Community Impact

Take your Dash and turn it into a smile...

2009-05-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Community Family,

Thank you! Another Community Impact (May 16th) with so many lives touched! The Lord has asked us to be his hands and feet and you are reaching out in so many ways! Some of you have have stepped out of your comfort zone and the Lord has blessed you beyond measure.

Saturday morning before we went out to serve I thanked you for your prayers, your condolences, cards and emails. You are truly a special group of people and I love you.

Here is what I shared on Saturday morning…
9 days ago I was in Ohio attending the funeral of my dad. There is nothing in the world that can prepare you for that experience. My dad was born in 1934 and he died in 2009. I stood at the grave site and I was looking at his temporary grave marker. The way that it is written on the tomb stone is 1934 – dash – 2009. That dash represented 74 years…and I’ve been thinking about that dash these past few days. Right now I am in my dash…and so are you.

The day before the funeral, we had a viewing from 5 – 8:00 pm. I didn’t know what to expect, he was 74, a lot of his friends had already passed away, he hadn’t worked in years…who was going to come for the visitation?

When the doors opened at 5…the people came…we stood in a receiving line for 3 hours. The line circled the room, down the hall, out the door and down the side walk…in the rain! The parking lot filled up and people were parking down the street!

In those 3 hours…I experienced some of my dad’s DASH. I was overwhelmed by the stores that I heard, and I’ll never be able to remember them all. That little DASH that represented his life wasn’t quite so little.

The stories that I heard started to sound familiar, they had one of two themes…”Your dad shared Jesus with me…” My dad was a strong stubborn man and it took him a long time to listen to God. He was in his forties when he accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour...and he never stopped talking about it.

And “Your dad helped me out…” The things that my dad did for others weren’t earth shattering things…they were small acts of kindness…but BIG enough to stand in the rain to pay their respects.

Today we are in our Dash, and I have a challenge for you. Let’s take the Dash and turn it into a smile. A smile is a very small act of kindness yet it has great rewards. I want you to smile a lot today and I want you to get other people to smile back!

Thank you for spending your Saturday making a difference in our communtiy!

With much appreciation,
Nancy May
Outreach Director
Community Christian Church

18 smiles...

2009-05-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Nancy

This is Joy reporting back. I have been driving around for the past week with two bags of clothing that I wanted to give to Goodwill. I did not have time to stop and donate the clothes.

On Saturday at the Broward Cooperative Feeding, I put the clothes to use. One man came up to our group asking for a tee shirt…I had a man’s tee shirt in my car! Then, a woman came to us asking for a pair of socks…I had socks in my car!

(2 SMILES)

Then as we were sorting the food donations, two men came over to us and told us what a good thing we were doing to help people needing food. One man wanted Vienna Wieners and the other took Vienna Wieners and a can of spam.

(2 MORE SMILES)

Also, our group smiled at each other…14 SMILES.

Nancy thanks for all your hard work putting this day together. We were all blessed to be a part of this service day.

Thanks,

Joy Stein

the smiles were almost constant

2009-05-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Nancy,

Thank you for all that you do to reach the community. We counted so many smiles yesterday, but it was hard to keep up as some of the smiles were almost constant. We visited a small nursing home and took some pictures of all the smiles we shared with each other. The seniors really enjoyed holding the babies.

It was amazing that even a neighbor who was going for a walk with her baby when we arrived was impacted by God. She stopped us to ask why we were there and we were so happy to share with her as well. It is really amazing how our presence can affect even a neighborhood.

With love,
Alicia and Mimi

Everybody smiled all of the time.

2009-05-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day of serving the Community! Everybody smiled all the time. I got recycled magazines and cell phones from my co-workers and I packaged Bibles and recycled magazines to send to our soldiers overseas. I recently moved from Jacksonville, FL to Ft Lauderdale and this is my first experience working with the community. Thank you for give me the opportunity to serve as part of the Community Impact event and made a difference in our community!

Ivonne

Dash smiles

2009-05-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Nancy,
Thank you for your inspirational talk about the dash. I was with Kent and his wife yesterday and we recorded a lot of dash smiles every place we went to. Let me say I lost track of all the smiles we saw and photographed. We got some great interviews as well for the record. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning the Community Christian Church gang did a lot of good work. We can all be proud of the work and good will that went along with every person I saw and photographed.
Best regards and well done
Bryan Murphy

I lost count...

2009-05-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I lost count after ten smiles.

Wilnise

I have their names instilled in me...

