Category: Community

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Community Food Aid Partnership

ACS Extends Partnership with City Harvest

The Adventist Community Services’ relationship with City Harvest expired on Jan. 31, 2021, but the work is continuing at another level. “We are now connected with FEMA through our City Harvest partnership,” said W. Derrick Lea, ACS Disaster Response director for the North American Division. City Harvest chose ACS because of its ability to disperse the goods they’ve received each Monday for the past nine months, reported Lea. The purchase of a 9 x 14 x 8 freezer in September 2020 has expanded the ACS warehouse’s ability to serve the community. In addition to receiving produce, this new agreement adds refrigerated, frozen and non-perishable items until the end of April 2021 — with the possibility of extension. “NAD was able to join our Greater New York and Northeastern conferences at the Bronx warehouse on Monday at 8 a.m. for the pallet delivery,” Lea said.

Read full article here.

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Community Disaster Response Fires Uncategorized

Denver Channel 7 News Assists ACS DR with Fire Relief

The Cameron Peak fire is declared to be the largest recorded wildfire in the history of Colorado State. It started near Chambers Lake on August 13, 2020 and was declared 100% contained on December 2, 2020.

By Cathy Kissner – Loveland, Colorado

The Cameron Peak Fire Recovery Center was bolstered on December 7 by Denver Channel 7 News who collected donations for those affected by the Cameron Peak Fire that burned areas around Red Feather, Glen Haven, and Estes Park west of Fort Collins. The largest fire in Colorado, it took more than four months for fire crews to get the fire contained. After burning more than 200,000 acres, it left 40 homes completely destroyed and more than 200 homes with heavy smoke damage.

“This is one of the largest donations we have ever received from a news channel,” explained Cathy Kissner, director of Adventist Community Services and Disaster Relief for the Rocky Mountain Conference. “The people affected by this fire will receive these much-needed items which will help in their recovery as they find new footing and a new normal for their lives.”

Donations were delivered to the Adventist Community Services Disaster Response Center in the Outlet Mall of Loveland for the Cameron Peak Fire Recovery where site manager June Spaulding and her team were happy to receive them. Among items donated were new pillows, washcloths, diapers, shovels, rakes, lawn carts, tools, and hoses.

The Center has also received quilts and comforters from a quilting club and from the ACS Center in Loveland. The Distribution Center was open until December 28 to serve those impacted by the Cameron Peak fire.

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Community Educational Local Church

Dupont Park Church Hosts Baby Shower and Back-to-School Giveaway

Story by Dupont Park Church Staff

Members of Allegheny East Conference’s Dupont Park church in Washington, D.C., were disappointed when they had to suspend their Community Baby Shower (CBS) and Back to School Giveaway, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several months into the community’s new normal of social distancing, and after much prayer and discussion over the church’s spiritual obligation to the community, church members started planning the event.

Dupont Park’s Inner-City Ministries leader, Lamont Bailey, says, “Our goal [was] simple: to eliminate the choice parents have to make—deciding between what’s best for their kids and best for their budget.”

Valerie Freeman, marketing manager for Inner-City Ministries, adds, “We knew that serving God also meant serving others, and this was another way to share the message of God’s love through giving, and that our church was a dwelling place for love.”

Church members donated diapers—an essential item not covered by many government assistance programs—wipes, baby clothing and 100 backpacks filled with school supplies. But the group still needed an additional 15,000 diapers to meet their goal.

Volunteers prayerfully continued to reach out for donations and were able to collect some 17,200 diapers, books from local libraries and other items to meet community needs.

“We often limit our capacity by forgetting that if we partner with Christ and have faith, all things are possible,” says Freeman. “The team learned an important lesson throughout this venture: If we pray for rain, we should automatically bring an umbrella, for this is a reflection of our faith. God answers prayers.”

In October, the church held their CBS event and provided essential items to 223 new and expectant moms and families at a Drive-By Community Shower and Back to School Giveaway.

Prayer warriors greeted and prayed with each mother or family that entered the CBS parade. Organizers report that the attendees appreciated how church members doted on them and the impending birth of their babies.

The highlight of the event was a pregnant mother with a huge baby bump who bravely walked into the CBS with a friend, not knowing what to expect. This walk-in mother left enthusiastically because she received bags of the things she needed for her baby. “Dupont Park CBS staff supported and loved every mom with each bag given,” says Freeman.

