Category Archives: Service Projects

Fighting Youth Homelessness: HOPE 4 Youth

Charity Review, Ministry, Service Projects, , , , ,

It is really hard to recover from homelessness. In addition to the basic lack of food, hygiene, and shelter, homelessness presents long-term challenges that make it even harder for people to find opportunities and get back on their feet. How do you get a job or apply for government assistance without an address? How do you enroll your kids in school? Where do you feel safe?

The challenges of the homeless are magnified even more in homeless youth. On any given night, there are about 6000 homeless young people between the ages of 16 and 23 on the streets in Minnesota alone. Some of these kids have aged out of foster care and have no home to go to. Others have been abandoned or kicked out by their parents/guardians. Some are runaways.

Becoming homeless at some point in your adult life is hard enough, but starting out homeless is a deep hole. In 2012, a group of people in the north suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul (where I live), decided that it was unacceptable for these kids to crash with different friends every night, to live out of backpacks or cars, or to sleep on the streets. So they founded HOPE 4 Youth.

HOPE 4 Youth is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has shelter space, drop-in centers, food, personal hygiene, and clothing supplies available for teens aged 16-23. They also provide assistance so the kids can finish their education and/or find employment. They do outreaches and work to prevent more kids from becoming homeless, as well.

So what can you and I do to help groups like HOPE 4 Youth in their efforts to prevent youth homelessness and rescue at-risk kids?
-First, if you do not live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, dig around online for an organization in your area.
– Second, consider ways that you can financially support the organization. Non-profits are always looking for corporate sponsors for their programs and fundraisers. As an individual, you can also attend or participate in a fundraiser for the organization. In fact, tonight my husband and I will be running HOPE 4 Youth’s “Darkest Night of Your Life” 4k race.
– Third, shelters need stuff. Non-perishable food items, new and gently used clothing and shoes, unopened toiletries, bedding, etc. Check the organization’s website for specific needs.
– Fourth, consider giving your time. Groups like HOPE 4 Youth keep their overhead low by using an army of volunteer labor. You could get involved short-term by helping to plan a fundraiser or event, or take on a long-term role sorting donations or helping kids with homework. Again, the organization’s website will be your best resource for this information.

Kids need to be safe, healthy, loved, and provided for. What can you do to help at-risk teens, tomorrow’s adults, in your community?

 

Forget the Frock

Fair Trade, Faith, Family, Fundraiser, inspiration, Service Projects, ,

Ugh. I prepared this post for you a week ago, and then didn’t post it on Friday. I’m blaming the cold medicine…

Easter is coming up in just a couple weeks. Have you shopped for fancy new dresses and ties for your family? Would you like to save some money and make a lasting difference instead? Forget the Frock is a national movement to trade in those one-time holiday purchases for tee shirts that make a difference in the world.

Forget the Frock and our Preferred Partner, Feeding the Orphans from Forget the Frock on Vimeo.

 

This will be my family’s first time participating in Forget the Frock. I ordered this year’s “Preferred Partner” shirt from Feeding the Orphans. They came really quick, in less than a week, and they’re taking orders until the week before Easter, so there is still time to order.

The shirts are made of American-made fabric, and are fair trade produced by men and women who aged out of orphanages in Haiti and were taught garment-making skills. The money I spent on the shirts will provide education, healthcare, and opportunities for orphans in Western Africa. So from seed to Easter Sunday, this shirt provided fair-paying, meaningful employment for American farmers, American fabric producers, Haitian garment workers, the artist who designed the logo, and the staff at Feed the Orphans, plus the proceeds provide for African orphans. That’s a lot of good for just $23 per shirt!

There are other shirts from other partner organizations. Check them all out on the Forget the Frock website. Or pick up a shirt from one of your favorite non-profits!

Have you participated in Forget the Frock? What organization(s) have you supported with this initiative? Comment below to share your story!