2009-05-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Nancy,

I first want to give you my prayers and condolences for your dad -

Then I want to say my service today was absolutely wonderful...I so felt wonderful being with those young girls at the Juvenile facility. Number of smiles...well every one of those young girls I smiled at they smiled back...It was great and such an awesome feeling.
They were so welcoming and willing to talk and listen to me...and the others.
I am hoping that we can be more involved with them. I think we can make such a difference in their lives - Teaching them the bible and sharing our own life's happening with them. I have their names instilled in me - their faces and the joy for us being there......
I thank you for the opportunity that Community Christian gives me to serve and share with everyone.

I look forward to many more and visits with this place again.

Have a blessed day!

Carol DeMeo

"GOD IS A GOOD GOD"
"GOD LOVES YOU "
"GOD WANTS TO BLESS YOU"

I was so caught up with looking at their smiles that I forgot to count.

2009-05-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Nancy,

I wanted to update you on our service today at the Tamarac Rehab Center.

The residents and patients were all excited to see us and the smiles we received for being there was incredible and uncountable. The group today from the church were all new to serving at this center and as with anything new getting started was a little slow; however after a few encounters with the residents and patients it became easier to enter rooms and begin conversations.

We met some new people today like Max who can’t walk more than 5 feet at a time; however he never stopped smiling. We met Angelina who was bed ridden and cried and smiled when we enter the room. We held her hands and listened as she thanked us for being there and for taking time to talk with her. She never stopped smiling. We talked with people that we have met on our other visits here and they welcomed us with open arms and nothing but smiles. The best smile came when we talked to Ray Hayden and his wife as well. He and his wife both reside here and I have spoken with him on many occasions. His love for his wife is amazing and is an incredible site. He thanked us for being there and asked his wife to “Smile” for us. It wasn’t prompted and we hadn’t mentioned anything to him. He told her she was “Beautiful” and that he “Loved” her; she looked up and smiled at us.

The only time the entire group stopped smiling is when I had to inform them that the therapy dogs were not here today. No one smiled and one lady was so upset I thought she might cry. We calmed them down and talked about the dogs and previous visits with them; they began to smile over the memory of them.

It was a great visit and we are so blessed to be able to spend a few hours with them and bring smiles to their faces and ours. I know the task today was to count the smiles and I tried to count; however the count got tough to keep up with. I was so caught up with looking at their smiles that I forgot to count.

Last time you told us to look for things we hadn’t seen before and noticed; it opened my eyes to so many new things. This time the “Smile” message took on new meaning and allowed us to see the effect we have on people when we smile.

As always Nancy, thank you.

Mike, Cara, Brittany, & Heather Avery

Hey, I've got a story to tell...

2009-03-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Community Family,

Another Community Impact (February 28th) with amazing results! You truly are the hands and feet of our Lord. We had 463 people serve on that Saturday! Our Neighborhood Food Drive collected 9,253 lbs of food! So many lives touched, Thank You!

I love to tell stories…and if you hang around me long enough…you’ll hear me say “Hey, I’ve got a story to tell…” and it’s usually a story where I’ve seen God at work.

Saturday morning before we went out to serve, I shared with you a personal story…for those that didn’t hear it I’ll share it again.

This happened a few months ago…and it’s a true story. I was running errands and I had my kids with me (2 boys). One stop on my list was to buy something for my husband at Radio Shack. Since I am technology challenged this isn’t my favorite store, however my boys love that store and want to examine every gadget. I had so many things to do, I simply wanted to run in, buy the item, and run out. On the way there in the car, I told my boys, please don’t touch anything in the store, we are going to run in and run out…run in and run out…run in and run out. That was the goal Run in…get the item…and run out.

Goal accomplished! Yeah! In the car and off to the next thing on my list, when my youngest son (age 10) asked me, “Mom, do you think that lady was homeless?” I asked him to repeat himself, because I had no clue what he was talking about. I then asked, “What lady?” and he said, “The lady outside of the store.” I asked him why he thought the lady was homeless and he said that she was digging in the trash can. I was so focused on running in and running out that I didn’t see anyone. Feeling guilty that I missed something so obvious, I tried to convince him that she must have dropped something in the trash and that she was trying to find it. He said, “No mom, I think she was homeless, she looked hungry, and she was dirty.”

Wow, how could I have missed that? The trash can was right outside of the store, it was so close. How could I have not noticed? I am an Outreach Director…I’m supposed to notice things like that!

I missed 3 things that day, I missed an opportunity to feed someone that was hungry, I missed an opportunity to serve God, and I missed an opportunity to teach my children about the hungry and homeless people in our community.

