Angel Food Distribution Goes Well

Thanks to all of our volunteers. Despite the rain, the Angel Food distribution on Saturday went well. About 24 people will eat from the food boxes that were distributed.

We are looking for additional volunteers to help with distribution. A pickup truck is especially needed. If you are available for 2 hours one Saturday morning a month please contact us. We anticipate that the number of people receiving Angel Food boxes will increase. A volunteer with a truck will be a big help. Email us at hopeinfo@hopeforhealing.org today to volunteer.

Angel Food boxes are available to everyone. There are no qualifications. All you have to do is pre-order and pay then pick up your food box on the distribution date. Boxes are $30 each but have are valued at around $60. For a lot of families the boxes are a great way to stretch your food budget. New suppliers have increased quality and the boxes are better than ever. Fruit and vegetables, senior boxes and specials are available at various prices.
Order forms are available through our office or online at http://www.angelfoodministries.com The order deadline at our office is 4:00 pm, Saturday October 11.

Blog Action Day 2008 Hope for Healing.Org Participates

Hope for Healing.Org will join our voice in the worldwide outcry against poverty. Join us in Blog Action Day 2008, Poverty. Many of the clients we serve in East Tennessee know poverty. The slideshow tells the story better than we can. Some of the people we serve are victims of domestic violence who had to make the choice to live violence free in poverty or to stay with an abuser. Take it from us, this is no choice to have to make.

On October 15 we will be speaking out against poverty through our blog. So will hundreds of thousands of bloggers across the globe.

Will you join us? Click the graphic to register your blog now.

Bake Sale Rained Out

The steady rainfall washed out the bake sale. Darn! Many thanks to everyone who tried to help. We'll try again. Don't worry.

A reminder: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We'll have lots of activities going on! If you're not using a feed be sure to check for frequent updates.

Bake Sale Saturday

11:00 - 2:00
Wal-Mart in Jefferson City

After the Angel Food we'll scoot up to Wal-Mart and get set up. We'll also have domestic violence awareness cards, luminary bags and more.

Baked items can be brought to the office during regular hours on Friday or Saturday morning until 10:00 am. This is always a fun outreach.

We hope to see you there!

Angel Food Saturday

Don't forget to pick up your Angel Food Boxes on Saturday. We hope to see you there! The times are on your sheets. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to send us an email. hopeinfo@hopeforhealing.org

To Holston Conference DV Task Force Members...

Holston Conference Domestic Violence Task Force Members Only

Domestic Violence Task Force Meeting
Thursday, October 23, at 2:00 p.m.
Alcoa Conference Center .

The date is set. The room reserved. All we need is YOU!

Clear your calendars and be prepared to attend...

Thanks,

See you there!

Gayle Crabtree.

PS Directions have been uploaded to the hcdvtf yahoo group files. If you need to have it emailed to you just reply to this message. Thanks.

New Thrift Hours & Management, Readies for Fall

Change is in the air this fall. Under new management, our thrift shop is getting ready for autumn. Merchandise is being replaced. Windows are being painted. New items are coming in.

Our new shop hours are 12:30 - 4:30 Thursday, Friday and 10:30 - 3:00 on Saturday. Hope Youth and volunteers have been hard at work creating products that are suitable for gift giving. Look for an expanding line of items. Works will include more fashion jewelry pieces and repainted furniture items.

Come check us out.

We're at the corner of Hamilton and Old Andrew Johnson Hwy. in Strawberry Plains, 37871. Contact us at hopeinfo@hopeforhealing.org for directions. We'll see you here!

Carson-Newman College Dance Team Makes Hope Happen!

Thanks Carson-Newman College Dance Team and Operation Inasmuch!

These wonderful women created domestic violence awareness cards, cleaned, rearranged, straightened, folded and sorted clothing, made signs and interacted with Hope Youth - all in about 2 1/2 hours! Our hat is off to them.

Part of the work they did may help beyond the border of our community.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. There are never enough of these to go around. The awareness cards will be used at all of our October events, in mail-outs and be given out at our annual prayer service. Some cards will stay here. Others will be given to churches throughout East Tennessee.

Calling Operation Inasmuch a positive experience is an understatement. Not only were valuable services provided but the youth really enjoyed working with the team. One youth said she liked being around them because she wasn't treated like a kid and she's already looking forward to next time.

Our staff seconds her viewpoint! It's hard to argue with results like that.

The 2008 Dance Team Members include:

Danielle Beckler
Brittany Rice
*Bethany Wells
Leah Brooks
Kristin Bouldin
*Allee Johnson
Logan McDaniel
Pamela Gray
Kimberly Grantham
Jillian Howell

Welcome Carson-Newman Dance Team!

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for us. The dance team of Carson-Newman college is going to come help. We always love volunteers but we especially love this group. This is the third year they have come as part of Operation Inasmuch (OI for short.)

Operation Inasmuch was piloted as a community ministry project in the fall of 2006. That year, 300 students participated. About two dozen projects participated.

We were honored to be one of the first sites to participate. Hopefully, Operation Inasmuch will continue to happen for years to come!

See you tomorrow!

Click here to read the blog article from the 2007 Operation Inasmuch project.

Angel Food Oct. Menu now Available

The October Angel Food menu is now available. View it at Angel Food Ministries. Com

Angel Food Order Deadline 9/12 3:00 pm.

All orders and forms must be turned in by Friday at 3:00 pm. More information and a menu can be found online at the Angel Food Website.

