Category: Community Development

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Community Community Development NEWS

Celebrating 50 Bermudaful ACS years!

“Now is the time to step off the sidelines. Get involved and change the game.”

– Dr. Kenneth Manders, Bermuda Conference President

Despite the look of paradise in Bermuda, there are real needs lying just below the surface, as many struggle with issues such as the high cost of living and generational poverty. ACS volunteers have been walking alongside those affected since 1974 when the ACS Federation first formed and recently celebrated 50 years of service on the island.

The strong conference and pastoral support for serving the suffering shows with an active ACS team at each of the 11 Adventist churches on the island. Programs range from food and clothing distribution, GED classes and grief ministries.

The consistency of service bore fruit in 2020. Amid a strict COVID lockdown on the island, when residents could only travel within a 1-mile radius of their home, the Bermuda government reached out to ACS Director, Dora Baker to ask for her help. Sister Dora organized her teams to pick up and deliver food to many who would have gone hungry otherwise.

The quick and effective response of the ACS team continued to build trust with country leaders and truly “put them on the map.”

The ACS 50th Anniversary was celebrated with a 4-day event that included learning and serving together. Bermuda President, Elder Kenneth Manders kicked off the celebration on Wednesday evening with a devotional recognizing that Jesus was a game changer and ACS does the same for our communities. He encouraged us all to step out when we see a need, make people a priority, trust in God and follow Jesus relentlessly.

Thursday was filled with workshops, but not before an inspiring message by the Bermuda Treasurer, Robert Patterson who based a devotion on the story of the Good Samaritan. “Compassion is measured by the obstacles that must be overcome in order to exercise it,” Elder Patterson shared. Who is our neighbor?…”Our neighbor is every soul wounded and bruised by the adversary.”

The island celebrated as well as the ACS team took Friday to serve in various capacities across Bermuda. This included all churches coming together to offer food to over 250 households.

Two members of the original ACS Federation were present to celebrate and reminisced about the original movement, which included the team traveling to NAD ACS meetings in full uniform. This made such a statement that they were given first priority to board the airplane.

Please join us in the celebration of consistent and meaningful service. As Elder Manders

Shared, “now is the time to step off the sidelines. Get involved and change the game.”

 

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Community Community Development Local Church

Ephesus Church Hosts Community Services Training

Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted a Community Services training for its members on May 28, 2022. It was coordinated by the Community Services team under the leadership of Lucinda Keller and her family. The meeting went very well and all of the speakers who committed to speaking came through. The attendees enjoyed the training, as well as the food and snacks that were provided.

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Community Community Development Food Aid Food Pantries

ReNewed Hope Food Pantry Food Distribution

How do you distribute food to 310 families in just over an hour?
Thoughtful organizing and lots of smiling volunteers!

“God keeps bringing people to be a part of this ministry. About half of those who serve are from the community. This is how God works. He is so amazing!” says Karen, ACS Director of ReNewed Hope Food Pantry at New Haven Adventist Church.

ReNewed Hope Food Pantry in Overland Park, Kansas, experienced a dramatic increase in the number of people they serve each week when COVID-19 came to town. However, they continued to trust God’s guidance and have faithfully served their community each week.

Thank you to Karen and her team inspiring people to… “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8)

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Community Development Health NEWS

Gateway Grace Dental Clinic at PACS

How does a visit to the dentist make you feel?

By: Colette Newer, Associate Director of Adventist Community Services at the North American Division

Carol answered the phone and heard “You have to see me, it is the law!” This was a call to Gateway Grace Dental Clinic in Portland, Oregon from a potential client, frustrated by her previous experiences with care providers. Carol’s reply took the caller aback, “We would love to see you! Let’s make sure you qualify.” The woman called back an hour later in tears, apologizing for her initial behavior.

Teeth aren’t the only thing the dental center considers as they interact with their patients. As low-income patients, many have had negative experiences with care providers, but the caller, as well as many others, have expressed their surprise about how pleasant their experience was at Gateway Grace. It is a testament to the intentional care given by the staff to making each patient’s experience uplifting, as well as healing.

Gateway Grace is a service of Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS) who also operates a food pantry, mobile food distribution, and thrift store.

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Community Development Disaster Response Donations Hurricanes Local Conference NEWS

Arkansas-Louisiana ACS Distributes Goods to Communities During Ida Recovery

One of the volunteers interviewing residents to document their need

Though Hurricane Ida touched down in Louisiana over a month ago on August 29, 2021, several communities affected by this tragic disaster event continue to struggle. ACS at the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference has been engaged in the Recovery Efforts under the leadership of Lavida Whitson, conference ACS Director, who had been gathering various goods over the past number of years. Fortunately, these much-needed goods that were on hand were ready to be distributed to community members through a Distribution Center that was set up in Hammond. However, there were some families that didn’t have the ability to travel the long distance to Hammond which led to ACS coordinating mobile distributions in certain areas. In addition to giving away supplies, ACS volunteers also assisted with debris cleanup.