Categories
Community Fires

ACS DR Continues Recovery Efforts in Oregon and Northern California

ACS Disaster Response Teams in Oregon and Northern California continue to be engaged in the Recovery Efforts in communities affected by the devastating fires. W. Derrick Lea, NAD ACS DR Director, spent the last two weeks offering support to Oregon and Northern California conferences in their Efforts. He assisted in the negotiations with the State of Oregon regarding the management of the two multi-agency Warehouses that have been set up in Salem and Grants Pass and are being managed by volunteers from the Rocky Mountain and South Central conferences. Byron Dulan, North Pacific Union Conference ACS Director, said, “His wisdom and oversight has been indispensable in achieving a positive result. The entire endeavor has been bathed with prayer and led by the Holy Spirit.”

Upon arrival in Napa Valley, Lea met with James Lim, Northern California Conference ACS Director, and they headed to The Havens Community Center, one of the first ACS Centers in the North American Division, which was completely destroyed by the Glass Fire. Most of the homes and buildings were totally burned. Unfortunately, some do not have insurance and will have to start completely anew. “While Adventist Community Services assists the entire community in our work around the NAD and will continue to do so, this Community has over four times the national average of Seventh-day Adventists living within it. Our responsibility can be felt as we consider the consequences for those who live here,” said Lea.

Next, they visited the Foothills Adventist Elementary School which also sustained significant damage. Lim noted that it was Ellen White who encouraged the church to open this school to help the disadvantaged within the community. Many of the residents in the affected communities are now living in shelters and hotels, or have moved in with relatives out of town.

Pacific Union Conference ACS has been working with FEMA and CMA CGM, a world leader in shipping and logistics, who has provided several shipping containers to help communities impacted by the fires. These containers provide safe and secure storage for supplies used to rebuild homes, as well as for holding pallets of fresh water, nonperishable items, kitchen supplies, personal care items, toiletries, and clothing.

Charlene Sargent, ACS Director of Pacific Union, said, “We are extremely thankful to CMA CGM for their generous support in response to the thousands of devastating fires in California. The company’s contribution will play a critical role in providing help and healing for California families who have been displaced, lost homes and continue to struggle to rebuild their lives.”

“Our hearts are with all of those impacted by the wildfires in California,” said CMA CGM America President Ed Aldridge. “With our presence in California, we wanted to do something to help these impacted communities rebuild during this difficult time. Relief groups like ACS are currently distributing three times the normal volume of food due to the continuing wildfires and COVID-19, and we are pleased to be able to contribute to the relief efforts, offering a safe and secure place to store items for those who have lost their homes.”

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Categories
Community Food Aid

ACSGW Thanksgiving Basket Distribution

The Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington (ACSGW) located in Silver Spring, Maryland, organized a three-day Thanksgiving Basket Distribution event from November 25 – 27. The 30-pound basket consisted of a turkey, bread, vegetables, and other food items.

About 1,000 needy families from Montgomery County received assistance, an indicator that government-supported food assistance doesn’t come close to meeting the need, Ken Flemmer, the Executive Director of ACSGW, said. The recipients who were mostly from Takoma Park and Silver Spring, waited patiently in line to check in and receive their basket.

The main sponsors of this event include Montgomery County, State of MD, Sligo and Takoma Park SDA churches, SDA World HQ, Steve Francis Foundation, White Oak Medical Center, and TA Prep School.

ACSGW has been serving the community for 36 years. Besides food distribution, the center also provides clothing, tutoring, summer youth programs, and computer and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. In a few weeks, they will be organizing a Christmas Basket Distribution where they will also give away toys to families with children.

Click here to read more!

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Community

Adventists Support Families at the Border

In light of influx of immigrants at the Border, Adventist Community Services is finding ways to support families experiencing the Border Crisis in California and Texas. As was reported by the Los Angeles Times, a way that a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Blythe, California (part of the Southeastern California Conference), has addressed community needs is by setting up a shelter at their church. The church, which started helping the homeless in 2018, has been doing this for several months, and local Adventist Community Services Disaster Response (ACS DR) leaders have requested assistance. Click here to read full article.

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Community

Spreading Christmas Cheer Through Handmade Caps

Jason D. Morgan and his wife retired from the Air Force after 27 years of service. Jason served as bodyguard to Four-star Generals and was also involved in other sensitive military tasks all over the world. On weekends he had his own band ‘Missing Stateside’. He is also the nephew of Sarah Palin. They recently moved into the same neighborhood as Patty Marsh, Upper Columbia Conference ACS Director. Patty and her husband, Larry, met them a few weeks ago while on their walk as the couple was moving in. Somewhere in the conversation Jason mentioned that he loves to knit winter caps. Patty came up with a wonderful idea of utilizing his creative skills to knit winter caps for the kids at STEAM Ahead and the food pantry in Spokane. Jason was so grateful for this opportunity and thanked Patty for providing a place and kids for him to share his handiwork. He said, “Let me know if you need me to knit up some more in a hurry!” He also expressed interest in attending the monthly county Disaster Response meetings with her. Patty stated, “You meet the most wonderful people as you give your best to bless others”.

