ANNOUNCEMENTS
IMPACT SUNDAY SUGGESTIONS:
Storyline values serving servants. Below is a detailed list of the organizations that Storyline has been partnering with for a number of years and we want to encourage you to find a way to get involved with their efforts to “Love the world right again.” We want to work alongside these partners to create sustainable services for those in need throughout Berrien County. By giving of YOUR time, talent, and treasure we can begin to take those steps toward sustainability and equity.
PLEASE NOTE: One small thing you can do for each of these organizations is “Like” their Facebook page and then share it with your friends. It may sound “too simple” but Facebook is a huge platform for our partners and the further their reach, the bigger their impact.
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Emergency Shelter Services:
Mission: We are the only Family Homeless Shelter in the county and serve as the entry point for those at-risk of homelessness to access the support they need.
Contact:
Reshella Hawkins, Interim Executive Director
(269) 277-4409
Email: rhawkins@emergencyshelterservices.org
Stanley Scott, Resource Development Coordinator, and Homeless Prevention Specialist
Email: sscott@emergencyshelterservices.org
Facebook Messenger
Website - https://www.essberrien.org/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Emergency-Shelter-Services-Inc-113693202005506/
Giving opportunities:
The Emergency Shelter is currently focused on building up its funding reserves. This is the most critical financial need as it helps them best serve their clients with a range of needs. It costs $25/day to provide room and board. A well-funded reserve account will help make services possible for anyone who walks through the door. You can give directly on their website.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Help sort ESS resale items - Proceeds from ESS Resale support all we do. Help sort through and organize incoming items. You may even find something for yourself.
Prepare Shelter Breakfast - At any point, we have up to 28 people living in the Women and Children’s Shelter. Bring friends and help prepare breakfast for a few hours on a weekend.
Give the shelter TLC - Our Shelter just turned 40 years old! While it’s served us faithfully, it needs constant love. Help with tasks around the house like painting or mowing the lawn.
Storyline Connection: Joy Bancroft - jbbancroft@comcast.net and Denise Brooks - denisebrooks101@gmail.com
KPEP:
Mission: We operate residential and non-residential programs for adult offenders as a community-based alternative to incarceration. We offer the opportunity and structure for men and women to take personal responsibility in their lives.
Contact:
Robyn Scherrick, Program Manager
(269) 876-5203
Email: rscherrick@kpep.org
Website: https://www.kpep.com/facilities/berrien-county/
Giving Opportunities:
Building a library of Self-help books - KPEP would like to provide a wider library of Self-help books for its residents. There is a strong desire for residence to continue to grow as individuals and part of that growth can happen through reading and discovering. They are also looking for blank notebooks for residents who would like to keep a journal. Do you have some books you would be willing to donate to fill the KPEP shelves with learning opportunities?
2. Pre-packaged cookies and baked goods - Residents always appreciate a change from their normally scheduled menus. Baked
goods from Martin’s or Meijer offer can be a great way to bring a smile to residents’ faces.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Serve Breakfast on IMPACT Sunday - Men have the opportunity to serve breakfast alongside fellow storyliners on our IMPACT Sundays. This is a great opportunity to love our brothers at KPEP and build relationships that could last beyond their time at KPEP. This happens 3-4 times per year on Sundays at 8:45 am.
Thursday Night Bible Study - Storyline has been offering a Thursday night men’s bible study twice a month. Mark Sanford and Bob Lemyre have been leading these efforts and would love to have you join them once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Storyline Connection: Mark Sanford - msanford@berriencounty.org and Bob Lemyre - robert_j_lemyre@whirlpool.com
MOSAIC CCDA:
Mission: Creating opportunities for steps to greatness as we prepare people for further education, life, and work while sharing Christ’s love.