Since that day, I keep a post it note near my computer screen. It says, “God, What do you want me to notice today?” I pray that prayer often…and He always faithfully answers that prayer.

I want to challenge you to pray that prayer often, and watch for Him to answer.

Thanks again,

Nancy May
Outreach Director
Community Christian Church

People went out of their way...

2009-03-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

Hi Nancy --

I did the Community Food Drive in my neighborhood and at my job. I could not believe how wonderful the response was!!!! People went out of their way to donate canned goods, paper products and other items. I was so happy to see the bags waiting for my pick-up on the doorsteps of my neighborhood !!!! Let's do this Community Impact again.
In God's Name,
Patti Meador

The whole thing was a "pay it forward" act of service

2009-03-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

Hi Nancy,

As always, on behalf of my family and the entire Community Christian Church Family...THANK YOU SO MUCH for the outstanding work you do for Broward County citizens with the role you play as Outreach Director.
Regarding the Neighborhood Food Drive...it was OUTSTANDING...by far the most organized, easy to participate in, useful service project I have seen from any Church I have served at in recent years. Many of my neighbors were also impressed and contributed more than one bag each. My 16 yr. old son Colby, attached the bags to our neighbors doors on Wed. (he signed all the paper work himself). Sat. morning, he and I drove from home to home picking up each generous donation and then delivered them to Church...done...WOW...could it have been any easier.!?*!!? The best part was how the whole thing was a "pay it forward" act of service. Colby and I were blessed...our neighbors were blessed by participating...our Church was blessed...the food banks were blessed...the families who use the food banks will be blessed...and on and on in God's perfect plan for instilling in us a desire to show love and kindness to others ESPECIALLY those in need...Thank you so much Nancy and your staff of helpers at Community Christian.

Blessings,
Colby and Sandy Zinser

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 2Cor.9:8-9

I asked God what I should notice...

2009-02-28T23:28:00.000-08:00

Hi Nancy:
I just wanted to share this with you....
Today was a special day for my grandson and I, going to the community center and seeing how happy we were able to make the people there was the greatest feeling ever.
My grandson Jaden is 15 months old and they adored him so much, asked me to come back - I would love to make it something we can do once a month for them or more if possible.
My heart felt so full being able to sit there and talk to them, show them they are not forgotten by us nor GOD...they are never alone.
I met Margaret, Michelle, Sylvia and many more.....I asked God what should I notice today and I think I noticed the JOY & HAPPINESS I was able to bring to many...to see them get up to dance, clap and sing ..the greatest JOY to feel...
I love serving the Lord this way and Look so forward to doing it again, in this way and many ways.
Thank you for letting US be a part of something so wonderful and joyous.
Carol DeMeo - and Jaden.....

I am almost speechless as I write this...

2009-02-28T22:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Nancy:

Tina and I have always looked forward to each and every CommunityImpact event we've been a part of since we joined the Community Family and each time, we have been blessed more than we could ever have imagined. Today, however was such a blessing that I am almost speechless as I write this. This morning when we arrived to participate in the Community Impact Day at Kids in Distress, you had explained that a group of young people from The Faith Center across the street from our church had called you and asked if they could join their efforts with ours as we went out to be the "hands & feet" of ourLord in the community. As coordinators, we welcomed the help and thought it would be a great idea to have two churches working side by side as we went to Kids in Distress. As it turned out, we had so many people in our group that we were able to have 5 people from our group join another group that was a little short-handed. What happened for the following 4 hours was nothing short of God just showing how awesome He is! We were met at Kids in Distress by two of the nicest ladies we could have ever hoped to work for - Shiela and Maggy and two of their dedicated maintenance guys. 3 more members of the Faith Center joined us at the work site for a total of 8 people from Faith Center that joined us. We pulled weeds and laid mulch on the entire 5 acre campus and the whole while we were being blessed by this outstanding group of young adults from the Faith Center. We were able to share stories and testimonies of how God had worked to pull all of this together for them to work with us and it was one of the most rewarding days of my entire life (and that is no exaggeration). The group was searching the web looking for some way to outreach in thecommunity and came across "Community Impact" and decided to pursue being a part of it. I AM SO GLAD THEY DID!!! These young adults have such a strong heart for God and such an incredible passion to serve that it was an absolute HONOR and PRIVILEGE to serve with them. I pray that we can have them with us on many future Community Impact Days! What an incredible day! What a diverse group we had - we had a father and son team and a mother and daughter team along with us plus these wonderful people from The Faith Center. When we were done, we all joined together in the middle of one of the court yards and ended the day with prayer (including the ladies from Kids in Distress) and then sang Happy Birthday to one of their maintenance men, Angel. When we parted ways with our new friends from The Faith Center, we shared hugs like I've never felt before and knew that the very Presence of God had spent the morning with us at Kids in Distress. I know that our efforts meant a lot to the staff at "Kids" and I am sure that God was blessed by the outreach, but I also know that for me personally today was much deeper than that. I can't explain what happened to my heart today, but I am still almost in tears nine hours later because of the profound effects of what we experienced today. It was a total out-pouring of love and fellowship and sweat for the King of the Universe by everyone involved. Thank You for all your hard work to continue to make these Community Impact Days a reality. Community Christian Church has given us the opportunity to put a physical and visible hand out there to the community around us and let them know that the God we serve is REAL. I''m sorry this is such a long email - I know you are very busy, but I just had to tell you about what a special day this was!
Thanks again Nancy!
Sincerely,
Duane King