Responding to Disaster

Charity Review, Disaster Relief, Resources, Service Projects, , , ,

The last couple weeks have been heavy, with constant news stories of hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires ravaging parts of the world. Countless lives have been altered by these natural disasters, and millions are in need of emergency aid. So for those of us not directly affected by the crises, what can we do to help?

Of course, the first thing I’m going to suggest is prayer. We serve an all-powerful God. He is not surprised by these disasters. He cares deeply, and his heart is broken for those who are suffering. He welcomes a dialog with us about our needs and our feelings. Prayer changes things, and it changes us. Spend some time talking to God about these crises and the many people who are in need of a miracle right now.

Secondly, don’t start sending boxes of junk to the disaster areas. Every time a catastrophe like this happens, people gather boxes of useless junk and ship them off to the disaster area. Their hearts are in the right place, but overwhelmed locals end up with warehouses full of stuff that needs to be sorted and cleaned before it can be distributed, and they have to dispose of landfills full of stuff that no one needs. You would be better off holding a garage sale and sending your profits to a reputable non-profit organization.

The best thing you can do (other than praying), is to give to a reputable non-profit organization providing disaster relief in the area. They have trained, dedicated staff who deliver things like clean water, medical supplies, and food where it’s needed most. Be careful when you select your non-profit. Some of the big guys that get a lot of publicity have tremendously high overhead, and only a fraction of your donation ever makes it to the disaster victims. Use a website like Charity Navigator or GuideStar to help you find an organization that keeps their overhead low and uses best practices of accountability.

Finally, think local. If you have friends or family members dealing with the tragedy, ask them what they need. I was surprised last week to find out that in the wake of Hurricane Harvey there is a need for bug spray in parts of Texas. I never would have thought of that. They are far enough into the cleanup effort that most of them are getting mail service again, so Amazon can get supplies to your loved ones in just a couple days.

And on the topic of thinking locally, don’t forget the small charities and churches local to the area in crisis. Donating funds to local churches or local food banks will put your dollars to work in the local community quickly.

Some links:

GuideStar

Charity Navigator

Convoy of Hope – Convoy is my charity of choice for giving to the hurricane relief effort. I’ve blogged about them before. Check out my previous posts here and here.

Food Bank Locator

The Value of a Volunteer

inspiration, Service Projects

Happy Friday! It’s extra happy for me, because tonight Jacob comes home from Puerto Rico. Never mind the fact that tomorrow morning he leaves for Scout camp; I don’t want to think about that right now. Thanks to modern technology, his absence hasn’t been too hard for me. We’ve texted back and forth each day, and the adults on the trip have been posting pictures to the team Facebook page. It looks like the trip has been a nice combination of work, relationship building, and fun. I can’t wait to hear all the details tonight!

As you may know, I work at a history museum. Although different from hunger-relief orgs, our small educational non-profit faces some of the same challenges – things like fundraising, fulfilling our mission on a tight budget, and doing it all with a tiny (and mostly part-time) staff. I know for a fact that the key to meeting our objectives in a quality way is our other staff – the volunteers.

If you assume that a small non-profit would pay about $10 per hour for help (that number is low, I know. Many of our volunteers are worth far more than that. But it’s a nice round number for this math-phobe, and it makes the point without any chance of exaggerating), then even our most occasional event volunteer is saving us hundreds of dollars per year. Our top volunteer at the museum worked over 400 hours last year – that’s more than $4000 in free labor. But you and I both know that without these volunteers we wouldn’t be spending that much more money – we would be getting a lot less done.

A couple weeks ago, my family and I participated in Feed My Starving Children’s Love Somalia mobile pack event in St Paul. During the four days of packing, volunteers assembled 4.5 million meals. Volunteers. If FMSC had to replace the volunteers with packing machines, they would also have to add staff to maintain and supervise the machines. They would have to work harder to raise awareness and funds. They couldn’t hold special events where 4.5 million EXTRA meals are packed in a weekend.