Contact:
Andrew Robinson, CEO
(313) 303-8432
Email: arobinson@mosaicccda.com
Gabrielle Engle, Resale Store Manager
(260) 668-6337
Email: gengle@mosaicccda.com
Website: https://mosaicccda.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MosaicCCDA/
Resale Store FB: https://www.facebook.com/mosaicresalebh/
Property Services FB: https://www.facebook.com/mosaicpropertyservices/
Giving Opportunities:
The Resale store would like to raise $7,000 in the next 30 days to help with store improvements (paint, repairs, reorganization). You can contact Gabrielle and give directly on their website.
Become a consumer of MOSAIC services.
MOSAIC offers a number of different services that help provide job opportunities and sustain the organization. By choosing to patronize the resale store, use mosaIc property management, or their new cleaning services you can make an IMPACT at MOSAIC and meet your own needs as well.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Become a Jobs for Life MentorWe are seeking mentors for our Jobs for Life students that will support, guide, and assist them during their journey and help them overcome employment barriers. If you are interested in mentoring you can find more information on the MOsaic Website (linked above). Applications can be submitted to info@mosaicccda.com or brought to the Mosaic CCDA office at 38 W. Wall St. in Benton Harbor.
Serve at the resale store - The store could always use help processes, pricing, and doing inventory. Do you have two hours a month to volunteer alongside resale store employees during store hours?
Help to revamp the Resale Store - Help with painting and reorganizing the resale store to bring new life in this new season. Help is needed on Sundays or after store hours.
Storyline Connection: Tom Austin - taustin3553@sbcglobal.net
New Heights CCDA :
Mission: To meet the human and social needs of the under-resourced in Benton Heights and surrounding communities by utilizing Christian principles.
Contact:
Chris Britton, Executive Director
(231) 288-7271
Email: Chris.b@myfirstchurch.com
Website: https://www.newheightsccda.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewHeightsCCDA/
Giving Opportunities:
Donate a vehicle to New Heights Auto Services - Instead of selling or trading your vehicle, consider donating to New Heights Auto Services for a tax write-off. Currently, there is a very long waiting list for financially constrained individuals that are trying to gain, maintain, or increase their employment AND our inventory of available vehicles is currently zero. We desperately need donated vehicles.
Have your vehicle serviced & maintained at New Heights Auto Services - When someone utilizes our full-service (oil changes, brakes, steering, suspension, etc.) retail services the revenue from their business is used to provide repairs or vehicles to financially struggling households. The New Heights Auto Services mechanic, Ben, is one of the best. All of our customers receive top-notch, quality service.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Volunteer to detail vehicles - We pride ourselves in making sure we provide a dignifying experience for the people we help. One of the ways we do that is by thoroughly detailing (cleaning) a vehicle before we provide it. On average we need 1 - 2 vehicles detailed per month. It usually takes a volunteer 2-3 hours to clean a vehicle. If you are interested in helping detail a vehicle we will add you to our pool of volunteers. When we have a vehicle that’s ready to be cleaned we send an email to the volunteers and whoever is available gets the job. All tools and cleaning supplies provided. This is not a regular opportunity, but it would be helpful to build a pool of people that we could call on when we have a need.
Drive our pick-up truck and help pick up food from Feeding America & Meijer - We currently need to have a few drivers on call to help us pick up food. We pick up food 6 times per month, usually around noon, on a Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday. Typically it requires an hour time commitment. This is not a regular opportunity, but it would be helpful to build a pool of people that we could call on when we have a need.
Storyline Connection: Paul Knapp - paul.knapp.storyline@gmail.com
R.E.A.D.Y. Taekwondo:
Mission: Reclaiming, equipping, and directing youth
Grandmaster Al Smith, Director
(269) 325-2930
Email: Grandmasteralsmith@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.readytaekwondo.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/READYtaekwondo/
Opportunities to serve:
General Giving - Money is what is currently most helpful. Grandmaster Smith cares deeply about his students and works tirelessly to make sure their needs are met. Especially during this unprecedented pandemic access to food, sanitization supplies, and basic needs are limited and often inaccessible. Al is working to make sure that folks are able to eat and pay their bills during this time. You can make a donation on the R.E.A.D.Y website and I encourage you to reach out to Grandmaster Smith if you want to hear more about all the ways he is serving youth in our community.