On October 9, 2021, Sabbath morning, fifteen ACS team members came together to assist the small town of Maurepas by providing them comfort kits and cleaning tools such as shovels, brooms, mops, and other cleaning supplies. Initially, no one showed up, and then Lavida realized that they had done everything but pray, so she offered the first prayer. And then, another team member gave a closing prayer to request God’s presence in their work. At the close of his prayer, they opened their eyes to see a line of cars patiently waiting on them. At this point the team sprang into action and continued doing so until everything they had was gone.

While assisting in Maurepas, a contact from the Indian Nation had reached out asking for help. During the Katrina Recovery Efforts, ACS assisted the Houma Indian Nation for many months, and based on this history, they were asking if we might be able to assist with Ida Recovery also. NAD ACS Director, Derrick Lea, along with Whitson, met with the Vice Principal Chief of the Houma Nation to get an overview of what the needs were within his community and ascertain how ACS could be of support. The Nation was made up of around 17,000 individuals out of which many had been displaced. Even though rebuilding of the homes was determined to be the greatest need, clothing, bedding, and other household items were also in demand. The local ACS team is putting goods together for distribution in this community. They will carry out similar work in other impacted areas as well, in the next few days. “ACS will continue serving though the news no longer highlights this continued need. One resident approached me as we surveyed the damage to the Houma Nation radio station and asked, “What are we supposed to do?”  While I didn’t have a good answer, I did express to her our intent of helping her and people like her with the goods that we have. My hope is these efforts combined with others will ensure a livable situation for many that have been overlooked,” stated Lea.

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Community Community Development Local Conference NEWS Refugees

Chesapeake and Wisconsin Conferences Help Afghan Refugees

ACS teams in various conferences such as Wisconsin and Chesapeake are providing assistance to refugees arriving from Afghanistan. Wisconsin Conference ACS Director, Alice Garrett, has been in collaboration with the Wisconsin VOAD (WI VOAD) and Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) to help more than 12,000 refugees who are currently being housed at Fort McCoy. They have put together a needs list consisting of new clothing and shoes. Garrett is reaching out to our local churches to collect and deliver goods consisting of new clothing and shoes. “I am so grateful for our churches generosity and money has been turned in so we can purchase some things the Fort is in need of,” said Garrett. “So far, I have good help and we will be able to make this happen,” she added.

Chesapeake Conference ACS team members are also responding to the Afghanistan crisis by providing emotional and spiritual care to the evacuees. There were 36,000 who arrived at Dulles airport in Virginia and thousands of others who arrived in Philadelphia. “These are people who are having to completely restart their lives. Many are experiencing shock. We’re here for them in these moments of change, stress, and loneliness. We’re here to show them care and love and to let them know that they’re not alone,” stated Ignacio Goya, ACS Director for Chesapeake Conference. Click here to read article by the Chesapeake Conference.

Ignacio Goya, ACS Director for Chesapeake Conference, stands in the processing center for refugees arriving in the United States through Dulles airport. Photo Credit: Chesapeake Conference.

 

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Community Development Food Aid Food Pantries

NAD ACS Awarded $250,000 Grant for Food Programs

North American Division Adventist Community Services (NAD ACS) has been supporting the food programs of local ACS food pantries in our conferences within the Division amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, we invested 1.5 million dollars and allocated a grant of $25,000 per conference for COVID-19 food relief efforts. An additional $500,000 was provided for Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and buckets.

This year, NAD ACS received a grant in the amount of $250,000 from a foundation to assist ACS food pantries. In order to maximize the efforts, we have decided to match the funds totaling $500,000. This grant will be distributed to conferences to support ACS food pantries serving millions of people and providing relief to communities.

“As we look back, God has been with us in this challenging journey and has provided resources and guidance; as we are looking forward, we believe that God will always be with us, and ACS volunteers will continue to be relevant and make a difference in their communities,” stated Sung Kwon, Executive Director of NAD ACS.

“ACS has been blessed to develop wonderful relationships with those who work throughout the year in various arenas.  Because ACS has shown a consistency and competency in what we do for the community, we are trusted in times of crisis by governmental, non-Governmental and private companies alike to faithfully assist those that have needs.  I am proud to partner with our colleagues in service during this most challenging of times around the NAD,” stated Derrick Lea, Disaster Response Director of NAD ACS.

  

 

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Community Development

Tulsa Community Service Center Dedication

Article and Photos By: Brit Whittington, Oklahoma Conference

TULSA- Despite the sweltering summer afternoon sun, Sabbath, June 27, turned out to be a beautiful day as God’s people shared His love in caring service for their fellow man. Several members from at least 10 Tulsa area churches; our conference leadership; and the Tulsa Community Service Center (TCSC) board came together to dedicate the new TCSC facility. The new facility took 14 months of planning and hard work to remodel and pass Tulsa permit inspections, finally obtaining a maximum occupancy of 99 persons. It is now officially open to provide health, medical, optometry, legal, and spiritual services, along with cooking classes and a food pantry. TCSC hopes to provide dental services within the next year as well. Everyone at the dedication ceremony received a blessing listening to violin music from Sean Shin and AnnaRose Jones, an introduction by Elder Apple Park, prayer by Elder Carlos Portanova, an inspirational history of the center by Elder Park and Bill Carlile, and a motivating dedication sermon and prayer by Elder James Shires. Through the love of God, we were encouraged to love others and provide for their needs as if we were serving Jesus himself as described in Matthew 25:35-40.

