Recently one of our founders went on to Heaven. Madge Wilson started the food pantry for Christian HELP back in the early days of the ministry. She stepped out on faith, and along with her husband Dick, heeded a call by God to leave the retail gift business and go into ministry.
She battled with diabetes all her life. Diagnosed at age 6, she would later have a kidney transplant. While her body was not so healthy, her spirit and work ethic were. Madge made sure the pantry ran smoothly, everything had a place, there was a rhyme and reason for why things were done the way they were.
A meticulous record keeper, Madge made sure things were done fair and equitably. She made sure the employees and volunteers were good stewards of all that came in. Clients were always put ahead of everyone else.
One of the things that struck me when I came was the loyalty of the volunteers who worked in the pantry. We have volunteers who have been with Madge since the beginning. Gwen, Eva, Miss Annie May, John, and Ron have all been volunteers for years and they have been fiercely loyal to her.
I love that. I love that her legacy will live on. The building is named in her honor, and donations that have come in will be used to upgrade some of our freezers with a brand new one. She would have liked that.
Sandi
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
CFEC/Christian HELP on CBS Sunday Morning
Christian HELP/CFEC was recently used as the backdrop for this CBS Sunday morning story on unemployment over 50.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/03/sunday/main20050117.shtml
•The national unemployment rate is currently 8.8%, the lowest it has been since March 2009; however, Florida still lingers behind
•Florida, currently, holds the 3rd worst unemployment rate in the country at 11.5%
•In the past month, approximately 23,000 jobs were added in the customer service and hospitality industry
•Recent job reports reveal the average unemployment time period increased in March to 39 weeks
•Laid off workers under the age of 34 have a 36% chance of finding a new job within a year; in their 50’s, it’s only 24%, and past 62, just 18%.
•Christian HELP holds job fairs in Orlando every two months. During the most recent job fair, over 2,000 job seekers showed up in search of employment
•Despite improving job data, older unemployed workers are having more trouble finding work, as companies favor less-experienced, cheaper candidates. Tracy Smith looks into what it takes to find a job for an unemployed baby boomer
•Statistically, persons 50 and older are less likely to be laid off…
•In joint study from Boston College and Rutgers, researchers discovered that a growing number of people over 50 are involuntarily working part time jobs or just quit looking for jobs.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/03/sunday/main20050117.shtml
•The national unemployment rate is currently 8.8%, the lowest it has been since March 2009; however, Florida still lingers behind
•Florida, currently, holds the 3rd worst unemployment rate in the country at 11.5%
•In the past month, approximately 23,000 jobs were added in the customer service and hospitality industry
•Recent job reports reveal the average unemployment time period increased in March to 39 weeks
•Laid off workers under the age of 34 have a 36% chance of finding a new job within a year; in their 50’s, it’s only 24%, and past 62, just 18%.
•Christian HELP holds job fairs in Orlando every two months. During the most recent job fair, over 2,000 job seekers showed up in search of employment
•Despite improving job data, older unemployed workers are having more trouble finding work, as companies favor less-experienced, cheaper candidates. Tracy Smith looks into what it takes to find a job for an unemployed baby boomer
•Statistically, persons 50 and older are less likely to be laid off…
•In joint study from Boston College and Rutgers, researchers discovered that a growing number of people over 50 are involuntarily working part time jobs or just quit looking for jobs.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Are you Re-Charged and Re-Energized?
One hundred and fifty people gathered at First Baptist Longwood for Christian HELP/CFEC's Re-Charge and Re-Energize your job search seminar. Most of the group were seasoned professionals and many were out of work over 6 months.
The participants were given information on creating a job search plan, networking, branding, using the Business Journal as a job search tool, and becoming the best possible you. Dipasqua Enterprises/Subway generously provided sandwiches for the event. Z88.3 positive hits brought the van and provided music during lunch.
Over and over again, people thanked us for putting the seminar on. They came in not knowing if it would be worth it to give up a sunny Saturday to spend time with us. Volunteers came out to offer resume assistance and just guidance through the day. I was so blessed at the generosity in the room.
I watched as Lisa Maile (www.LisaMaileSeminars.com) stayed and talked with every single person in line without rushing a single person. They were important to her and got her undivided attention. One lady was in need of dental work and Lisa gave her some information to follow up on.
I love these seminars because they give people great information to use in their job search and just have a positive feel. One of the volunteers told me she could just feel the compassion in the room from the team at Christian HELP and our volunteer family.
My prayer is the people who were there will take the information they learned and apply it to get a job. One of the volunteers told me he learned how important networking was when he saw a colleague land a job faster than he did because he was well networked.
At Christian HELP we work to equip and empower people to get jobs. We are not a staffing company and we don't send people off to work when they come in, but we teach them how to find a position on their own and give then job leads and help secure better resumes. By teaching people what they needs to know, they can know it was through their efforts they are landing their next job.
Until next time-
Sandi Vidal
Executive Director
The participants were given information on creating a job search plan, networking, branding, using the Business Journal as a job search tool, and becoming the best possible you. Dipasqua Enterprises/Subway generously provided sandwiches for the event. Z88.3 positive hits brought the van and provided music during lunch.
Over and over again, people thanked us for putting the seminar on. They came in not knowing if it would be worth it to give up a sunny Saturday to spend time with us. Volunteers came out to offer resume assistance and just guidance through the day. I was so blessed at the generosity in the room.
I watched as Lisa Maile (www.LisaMaileSeminars.com) stayed and talked with every single person in line without rushing a single person. They were important to her and got her undivided attention. One lady was in need of dental work and Lisa gave her some information to follow up on.
I love these seminars because they give people great information to use in their job search and just have a positive feel. One of the volunteers told me she could just feel the compassion in the room from the team at Christian HELP and our volunteer family.
My prayer is the people who were there will take the information they learned and apply it to get a job. One of the volunteers told me he learned how important networking was when he saw a colleague land a job faster than he did because he was well networked.
At Christian HELP we work to equip and empower people to get jobs. We are not a staffing company and we don't send people off to work when they come in, but we teach them how to find a position on their own and give then job leads and help secure better resumes. By teaching people what they needs to know, they can know it was through their efforts they are landing their next job.
Until next time-
Sandi Vidal
Executive Director
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