Christmas 2007

All I can say is that I am AMAZED at the people that God has brought to Christian HELP. We have been so blessed with volunteers and donors at this special time of year. It is because of all of these wonderfull people that we were able to bless about 600 familes with Christmas gifts and Holiday meals this year.

One story worth sharing is about JC. He is a 16 year old boy that heard about our adoption program on Z88.3. He sent them a letter which they faxed to us. He wanted to help his family with Christmas. You see, his mother passed away and he and his siblings are cared for by his Aunt. He has Cystic Fibrosis and is sick alot, but feels that she care for them well. He wanted help for the 9 and 11 year olds in his family. He asked for nothing for himself. What a noble person at such a young age. We decided to "adopt" JC's family for Christmas. When his grandmother got the message, she just cried. Of course we included gifts for JC as well.

Tracy came to me in tears to tell me how she thought that she would have no financial issues this year, but unexpectedly her son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The medical bills were mounting with no end in sight. She was able to come through our toy room and pick out gifts for all of her children. My son Nathan got to be her "elf" and really bonded with her. Her family is in our prayers. She was so thankful not only for the gifts, but to share her story.

The list goes on. So many were blessed with the generosity of others. We had enough toys to call about 1/2 of our reserve list and give to several other charities and churches. Our biggest need was food. It still is. Our cupboard is bare after helping all of these people. HOPE Foundation and Central Florida Dream Center came to our rescue along with several Publix locations. We still need to rebuild our stores for the clients who continue to come in.

Next year will be more challenging. The hard to employ will become even harder to employ. There is a great deal of competition with our job fairs and our job board. The market is tougher and unemployment may rise. We have faith that God will continue to see us through as we embark on our 2008 journey. We ask that you keep Christian HELP is your prayers. Thank you for all you do.

-and God Bless!

Christmas is coming

I just got word today that over 80 families have already been adopted for Christmas. We have even more families who will be coming in to "shop" in our toy room during our distribution week. We have people lined up in the morning when we arrive...

The need is great.

As the economy softens, more and more people are finding it hard to make ends meet. When you are poor or on a fixed income, it becomes even more difficult to pay for necessities like gas, food, and utilities, not to mention rent.

We have been helping families all over Central Florida to stretch their dollars a bit further by providing Christmas. Our Client Services Administrator Phyllis even put together a package for a family in India! It is because of the generosity of people like you that we are able to provide this blessing.

There are so many ways to help out:

• Sponsor a family for $40.00, this provides a holiday meal, and toys for the children.
• Adopt a family- call us or e-mail christmas@christianhelp.org and we can fax you profiles
• Do a toy, food, or battery drive
• Volunteer

Please consider joining with Christian HELP to HELP Give Christmas to those in need.

God is Great

As I listened to Dick Wilson, one of the founders of Christian HELP, speak at our annual Harvest of Hope, his message was clear- God is Great!

Over the past 15 years, God has taken ordinary people to extraordinary places in this ministry. The numbers alone http://www.christianhelp.org/ speak for themselves, but it is the stories of the people we have ministered to that really have an impact.

The team and volunteers who came together just for this event to happen continue to amaze me. When God laid it on my heart to do a video, I thought I would have to find outside talent. Little did I know, that Lech, our IT guy had such talent. He put together a video that brings tears to my eyes everytime I watch it. God brought Kristy Owens back to us as a volunteer coordinator. She was able to pull off our silent auction. (Not without some hiccups, but we wont go there!) Phyllis Mabery gave her testimony (I cry every time!), and organized and obtained so many items for the auction that we ran out of space. Way to go Phyllis! Chris Whitehead did all of the decorating and with her daughter Kim and a whole army of volunteers and team helpers made the place look amazing. Vicky and her husband Christian took care of the signs, Madge and Rob made sure our guests had snacks and punch. Ken (our extreme makeover guy) made sure everyone knew where to go. Jackie, our development coordinator made all of this happen!

My thanks goes out to the table captains who secured all of the guests. Without you, we would have had empty chairs. And to Karen- talk about calm under fire!- who made sure everyone had a seat...

And to all of the others- too many to name- you know who you are. My sincere appreciation goes to all of you for making this event so successful.

I was talking to someone the other day about giving. When you are a Christian, you understand the phrase that it is better to give than to receive... I believe when you give, you truly receive more than you give. God blesses those who give cheerfully. The smiles (through the moments of stress) on the faces of those who gave of their talents, and those who gave of their treasures, and those who shared both, were proof that this is true.

It is my prayer that we will continue to reach out to the community and change lives through the direction of the Holy spirit. If you have not seen our ministry and would like to, please e-mail jackie@christianhelp.org. If you would like to support us financially, please go to the main Christian HELP page and hit donate now. I really believe that you will be blessed.

God is GREAT!

-amen

Time for hope

The bible tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans to give you a hope and a future."