Wanted to tell you what I noticed...

2009-02-28T20:54:00.000-08:00

Wanted to tell you what I noticed….
I realize how often the homeless are put down and demoralized. They are often faceless and dismissed. I guess kind of like what you experienced.
They really are ‘real’ people, with real hopes and dreams. I witness several, without hesitation, step in to help haul things to a pod making room for beds.
These men were not personally benefiting from the new room but were more than willing to help.
Real people down on their luck if you want to put it that way.
Not faceless and not nameless.

Joann

A few things I noticed today...

2009-02-28T18:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Nancy,

I took your story to heart this morning and challenged myself to see what God wanted me to see at the Health Care Facility. Here are a few things that I noticed today that I haven’t noticed in my previous three Community Impact trips or in the numerous other times that my family and I have visited outside of Community Impact:

1. I noticed that some of the same faces and names are still here
2. I noticed that some are not
3. I noticed that as my life has continued onward their lives still revolve around these same walls and corridors
4. I noticed how few staff are actually working and attending to patients
5. I noticed that as energetic and talkative as Helene once was; she now has been reduced to barley sitting up and can’t talk for very long
6. I noticed their eyes and faces lit up as Tango (the dog) and the kids approached them
7. I noticed the little old man who cares for his wife had the same smile on his face and his love for his wife was still very apparent.
8. I noticed the tears in one of the Community Christian volunteer’s eyes as she pushed a patient to the dining room for coffee.
9. I noticed a very rare smile on the face of one of the patients as she listened to Megan play the flute
10. I noticed one of the patients ate the flower that was made for her in arts & crafts (had to add some humor)

This was once again a very rewarding experience.

Mike Avery

I noticed...

2009-02-28T15:30:00.000-08:00

I noticed today that it is not only the people we went to help that needs us. It is everyone that you come in contact with. I met 3 boys from The Hope Center helping out as well. As I talked to them or to any one else, I realized that everyone can use a kind word at any time. People might look like they are fine but in fact have a lot going on inside. Even our own people at Community.

Mayra Nelson

Wonderful group of people painted...

2008-11-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-05T15:43:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-04T17:05:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-11-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

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

I feel blessed and humbled when I serve.

2008-09-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to "Community" for giving us the opportunity to serve and many thanks to Nancy for such great coordination of this event. I served at the Broward Outreach Homeless Shelter. I always feel blessed and humbled when I serve there. Some of us helped to sort clothes for the boutique at the shelter while some members helped to prepare and serve lunch. Because of great "team effort" everything went smoothly and I also got a chance to meet 19 members for the first time.

Sonie

Thank you!

2008-09-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

HI Nancy,

Thank you very much for coordinating this event! I spoke to the house RA of the Independent Living Home and he said the work your team did is absolutely amazing!!! :) He said the lawn was mowed, pavers were put down to create a patio area, the yard was cleaned and even their personal belongings were stowed away in their proper places! What a blessing it is to have these young men see the community and church come together to help them have a home where they can fellowship together!

The teenagers in this home are living in a world that has been harsh on them, some coming directly out of the foster care system, and your church is giving them HOPE that the world truly does care. And most of all, that God cares. We are touched by the compassionate hearts of your church body. If you are able to forward this to those involved that would be great- if not please extend our heartfelt appreciation to your church body!
Thank you!
In His Love,
Radina

Community Impact is one of my favorite things!