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Community Local Conference

Upper Columbia Conference Outreach Activities

STEAM Ahead @ Discovery Junction, an after-school enrichment program providing learning opportunities for kids from a low-income public school, began its fourth year – third full year. It is open to 3rd and 4th graders on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. This year the two days will have different 3rd graders, so 21 children will be attending in a given week. An electrical engineer, employed by Avista electrical company, will be one of the instructors. A former librarian whose specialty happens to be LegoRobotics will also assist with the STEAM Program.

A Ph.D. in Psychology asked Gayle Haeger, one of the organizers of STEAM, to speak to a select group about “Adventists and Ecology” in a local Peace and Unity Center. Only when the leader mentioned to Gayle after the program, “Let’s get together for Postum,” did Gayle suspect she must be a former Adventist member. Later when they met for Postum, she shared with Gayle her Adventist background and journey. During that time she asked if she too could join occasionally with STEAM in bettering the lives of the children.

This summer, STEAM Ahead’s five-week summer program involved LegoRobotics, MicroScope Studies, Crafts, and two children’s Cooking Classes. Over 50 children attended each week, including five Nepalese children. Several children were present for more than one week. In addition, a junior camp at Camp MiVoden was organized where seven children from STEAM attended. The UCC Urban Ministries also for the third year presented a VBS for the Nepalese and Burmese children. Their Urban Ministries Bible worker now conducts 18 Bible studies – including 4 university students.

The Spokane Central Church is offering “Fall Parenting Classes,” by a social worker and a nurse especially for the refugee mothers and others, too. The Better Living Center (BLC) which is a food pantry and community outreach center serving inner-city Spokane, also gives out Bible studies. Around ten people attend their Bible study circle “All Nations Warriors for Christ” each week. Picnics and parties are also planned throughout the year with many more Native Americans attending. The Community Center is now giving free food samples once a week. They are also working on setting up a medical/dental clinic which should be ready by December or January.

Categories
Community Refugees

U.S. Border Crisis

The recent humanitarian crisis has left many organizations looking for resolutions to the separation of immigrant children and parents taking place at the Texas-Mexico border. While those in our political leadership discuss what is proper or fair, we have a responsibility to live up to our stated mission within ACS DR “serving communities in Christ name.” The North American Division has called together a number of Ministries who are interested in determining how to best respond as a body in a coordinated way. The ACS DR Team has reached out to some of our local and national partners who work in the Refugee community. Marshall Gonzales, Texas ACS/ACSDR Director, is in communication with some of the local partners such as the Texas VOAD, Emergency Management, and others. We are also in communication with our National partners to find ways on how we can be of service.

There are some activities currently going on at the Border to help those who have been impacted by this crisis. Here is a link that educates us on some of the things taking place. Catholic Charities is the lead organization of the activities on the scene, having worked in this area for the past 15 years. W. Derrick Lea, NAD ACS DR Director, has reached out to them to discuss a possible collaboration. They discussed the Respite Center and Day Care where children and families were being held and all the things associated with keeping them housed, clean, and fed.

Please, let us keep the affected families in our thoughts and prayers as they survive these trying times.

Categories
Community Disaster Response Floods

N2N Assists Michigan Flood Survivors

The Berrien community in Michigan, as well as its neighboring communities, were seen either in need or helping those in need post the devastating floods that occurred recently. Several organizations and faith-based groups, including The American Red Cross, were on the scene assisting the survivors with shelter and food.

The Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) Center, a ministry of ACS located in Berrien Springs, has also opened its doors to assist those affected by the floods. They have been providing supper daily and are gearing up to feed cooked meals for those who still need assistance. Laura Meyer, Executive Director, states that as of March 3, they served over 75 families and some are coming back multiple times as per their needs. The Center is also providing clothing, shoes, food, toiletries, toys for children, blankets, sheets, a new pillow and set of towels per family member. In addition, more than 25 flood buckets were distributed to help with clean up. An Emotional and Spiritual Care counseling session was also offered last week.

The Michigan Conference has partnered with the Village Church, who is hosting as a shelter and using Michigan Conference shower trailers set up in the parking lot. Survivors are not allowed to go back to their homes until an assessment has been done for safety reasons. Once approved, Michigan ACS DR Team and volunteers will work with the Southern Baptist Church for cleanup (removal of mud, muck, silt, etc.). Diana Bruch, Michigan Conference ACS Director, said “We traditionally help those who can’t help themselves after a disaster and we are intending to muckout the basement of any physically challenged and elderly victims who need our assistance.” Those who are in need of help, please contact the N2N Center at (269) 471-7411 or visit their website.