Next week is our Harvest of Hope annual fundraiser. It is the single largest event (other than the job fairs) that we put on each year. It is our wish to be able to continue to give hope to those around us who have lost their jobs or do not have enough income to make ends meet. Sometimes hope is lost to illness, sometimes to other tragedies. Each day our counselors pray with clients and try to help them to restore their hope. Please pray about how you can be a part of this event.

We are reaching out to people who want to make a difference in the lives of their neighbors. By providing job leads, supplemental food, and other services, we can make a difference. If you want to be part of this process of transforming lives- please let us know...

There are many ways to serve:

• Volunteer your time and your talents at Christian HELP or from home
• Support us financially through one time or automatic giving
• Bid on our silent auction items or donate an item for bidding
• Adopt or sponsor a family for Christmas
• Pick up a Dove card at a participating location (Chik-fil-a, Qdoba, Centra-care, some area churches) and buy a gift for a needy child
• Donate food to our pantry
• Adopt a room (2008) and help us to finish our makeover project
• MOST IMPORTANTLY- PRAY for our ministry daily

We appreciate all of the people who make this ministry successful. God is in control of everything we do and we give him the highest praise. His word gives us the hope that we can be an instrument to help those in need find the future He has planned for us.

Call us or e-mail today - 407-834-4022 forhelp@christianhelp.org

Read about us

Christian HELP is starting to get noticed. We are regular contributors to Look UP Orlando Magazine (available in many Churches and in our Lobby), we have an article on the Insight Business website http://www.insightbusinessupdate.com/human-resources/hire-better-for-less.html, we have a weekly employment column in the Winter Springs/Oviedo Voice, we have been featured in the East Orlando Sun, and we have an article coming up in the Seminole Neighbors newspaper.

What does all this mean? It seems to mean that we are getting busier and busier. A typical Tuesday now can bring 45 job seekers looking for assistance. As we start rolling into Christmas, it means that we will need families, churches, and businesses to help us with family adoptions and sponsorships. We will need volunteers to help with picking up gifts, sorting gifts, and being Christmas elves.

If you are interested in helping out- please call us at 407-834-4022 or e-mail forhelp@christianhelp.org.

New Services

Christian HELP has added a new resume review service. This service is avaliable both by e-mail and in our office. We have volunteers from local companies coming in to our office on September 18, 21, 25, 27, & 28 from 11AM-1PM to review resumes and make suggestions for changes. Resumes can be brought in as a hard copy or electronically.

We hope to add more job seeker training including computer classes, interviewing techniques, job search help, and more early next year. Look at our www.cfec.org and www.christianhelp.org websites for updates.

Once again, Christian HELP is excited about being an avenue to connect job seekers with employers. With our in office counseling, online job board, and 6 job fairs (next one November 7th), we connected over 8,000 people with jobs last year. Are you next?

Job Fair today!!!- September 5th

119 employers will be looking for employees today at our job fair at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. Job seekers should dress to impress, bring plenty of resumes and a pen to fill out applications. Registering online will quicken the entry process and make your resume available to many companies. Visit as many booths as possible, you never know who your next employer could be!

WWW.CFEC.ORG

Is it Christmas yet?

We had our second Christmas planning meeting yesterday. It is amazing how time flies when you are having fun. We look forward to Christmas as a time to reach out to more people with the love of Christ; yet we fear the overwhelming responsibility that it brings.

We need more volunteers, people to adopt families, food, gifts, and funds than ever before. This year a couple of the non-profits that have had a Christmas gift program are changing their programs to fit their mission. Christmas is part of our mission and our promise.

We need your help to make Christmas a wonderful time of year for all involved. Please pray about where you might be able to help us.

Thank you and God Bless-

Harvest of Hope

Every day people walk into Christian HELP with needs and they walk out with hope. Hope of a new job, hope of financial security, hope for the future. Our employment counselors are mostly volunteers who give of their time to meet with, listen to, and pray with our clients. Under the direction of Harry Kunisch, the counselors give advice on job searches, and give leads for jobs. Sometimes they just provide someone to talk to.

Each year in October, we bring the stories of our clients to Calvary Assembly for our Harvest of Hope. This annual fundraiser, provides the much needed finances for our ministry. This event will also have a silent auction prior to the luncheon. We will have some great items to bid on like baskets, tickets to the space center, zoo, and wonderworks, and even an old fashioned popcorn machine.

If you would like to be part of this very special event, please call Jackie Normand at 407-834-4022. To donate items for our auction, please call Phyllis at 407-834-4022.

Your contributions help people to have a hand up.

God Bless-

Being a Light

Phyllis, our Client Services Counselor asked me what our mission is. Not what our mission statement is, but our actual mission. My answer was to be a light in the community.

Christians for some reason get a bad reputation. I have called on churches to partner with them on areas we have mutual interests and many have opened their doors wide and said come on in. A few others have closed theirs tight and said that they were not interested. My question was- what are you not interested in? Helping others? I am not sure what that answer is.