Storyline Connection: Tom Austin - taustin3553@sbcglobal.net
Soup Kitchen:
Mission: Our mission is simple, Feed people in need. Your donations feed children and adults. You can help change a life today.
Contact:
Merry Stover
(269) 925-8204
Email: harborsoup@gmail.com
Website: https://soupk.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BentonHarborSoupKitchen/
Giving Opportunities:
Donate Money -You can give directly to the Soup Kitchen on their website. They have access to food at a reduced cost so it is much better to give money than food.
Donate Food - If you have food on hand, we can usually take it. Depending on the type of food, it must be: in date (canned,) hard frozen/not defrosted (frozen cooked or uncooked) or have been held at proper temperatures and then cooled (prepared foods.)
**Please do not buy food for us–it is much better for us if you donate the money rather than purchasing food for us. Why? We can buy food cheaper than you can and donated food must be sorted, organized, cleaned, and inventoried. It is far better for us if you save shopping and delivery time and just donate that money.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Join the “SNL: The Short Notice List” - When we need help, we call people on the SNL until we get enough. All you need to do is say yes or no. Most of our days at the Soup Kitchen are staffed by volunteers from organizations (churches, businesses, or charitable groups) who volunteer on a monthly or semi-monthly basis. Many of these groups have been coming for years. They provide the food, cook, and help clean up the kitchen. (This is why food is not a great need for us.) Not all groups provide all the food; that varies from group to group. We do have a few days without a scheduled group. Please call to inquire about current openings.
You can also Serve with fellow Storyliners! We are one of those organizations that has a standing time. We’d love for you to serve with us on the 1st Monday every other month (starting in January).
Storyline Connection: Sharon Austin - Sharonaust70@gmail.com
Dear Storyline, May 31, 2020
Over the years, Storyline has purposefully not taken stands on a number of theological, cultural and political issues. We do our best not only to be “a-denominational” theologically, but also an “a-political” community of faith in Jesus and His Gospel of Grace. This comes from our desire to be a place where diverse ways of thinking and believing are welcomed, and from God’s calling to be a people with whom anyone can belong before they believe, no matter what they believe.
This is a very high bar God has called us to; it means we are constantly asking ourselves if there is anything we are doing that excludes some people, or things we could be doing to include more. It means we move forward with an open mind about our ideas, perspectives and even our convictions, and a broken heart for those who feel excluded, be it from the Church or the American dream.
This week the heart of our nation broke as we witnessed George Floyd being killed by a police officer in Minneapolis in addition to other instances of racial violence and inequality we have seen recently. Our hearts break again every night when some of the peaceful demonstrations of pain and outrage descend into violence. The unrest in cities across our country is a stark reminder that we have a long, long way to go to become the kind of country we must become.
Storyline is grateful for the vibrant and growing relationships we have with R.E.A.D.Y. Tae Kwon Do, Mosaic, the Soup Kitchen, New Heights, KPEP and the Emergency Shelter that serve and empower the dispossessed in our community, as well as House of Blessing orphanage in Haiti that does the same abroad, yet we long to do more…to somehow make a bigger impact for deeper and faster change in our community and nation. Simply put, we must, “…fan into flame the Gift of God, which is in (us).” 2 Timothy 1:6, niv. This gift is the grace of God and we have to refocus our efforts to grow as a source and resource for God’s justice and peace in the world.
This morning, on one of our Impact Sundays, let’s once again renew our commitment to embody God’s grace everywhere everyday. And, let us all pray for peace and justice and the courage to be God’s vessel for both. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with ideas and opportunities to engage more meaningfully in the struggle to see God’s will done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Grace and Peace,
-The Storyline Team