Here is a letter from someone we recently had the opportunity to touch...
Please allow me a few minutes to say thank you, from the
bottom of my heart. I know you are busy, individually and as an
organization, that collection of a few paid and a swarm of volunteers you
call Christian Help. You are swamped everyday helping virtual strangers,
that comprise a cross section of the very needy seemingly with nothing in
common but need. An endless parade of human floatsam marginalized from society
that washes up on Seminola avenue with enough stories to keep Chaucer busy
with volumes of the Casselberry tales.
So from time to time you must
wonder, did it really help that one or did we just feed him for a day ( or
a week, or a year). Well I'm here to tell you, that at least in my case, the
help was more than you know.
How do you measure that help, really? From what it says in the 'notes', or is it in terms of " did
they get a job" or not? It must be like trying to read the effect of a
tsunami by the human misery that washes ashore on a distant shore. I'm
sure some tell you, but i bet just as many are never heard from again
after they stop coming .
I will spare you the
details but you should know the gist of it. Two years ago I spent Christmas
sleeping on the concrete slab of a an empty house that was in short
sale. No electricity and no water. When the sun went down it was dark and
cold. I did read my bible everyday I could and never felt closer to Gods love.
Oddly enough it was a very nice neighborhood.
I had no job. I fell behind on my child support and my drivers license was
suspended. However, I
never needed nor lacked. God provided what I needed in many ways. And
eventually I showed up at your door. Thus began the healing, because in a case
of a positive, ... " for lack of a nail a shoe was lost, for lack of
a shoe a horse was lost..." you know the rest. Because of your help,
or at least in a great part, I was able to get part time work, through which I
begin paying my child support, and thus reacquired my license and
thus visited my daughter regularly.
The last session I had
with a counselor, I informed him that my daughter Sofia had been accepted at
the University of Florida, and qualified for the Bright Futures scholarship
which covers about 75% of her costs. I was also told by my employer that they
would sponsor and pay for my Community Association Manager license ( CAM ),
which when I pass,( and God willing I will) they will consider me for a full
time position through which I can at least help Sofia while she is in school.
Is it over? Hardly. But, as a sojourner
that is about to leave the shelter that your organization so kindly provided, I
wanted to say thanks.
I told Ginger this morning that one day my Lord
had cured ten lepers at the same time; Only one came back to thank Him. I am
that one leper. Thank you and all the smiling faces that so generously and
kindly gave of their time, talent and treasure to help people that may never be
able to repay them.
But,
some can at least say,
"thanks".
God bless you
Sincerely,
Manny Leon
Donations in March and April are matched through the generosity of the Feinstein Foundation and several generous donors. Please consider investing financially in making a difference for families in need. Your $60 donation will become $120 and feed 2 families for a month, $100 will become $200 and sponsor a student for our Jobs Initiative Classes, $500 becomes $1000 and can keep 2 families from losing their home. Thank you for your generosity!
Donate Online Today or mail a check to 450 Seminola Blvd, Casselberry, FL 32707.