Our mission is to help people who need a hand up. To help those who cannot help themselves. To show Christ's love to others. The bible says in Phillipians 2:7-8 "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, humbled himself..."

In order to be a light, we must humble ourselves. We need to meet people at the point of their pain. Share our testimonies and experiences to show that we understand. We pray for each person who walks through our doors. Some we can help with our services, others we need to send to other services.

Please join with us in our prayers that the body of Christ will be one. That we can all reach out and be lights in the community. That people will see Christ in us and say "I want what they have".

Scott Pucket, Pastor of Christ Kingdom Church, was a founder of project 24 in East Orlando. He said that their mission for the body of Christ was the NEED to see others succeed. I love that. Churches praying for other churches and getting together to help the community. What a blessing.

Let's change our thinking to less division, and more love. We need to see each other succeed in our walk with Christ in order to reach the lost for Him.

Job Fair Today

We are so blessed to have 124 companies participating in the job fair today. We are praying for good weather and a great crowd.

If you are looking for a job, visit our www.cfec.org website, register for the job fair (it will save you time in line) and come on down! It is from Noon-4 at the Central Florida Fairgrounds.

Needs are up....

Two days ago I got a crisis call for a family in need. Yesterday our partner Jay Dyer who runs our "Food Rescue" program called with 10 families in need. This was in addition to the 25-30 people we see daily in our office. (Which equates to up to 100+ mouths to feed)

Talk about going into crisis mode! The needs are great, the stores we work with are still providing and we are blessed that they do, but we are experiencing a great need for more food. Many food banks close during the summer due to the decline in donations. We will remain open, but hope not to have to limit what we give out.

God is good and he will provide. We have faith!

If you are able to help us with food drives, please let us know. We would be happy to help you to coordinate it.

Thank you and God Bless-

Keeping it real

One of the great things about working at Christian HELP is being able to reach out and help others. I spend quite a bit of time doing administrative work and networking, but on occasion I like to counsel others in order to keep it real.

I answered the phone one day on a Friday afternoon. The call came from a lady named BJ who had been living in the woods for 6 years and was now in a home with running water and a roof over her head. She had called to thank one of our counselors for listening to her and for the fresh food we had given her. I listened to BJ talk about how God had been so good to her and how blessed she was.

For just a moment, I felt guilty for not being thankful enough. God has been so amazing to me and to this Ministry. I am very thankful. Even more so, as I get to talk to the people who have been led to this Ministry for help. I am thankful for the staff and volunteers, thankful for the building, thankful for the clients, and thankful that God supplies all of our needs through the generosity of others. I am especially thankful for BJ who helps me to keep it real.

BJ is a writer too, and I hope to be able to read her writings soon. She set up a blog today and I will post a link once she has some postings in there.

Generosity and Volunteering

At Christian HELP we are blessed by so many volunteers who are so generous with their time and talents. From the office, to the food pantry, to the Board of Directors, we have people who are so dedicated to our mission.

As we start to get out into the community and participate in the outreach events and activities that others have put together, I have been able to see that Central Florida does have a terrific spirit of volunteerism. At homeless connect this past week, many people came out from churches and organizations to help the homeless get much needed services. This event was very well organized and ran smoothly. It could not have done so without volunteers.

Thank you to Dee who answers the phone on Mondays, and to Carol, Paul, Don, Carl, Bonnie, and Toni who counsel our clients about employment opportunities. Many thanks go to Madge, John K, Ron, Gwen, Eva, Amy, Nancy, Annie, Barbara, Mary, Jerry, Melina, and Mike who make sure the food is sorted, put away, and distributed to the clients. There are so many people who come out at Christmas, I don't even know where to begin...

When people give of their time and from their hearts, the world is a better place for just a moment. I love to listen to the stories of our volunteers and how they came to work with us.

If you are interested in volunteering with Christian HELP, please contact Jackie Normand at 407-834-4022 or by e-mail at blog@christianhelp.org.

Christian HELP and the Community

It is amazing to me that in a country as rich as ours there are so many people who cannot get out of poverty. One major medical issue, a transportation problem, lack of daycare, or job loss can put a family out on the street. As we counsel individuals, we hear more and more about the growing crisis of housing. People may be just one or two paychecks from living in their car or on the street. It breaks my heart.

Some of the things that happen are due to poor choices, other things are circumstance. Christian HELP attemps to prevent people from landing out on the street through onsite job counseling, and referrals to agencies that offer other assistance. We also have 6 job fairs a year. The next one is coming up on July 18th at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and already has over 100 employers signed up. For more information: http://www.cfec.org/.

Partnering with Churches, Individuals, and other organizations has become a priority in our fight to prevent homelessness. By working with others we can help the whole person, not just put a Band-Aid on the situation. We are currently signed up for a couple of communtiy events including Homeless Connect in East Orlando and Seminole County and OneNow http://www.onenowevent.com/ at University Carillon Methodist Church in Oveido. By helping others, we are able to give back to the community.