For the future, Angel Food is working on an online ordering system to streamline the ordering process. To date, this is still in the planning stages. Until it is complete, please bring the order forms and payment to our office. If you have any questions don't hesitate to email us at hopeinfo@hopeforhealing.org or thorough the form on the Angel Food website.

Thanks!

Youth Made Hope Products Help Hope for Healing.Org

Often I am asked what kids do when they come to us to volunteer or to serve court-ordered community service. The answer is - a lot!

At Hope for Healing.Org we are always asking for one-day mentors to help. Special skills are not required. We just ask that you have a heart for kids and a willingness to listen. This makes all the difference! When possible, new volunteers (and community service workers) are placed with a more experienced volunteer called a Lead Volunteer or with an adult mentor.

Kids are assigned to volunteers and mentors individually based on program needs and capabilities of the teen. For large tasks that need several hands (like sorting a mountainous pile of clothing) teens may be assigned in a group under one or two Lead Volunteers or mentors.

We don't want to just "make them work". Our goal is to teach them skills that will lead to new behavior, increased job skills or both. While kids sort, fold and hang clothing our mentors talk with them. While we do keep things low key we do enforce rules on behavior and respectful attire. Sometimes, communication with adults is the biggest skill that needs to be learned. We work on this as we work on other skills such as merchandising or creating a display.

When the kids are ready we work with them on creating Hope Products.

Hope Products are items created by Hope Youth to benefit the general fund of Hope for Healing.Org. Some of these items, such as our popular notecards, are now offered on eBay. Other items are offered for sale in our thrift shop or put to use in the office.
All products are recycled from items donated to our thrift shop. The variety is endless. Popular items among the kids include refinishing furniture, picture frames or wall decorations. Other items have included recreating end tables and stools. Other items included denim purses and hand woven placemats.

As the kids learn about recycling they also learn the basics of what goes into a retail operation. Creating posters for outreach events helps teach about marketing and advertising - all powerful skills which help kids build a better future.

But is the program successful?

This year, five teens qualified for the US President's Volunteer Service Award. Two teens were former juvenile offenders, two Lead Volunteers placed in the top 11 of their graduating high school class and the fifth teen is visually challenged. (Another teenager missed qualifying by only 4 hours.)

The minimum time requirement varies with the age of the participant. (See the President's Volunteer Service Award Website for more information. ) Each qualifying teenager mentioned above volunteered a minimum of 100 hours each and one student volunteered over 150 hours.

But the real proof of success is in the lives of the participants themselves. All of the kids mentioned above have either found jobs or are successful students in their respective schools.

And, these teens are still volunteering with us. They want to pass on what they have learned from us in hopes of inspiring other teens to achieve.

Do you have a few hours of time on a Saturday? Come join us and see the change in the kids we work with for yourself. You - and they- will be glad you came.


Read here for instructions on how we repainted this stool.

Thanks Concord UMC !

Our van is soon to be fixed thanks to the generosity of the United Methodist Men's group at Concord United Methodist Church. On Sunday, Allie and I were privileged to be at their monthly breakfast. What a great group and nice meal!

They surprised us by being willing to help with needed van repairs. (Blog readers will be familiar with our ongoing efforts to get it back on the road.) Thank You So Much! This will be a huge help to our program. Soon, we'll be able to do pick-ups once again!

In another kindness, Mike Smith shared other good news. The kids who come to us for community service will soon be able to have a hot lunch! A gas grill and tanks are going to be given to us by the United Methodist Men of the Holston Conference and the UMM at Concord.

We're thrilled beyond belief and deeply moved by the generosity of this group. Your acts of kindness will go a long way toward helping us help the people we serve. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Gustav Evacuees are Homeward Bound!

It was a moment we've all been waiting for. The Gustav Evacuees are heading for home. They face an uncertain future. Even though the region was spared the mass chaos we saw with Katrina there will still be months of clean up. Godspeed evacuees. May you and your families stay safe.

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?s=8954329

Red Cross Shelter Disaster Training Opportunities in Knoxville

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO STAFF SHELTERS

Today over 200 Gustav evacuees have arrived by plane and many others have driven up to Knoxville.

Currently two emergency shelters have been open for them by the RED CROSS : !st Baptist of Knoxville at 510 West Main and Parkwest Church of God at 7635 Middlebrook Pike.

A third shelter will be open as the need arises at Central Baptist Church of Bearden.
Thank you for responding to the e-mail Saturday. 70 volunteers came out for the training today. More are needed to serve in the shelters in 8 hour shifts running from 7:00 - 3:00pm; 3:00 -11:00pm; and 11:00pm - 7:00am.

If you are available to volunteer you will need to go to the Red Cross Volunteer Processing Center at Erin Presbyterian Church, 200 Lockett Rd, ( near Papermill and Kingston Pike behind the library).

The Center will be open starting Monday, & Tuesday from 9:00- 5:00 and will remain open until enough volunteers are trained. You can find the volunteer application at the Red Cross website http://www.knoxarc.org/ . All volunteers must have a background check and the link for completing that is also on the website.

Volunteers who worked the shelters during Katrina will need to go by the Volunteer Processing Center to go thru a short training update and they must also complete the background check.
Thank you for responding so quickly to this need. Our prayers are with all those affected by Gustav.

If you have any question you can call the Red Cross at 584-2999 or contact Compassion Coalition.
Grant Standefer Executive Director Compassion Coalition 251-1591