Wonderful group of people painted...

Saturday, November 1st here at St. Herman's Community was definitely a success! We had a wonderful group of people that painted here and at our other group home. They did a great job. The youth from your church were great - when the children didn't come until later, they spent time talking and listening to my developmentally disabled residents here and playing games with them in the yard. The barbecue was good - we did have to run inside a few times due to some rain, but eveyone pitched in and a good time was had by all!Thank you and your wonderful church for all that you do!
God bless,
Janet Rihl

The pets were a big hit again...

We had a large group and everyone was eager to participate. The residents and patients were excited to see us and some of them remembered us from our last visit. Their eyes lit up and they would smile as we approached them. We took some of them outside where they made comments like “I am bathing in this beautiful sun” and “I haven’t felt the wind on my face in a long time”.

We had a group of Spanish speaking individuals with us on this trip which was wonderful because there are a lot of Spanish speaking people at the facility and our communications with them in the past was limited. After we were done the group came to me with tears in their eyes and thanked us for allowing them this opportunity to serve.

The pets were a big hit again and we even had a couple of small children there that brought huge smiles to the residents and patients.

Thanks again and let me know where and when you need my help next time.

Mike Avery

What a blessing...

What would we do without Community Christian Church?!?! Not to minimize the efforts of other organizations but CCC beyond a doubt provides the most valuable service events! The groups from CCC are always well organized and efficient and truly reflect the light of our King! What a blessing it is to be included in your Community Impact! Please let us know if there is anything TSW can to improve the enrichment of your participants as CCC’s long term commitment is very important to us.

May your church as well as your servants be richly blessed!

On eagle's wings,
Shannon Brown U
Director of Administration
The Shepherd's Way

The heart of a servant

Nancy,
Saturday was truly amazing... as I got to volunteer with my mom. In response to your request...(Can one person make a difference?) two people who really stood out; a youngster named Ailton and my mom Carmel. We were at the Irma Hunter Development Center. Ailton is from Brazil and has only been here for a few months... with little English. Needless to say, he has the heart of a servant and basically poured all his energies into each project. It was great to see such a youngster taking part in this with his family. My mom was focused on the areas were she cleaned best…the sinks and water fountains. I was amazed to see her dedication in getting it as white or as shiny as she could. All in all, I look forward to the next Community Impact day, but in the meantime... I will re-connect with them and a previous project that I was able to participate in. Have a blessed day!!
trina

She sang in Spanish...

Our group visited West Broward Nursing home. After a short time of socializing, we gathered in the dining room for live music provided by some gifted musicians and vocalists who visit on a regular basis to entertain the folks. This is a "sing along" and they encouraged people to come up & sing, you should have heard our own Evelyn Rodriguez! She sang in Spanish as well as English which especially pleased the Latin residents . At first she was too modest (or shy?) but soon "got into it" which got everyone in on the fun, she is blessed with a beautiful voice. A big thank you to Evelyn & the rest of our group!
Thank you for letting us be part of this adventure!
Phil Locke

He was continually praising her...

My role for each Community Impact is to visit several sites to shoot video footage so that we can celebrate these special days of service with the entire church family. One of my stops this time was Woodhouse 1, a home for physically challenged adults that I have visited before. While all of the volunteers were great in their interactions with the residents, I wanted to call special attention to Jerome Washington. The entire time I was there Jerome was helping a female resident as they solved a word search puzzle together. This particular resident, whom I have met before, seems to be very bright but has a very difficult time communicating because of her physical limitations. He was continually praising her each time they found a word, putting a smile on her face. The way Jerome compassionately and energetically interacted with her was very moving to witness! Way to go Jerome!
Brian Beckner

We left a beautifully sorted donation room.

The Community Impact volunteers spent about four hours sorting our donations--baby clothes and maternity clothes. We know that the Lord wants us to present everything as "special" as we can to the clients we serve.The volunteers worked hard and with excellance to make sure that we are only giving away clean, like-new clothes all bundled in packs sorted by sizes. They are ready to be given to our clients who need help providing for their babies and toddlers. Maternity clothes also need to be nice and stylish and easy to find by size, style, and color. We left a beautifully sorted donation room. There was lots of fellowship as everyone got to know a little about each other and our younger girls this morning learned about a place they can send their friends to learn about God's plan for unplanned babies and also about God's plan for relationships. Thank you so much, Nancy and Community Christian Church for making a difference in our community!
Wendy Locke
Hope Women's Center
And Community Impact Volunteer

Community Impact Challenge

November 1, 2008...WOW Community!...another successful Community Impact! You continue to amaze me with your generosity. Thank you for showing God's love through intentional acts of kindness. I asked you a question "Can one person make a difference?" and all of you responded "YES" out loud! So I challenged you to look for one person on your team that you knew was making a difference...and to tell me about them. Your responses are included in this blog...please read them...they are inspiring.

Thank you Community Family for making my job such a rewarding one!

Nancy May

Outreach Director

Dear Pastor...a note of thanks

Dear Pastor Eynon,

Thank you for the opportunity of participating in your IMPACT Saturday event and for taking time from your busy morning to meet with me. We were blessed with volunteers, Evelyn Rodriguez, Phil Locke, Eva Muller and Cira Prieto. They exemplified your morning message about sharing God’s love beautifully. They were wonderful to our resident guests and their families and took special interest in those who wanted to visit in Spanish, enjoy being strolled about the center, participate in the sing-along, play ball and spend time in our outdoor courtyard and butterfly garden areas. I was especially touched by Phil as he found common ground with his “new friend” Norman. Norman’s wife commented on how well the match was. This was not a humanly planned match but an obvious divinely inspired and spiritual one. It was obvious that God had his hand in your IMPACT day. Blessed were Norman and all of us at West Broward Nursing & Rehab Center as God made his presence felt through your volunteers. We hope your volunteers will visit us again soon. Our door is always open.

Our special thanks to Nancy May, Outreach Director, for coordinating this wonderful event. This year marks the first year that we participated. Nancy made herself available to us, was very helpful and we look forward to working with her on future events.

In the future, if there is anything that we at West Broward Nursing & Rehab Center can do for you or your congregation, please do not hesitate to mention it to us.

Wishing you and your congregation continued blessings,
Evelyn Menemencioglu
Community Liaison
West Broward Nursing & Rehab Center

Blessing to see my oldest son...

Ms.Nancy,
You asked this morning if one person could make a difference . I would have to say that on our team it would have to be Megann Davis. She did a great job getting the seniors to playing games. I was so glad to have her as a leader. I learned so much from just watching her today. Also, it was a blessing for me to see my oldest son Nathan playing games and talking with the ladies at the Senior center too. Thank your for this wonderful day.

Eva McRimmon

What a wonderful morning

Dear Nancy and Sonie:
Today we had a wonderful morning! What a great group we had from Community Christian Church! On behalf of the Broward Outreach Center, ‘Many Thanks’ from the bottom of my heart! Volunteers helped sorting donations, working in the kitchen and serving food, and organizing the Boutique. They worked hard, and had fun at the same time.
There was a group of volunteers at the church (CCC) making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and at the end of the day Community Christian Church delivered 456 sandwiches (200 hundred of them complete meals)!
Thank you very much for helping the Homeless and the needy. We Love our Volunteers and Donors!!!
Our Mission: Reaching Out to the Least, the Last, and the Lost of our Community to inspire hope with human Compassion and the Love of God.
Many Blessings,
Ninoska Corbe
Community Development Associate
Broward Outreach Center