren County, Inc. has been highly recognized for the services given to families and children in Warren and surrounding Counties. We are currently Nationally Accredited through the largest dropout prevention agency in the United States and through the state’s Family Connection Partnership we have proficiency status to accredit our effective and efficient and proficient strategies in serving families and children in Warren County. The Quality of Life association was established to connect and convene key community members committed to improving the well-being of children and families. The name of the organization was officially changed to Family Connection of Warren County, Inc. in 2018.
Since the year of 2000, we have had the privilege of operating on the property of the Roberts Family. Five acres of land was donated cleaned up and named the Estee Roberts Park and we have been allowed to use this property for operations and services for the last 20 years. Estee Roberts and his family have contributed so much to families and children in Warren County. Warren County citizens owe the Roberts family a grand thank you for giving us a place to serve the community when we were forced off county property in 1998. The current local elected officials have also supported and partnered with this organization in providing space, wisdom and support for families and children in Warren County. We have been supported very much by the Mayor and City Council as well as the Chairman and the board of Commissioners.
For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do and the education, experience and awards you’ve learned along the way?
EDUCATION
2008 Internationally Certified Prevention Specialist
2007 Certified Prevention Professional
2002 Diploma Georgia Economic Development Academy
1993 -1997 Sociology, Social Work Minor, Augusta State University, UC Santa Barbara
1997 Graduated Leadership Warren Program through University of Georgia
1969-1970 Diploma, Warren County High School
CERTIFICATIONS
Internationally Certified Prevention Specialist R
Serve Safe- University of Georgia
TRAININGS
Ensuring A Supportive School Climate for All Students
SAAF (Strong African American Families)
Prevention Specialist training
Better Brains for Babies Instructor
Active Parenting Today Leadership Certification and Trainer of Trainers
Active Parenting of Teens Leadership Certification and Trainer of Trainers
Child Care Provider Training
Drug Prevention through Life Skill Building
Mendez Too Good for Drugs, Too Good for Violence Trainer of Trainers
Wise Guys
Survival skills for Women, Men, and Youth
First Aide and CPR
VITA Tax preparation
Mentoring
LifeSkills (Botvins)
Project Alert
EMPLOYMENT
1990-present Executive Director, Family Connection of /warren County, Inc. formerly Quality of life Association, Inc.
Direct policy, Train and supervise employees, represent organization, Train Parent leaders, Instruct and teach workshops, write grants and implement programs, evaluate programs, set budgets, etc.
1976-1990 Utility Instruction Worker, Health Tex
Trained new employees to do their jobs, fill in when employees or supervisors were absent. Operated all machinery and put together samples.
COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
Local FC & CIS Coalition for Substance Abuse prevention
Workforce Investment Board Member
Girl Scouts….. Service Unit Manager
Boy Scouts……Chartered Scout Master
City 0f Warrenton-GICH Housing Program
Warren County 2020
High School Governing Board
Teens in Action…Mentor
Millrock Baptist Church- Ministerial Staff
Adult Sunday School Teacher and Youth Advisor MillRock Baptist Church
Service provider for CSRA Enterprise Community
Men In Action Advisory Board
Family of Families Collaborative Coordinator
Senior Citizens Council
AWARDS AND HONORS
1991 Community Service Award for Excellence in Community Service,
1992 Excellence in Community Service, Georgia Coalition of Black Women
1993 Citizen of the Year, Warren County Chamber of Commerce
1994 Excellence in Client Service Award, Warren County DFACS
1995 MOST Scholar by Augusta State University and American
Sociological Association-
1996 Inducted into Theta of Georgia chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta,
International honor Society
1997 Selected for membership in Phi Kappa Phi, national scholastic honors
1998 Senior Sociology Award from the Sociology Dept. Augusta State
University on Honors Night
1999 Received Mentoring Award from Warren County Teens in Action
2000 Received Award for Volunteering with Warren County 4-hers
2002 Received Georgia Carolina Council Good Scout Award
2002 Selected as a candidate for Leadership for a Changing World
2003 Family Connection Partnership Success Story, Annual Report
2004 Humanitarian of the Year Award- Community Action Agency
2005 Daughter of American Revolution Community Service Award
2006 Dedicated Services Award WC Quality of Life Association
2007 Proficiency Status Award from State Family Connection
2008 CSRA Shero Award
2009 Sister’s Only Club Shero Award
2010 You Touch Lives Award Promoting Safe and Stable Families
2013 Outstanding 4-H Volunteer Leader Northeast District
2013 National Accreditation with Communities In Schools
2016 License Minister Millrock Missionary Baptist Church
2017 Circle of Care Volunteer Award for Cancer victims
2019 Success Award for 35 years of service
2021-37 Year Director Success Award.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
The Surprising things about me that most of the community do not know is that I am the fifth child out of 13 siblings. There were 11 girls and two boys. Out of the ten girls that survived past one year of life, seven of us were diagnosed with breast cancer. I am a ten years breast cancer survivor, I recovered from my right leg being broken twice, I had to have a seroma removed after five years from breast cancer surgery and I developed lymphedema in my right side after have 15 lymph nodes. Removed from underneath my right arm and five of them were malignant. Through all of this happened over a ten years period, I never stopped working for the families and children in my community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gafcp.org