The TCSC goal is to serve our community and its inaugural event to fully dedicate the center was a massive food giveaway organized by the TCSC board and the Go Fresh company. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Go Fresh company was awarded a $50+ million grant from the FDA to help farmers get their goods out. The farmers were unable to distribute their products to restaurants, schools, etc. that were closed due to the shutdowns. The farmers were going to lose their goods, lose money, and the people impacted by the closings also needed food. Go Fresh brought a truckload of 1,500 boxes of food, about 28 lbs. each, for a total of approximately 20.25 tons. Based on the cost of $34.97 per box, a total of more than $50,000 in free food was distributed to our community.

Our team helped stage rows of cars in an Office Depot parking lot, around the backside of Office Depot, and down 21st street to our new facility. Kids with signs on Sheridan and 21st street directed people into Office Depot to line up for the food giveaway. Others handed out questionnaires as the cars entered the TCSC lot. Another team retrieved the forms and directed them to the food distributors. We had eight teams of food distributors split into two rows ready to receive each car and give them a box of food and milk, one per family. The boxes contained potatoes, onions, lettuce, butter, cream cheese, heavy cream, half and half, and a carton of milk. With this arrangement, God’s love, and people willing to serve, we gave away all 1,500 boxes in three hours to many happy people in the Tulsa area. I witnessed great teamwork, loving hearts, hard, sweaty work, and smiling faces on both those serving and those receiving, which produced a blessing for all. We ask for your prayers and your physical and monetary support to continue to serve our community and hopefully expand our services.

The center is located just west of 21st and Sheridan streets at 2015 S Lakewood Ave, Tulsa, OK. For full details on services provided, how to get involved, or to stay informed about events, visit the Tulsa Community Service Center on Facebook.

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Community Development Disaster Response Rebuilding Typhoon

Saipan Rebuild Program

Our first program in partnership with FEMA on the island of Saipan has started this week. We had been in discussion with FEMA over the past few months on a Rebuild program post Typhoon Yutu that struck Saipan and Tinian last October. The Greater New York and Northeastern ACS DR teams who assisted with the Rebuild programs in Florida and North Carolina after hurricanes Michael and Florence touched down in those areas last year, has volunteered to assist on Saipan. A group of around 30 individuals will be involved in this 4-week Rebuild program which will run through April 26th.

Our volunteers will be divided into three teams. The Assessment Team which will consist of eight members will be deployed in the first week. They will outline the areas on the island where they need to concentrate their efforts, in consultation with FEMA. In the second week, another ten-member Team will join the Assessment Team to begin working onsite replacing roofs, windows, doors, and other repairs. The third Team will join in the last phase of the Program to continue the needed work. Our Hawaii ACS Director, Gerry Mota, is working with the local ACS DR Team to get them better prepared to serve the affected community. Currently, we have about 30 individuals who are certified in Emotional and Spiritual Care who we hope to connect with the local community to provide care and counseling.

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Community Development Disaster Response Hurricanes Rebuilding

Hurricane Harvey Rebuild in Refugio

On December 8-9, a group of 30 young people and adults from Austin and San Antonio traveled to Refugio to assist with a Rebuild Project in response to Hurricane Harvey that had devastated several areas in Texas last year. Under the leadership of Marshall Gonzales, Texas ACS Director, they had planned on repairing eleven houses. However, due to the rains on Saturday, they mainly focused on those that needed interior work. The Team ended up working on four houses and the Community Center in Bayside.

In the first house, they painted a room and made a frame for a window. They also made a step for the resident and replaced the soffit outside on Sunday. For the second house, our Disaster Response Team drywalled a room after which they did the tape and float. The next house had two rooms and the bathroom cleaned by fumigation. It was in very bad condition. While the young people were cleaning, roaches would fall on them, but they just kept on working until they got it all done. For the last house, they drywalled the living room, ceiling, two bedrooms, and two closets. The homeowners were extremely happy and grateful with all that was done to their homes. One owner was so overwhelmed with emotions that he said it gave him hope.

Since Sunday was a very sunny day, they painted the exterior walls of the Community Center of the city of Bayside. They bought the material there in Refugio, and the workers of the building supply company was so thankful that the materials were purchased there and not brought in from somewhere else. They were also very appreciative of our Team for their services to the affected community.

Marshall Gonzales said, “I was glad to see the young people who came out to help. We specifically are targeting Master Guides and young adults to help in the recovery work.” He added, “We look forward to doing more projects in Refugio.” Besides Austin and San Antonio, youth from the Dallas, Houston, and Valley areas will also be participating in the Rebuild work.