2008-09-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Nancy,
Thank you for what I can only imagine is a HUGE effort of behind the scenes work.
Community Impact is one of my very favorite things about CCC! (Acts of Service is my Love Language) It is an awesome way to show the world what the Church should look like. And it is a great way to get to know one another!
Blessings!
Wendy Locke

They reached out their hand to touch us...

2008-09-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our experience:

My family has been participating in Community Impact for the past year and has always volunteered to help the homeless. This has always been a positive and rewarding experience. There was a letter read in church services 2 weeks ago about working with the elderly and after hearing it my family & I knew we wanted to break out of our routine and do something different.

We were assigned to help at the Tamarac Rehab Center. We were a little unsure of our role when we first arrived; however that quickly changed as we met Helena who took charge and proceeded to walk us around from room to room. My daughters and Friend also got involved and began visiting each and every room and talking to everyone they saw. People were sitting in wheelchairs in the hallway, no smiles, no where to go, and all alone. We approached them and their eyes lit up, a smile came across their faces, and they reached out their hand to touch us. We pushed as many as wanted to the dining room where we entertained them and had conversations with everyone. We took them outside to see the flowers, feel the sun on their faces and feel the wind blowing. We visited the rooms of the people who couldn’t get up and listened to their stories of their lives and looked at the pictures on the wall. There were 2 therapy dogs from our group there as well and as much as everyone there loved us; those dogs were the hit of the day.

My moment came when I visited a man and wife who were sitting in the hallway together. He was reading to her from a book and holding her hand. He stopped reading for a moment and reached up and combed his wife’s hair and told her that he would love to see her smile. He asked her again “Please show me a smile” and as his wife did manage a small smile; he smiled back and said “Thank You, that’s what I wanted to see”. He told her he loved her and proceeded to read.

My daughters also loved this experience and have asked to come back and visit the residents and patients alike. My youngest daughter came to me as we were leaving and said that no matter what, she would never abandon me and place me into a facility where I am all alone.

We met a lot of people and will continue to visit the rehab center as often as we can.
Thank you for the experience.

Mike Avery
Brittany Avery
Heather Blankenship
Briauna Weir

Serving Food to those in Need

2008-09-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hi Nancy --

I truly enjoyed serving at the Broward Outreach Center in Pompano this past Saturday! Had a GREAT time preparing and serving food to those in need. How many blessings we individually forget we have until we witness those who have so much less and are so grateful for our help !!!

Please sign me up again on November 1st for the same service. I will probably make time on my own to go back there between now and then.

Patti Meador

The Gift of Song

2008-09-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

My name is Bryan Murphy and today we shared the gift of song with the folks at Sunrise Rehabilitation Center. It was so good to see the faces of the happy people that joined us for music and song.

I asked one lady what she would like to have me sing for her and she just smiled an said any thing you play is just wonderful, that was her gift to me. The lord has blessed my life with the gift of song and it makes me feel good to pass that gift on to those who need it most.

I take so many things for granted

2008-06-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

Whenever you visit a Rehab Center for the elderly or Nursing Home you are humbled. You walk away with great appreciation for what God has blessed you with including those lessons you learned from the residents themselves. They may not be aware of it but the residents teach and impact us in many ways.

For example, as I looked around the activities room after we had wheeled most of the residents in I noticed one patient who had come in on his own, he isolated himself from the others. Walking over towards this gentleman I quickly observed he was restricted to a walker that had a seat attached to it. His hair was messed up and he had not shaved.
I said, “Hello how are you doing this morning”.
He pulled out and handed me a pre-written note that said, “I cannot hear or speak”. He was carrying a bag on the side of his walker that had a note pad in it, grabbing the note pad I quickly wrote, “My name is Tim Lott and I am with Community Christian Church. We are here to serve you today is there anything you need or I might help you with”? He smiled and wrote, “No thank you I am fine. It’s nice to see your group here today”.

We continued to carry on a conversation with each other by using hand gestures and writing notes on the pad. I walked away wondering how I would be if I was in his place. Would I have been just as humble, patient and tolerable? He made me realize that I take so many things for granted. But the amazing thing is that that was only one resident of about 30 who I was able to interact with. Each taught me a lesson in life and I walked away a better person benefiting from my experience that day.

I was very impressed with the love and kindness our group showed to all of the residents. As a group, we set out to help others, but in reality, I believe it was all of us who served that benefited the most.
Tim Lott
It's All About People!

Children helping the Homeless!