I found some statistics from the Bureau of Labor that show you just how powerful volunteers are in America. From September 2015-September 2016, 62.6 million Americans volunteered at least once with a non-profit organization. The median number of volunteer hours each person gave was 54 hours per year. The biggest recipient of volunteer labor was religious non-profits. This makes sense, right? If you’re a member of a church, you’re probably doing some kind of volunteer service there – teaching Sunday school, greeting visitors, serving in the kitchen during weddings and funerals, etc. Educational and youth-services non-profits came in second. If you have kids or grandkids in school, it’s hard to avoid the pleas for PTO members, fundraiser parents, and classroom volunteers.

One statistic I found stated that in 2013, Americans volunteered more than 7.7 billion hours. BILLION! If we multiply that by our paltry sum of $10/hour, that’s over $77 billion dollars in free labor given to help others learn, grow in faith, or meet their physical needs!

If you volunteer, and you’re feeling discouraged and wondering if your service is doing any good, think about that number. You are part of something HUGE – something that runs our schools, museums, art institutions, churches, food shelves, homeless shelters, job programs, and many more vital places! If you believe in their mission, make a difference with your time!

What is your favorite place to volunteer? Join the discussion by posting in the comments!

Light it up!

Faith, Family, inspiration, Karah, Ministry, personal growth, Service Projects,

Matthew 5:13-16 – You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Last weekend my family and I packed meals for Feed My Starving Children‘s #LoveSomalia mobile pack event here in the Twin Cities. Our first shift was on Sunday, so of course I came down with a migraine that afternoon. Some prescription meds and a nap later, I called on my faithful prayer warrior friends to pray that I would have “a supernatural burst of health and energy” for the event. God answered our prayers, and a burst of health and energy is exactly what I got! By the time the introduction/training portion of the event was done, I felt great. And as we developed a rhythm on the packing floor (I run a sealer and Jacob is a pro boxing coordinator/table lead. Scott usually helps in the warehouse, but for this event he stayed with the fam and scooped the vitamins and veggies), I was having a lot of fun! Jacob and I had a rhythm going. As I finished sealing a bag, I tested the seal then flipped it into the air, and he would reach out and snatch it up and put it in the right place. (We were very careful. I never threw them high enough to damage a bag if he didn’t catch it, and I tossed them over the sorting table so they didn’t hit the floor. One actually missed the table and landed right in the box!) We laughed, we sang along with the music playing in the arena, and even danced a little (or what passes for “dancing” in our family…) I physically worked to pack meals for about two hours, yet I left with more energy than I had going in! When Scott and I talked about it later, the only way I could explain that energy and why I keep signing up for events like that was to say that it “lights me up.”

Do you know the feeling of being lit up? Maybe you LOVE babies, kids, or teens, and spending time with them gives you that burst. Maybe you’re an actor, musician, comedian, or public speaker, and you feel the thrill of the live audience. Maybe creating artwork, playing a sport, or writing your novel gets you too excited to sleep. I’ll bet that there is something in your life that energizes you in spite of the calories it burns. This is passion. This is what you were put on this earth to do.

That may leave some of you baffled, or even insulted. The first time I heard a sermon on giftings and passion, I was hurt. I remember sitting in church and praying, “God, I make good cookies. What are you going to do with that?” I didn’t see my passion for food as something God could or would use. My “spiritual gifts” test always came out as “helps” which means pitching in where needed. So my passion was food and my gifting was pitching in. I thought that was pathetic. I thought it relegated me to bake sales and funeral lunches. But I wanted to make a difference in the world!

It took time for me to mature and for my interests and giftings to come together into something I could think of as a calling. Now here I am: writing, sometimes raising funds, and volunteering to my heart’s content for the cause of global hunger relief. I believe that when I asked God what He could do with my talent for making cookies, He had a fatherly chuckle and said, “Watch me.” Your talent may seem small, or like something that doesn’t coincide with spreading the gospel or changing the world, but God doesn’t make mistakes. He gave you your gifts and personality because He needed just that you in just the life He gave you. Let your light shine!