2008-06-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

I stayed at Church and organized the lunch totes, and what really struck me was the enthusiasm of the children and how hard they worked. They really got into the whole idea of helping the homeless and they didn't whine about having to work nor did they slack off one bit. They were really a part of the team. It was really wonderful to see!

Audrey

Giving back is a gift.

2008-06-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

My name is Cindy Luckey and I participated in the Soldier Care Package ministry. This is such a wonderful cause!!

It was GREAT working together with a great group of people for such a wonderful cause. You could feel the love in the room. Giving back is a gift. You can't explain the feeling until you are given the opportunity to serve. It's wonderful and I will continue to serve as often as I am able to. I'm the one receiving the blessing.

Cindy

Airman

2008-06-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Bagram Air Base

2008-06-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

Serving at Community Impact changed my life!

2008-06-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

My name is Donna Huttenhoff - Team leader for Covenant Village

I definitely would recommend Covenant Village remain on the list of Community Impact events because it was such a positive experience for everyone who participated: residents, employees, and visitors as well as those of us from Community Christian Church.

There are so many things I could select as "GREAT", however, if one is to be mentioned, I would say, the greatest joy, the greatest moment, is to witness the transformation in an elderly person from lonely to joyous solely because of a visit from someone who cares.

Participating in Community Impact, specifically volunteering at Covenant Village, was and still is, one of the best things that has happened in my life.

When I signed up to serve at CV, my first thoughts were to check it out for my parents and considering that I enjoyed being around older people, it wasn't "work" or hard to do....just a little time out of my day. No big deal. Serving others was (and is) what Jesus called us to do, and I was gladly submitting. However, what I anticipated versus what I experienced, was so God!

As a volunteer group visiting a nursing/assisted living facility our main objective was to bring some smiles, happiness and hopefully, laughter to the residents. Many of these elderly men and women live alone, only being cared for by the employees ( who I might add do a superb job! ). Many of their families and/or friends live elsewhere or are deceased, hence few visits from the "outside" world. Rarely are children seen, so you can just imagine what our group resonated as we trouped through the doors. A mom and dad with young children, ladies ready to play balloon volleyball and hearts ready to pour out love and compassion. We brought LIFE and it was sweet. But it didn't stop there for me, I had an extra bonus, I met Mr. John Brooks. My new friend for life.

We all know God's timing is always perfect, but it amazes me how He orchestrates events and blesses our lives when we least expect it. John needed a friend and I needed to be a friend. You see, John's only daughter lives far away, he hasn't any other family here and has only one male friend that rarely visits. His world is the confounds of CV assisted living. He refers to his living arrangements as "assisted dying" which grieves my heart. I, on the other hand, have a husband, two children (both in college), aging parents, loads of activities and commitments, yet I was forever asking God...."what do you want me to do with my time?" John Brooks and his fellow residents were my answer. Serve the elderly. Give a smile, a hug, a chat, a cookie, a song....all the things we take for granted, but what so many of their lives are missing.

No matter how busy my days are, God always finds a way to add the time for my weekly visits to Covenant Village. It has been a blessing to me and to my family. My children and I took John to Rain Forest Cafe and truly, I do not know who enjoyed it more. This is what I want my son and daughter to see and know....God's love abounds, He gives it unconditionally to us and we are to share it with all.

My heartfelt thanks to Nancy May for her leadership and guidance of Community Impact. It is such a wonderful outreach that blesses all who participate....can't wait for the next one!!

From the bottom of my heart,
Your sister in Christ,
Donna

A Note from Iraq

2008-06-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

Community Christian Church,

I would like you to know that we really appreciate the Care Packages that you sent. We received all the snacks, candy, chips, coffee/tea, hygiene products, lotion, dried fruit, dental supplies, cards, body wash, shampoo, slippers, sunscreen lotion.......too many to go on. The Bible, writing material and books were definitely appreciated. Reading and watching movies is always welcome during down time. Everything that was sent was definitely appreciated. Everything is so expensive these days and we received all that is needed, but thanks for asking if we needed anything else in the future. God Bless you and the all the volunteers that is keeping us in their prayers. Thank you also for shaping our world and our history by giving when you don't even have to. Please note that I opened up the box with a grateful heart. On behalf of the Contracting Team I would like to say thank you so very much for your generous contributions to all of us.

SFC Yanick Bard

Group Home for Children with Disabilities

2008-06-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Nancy,

I just wanted to let you know that all who served at Broward Children Center had a great time, and were blessed, and a blessing. Everyone felt very comfortable with the kids, the workers there have great hearts.

I was able to pray with a teenage girl who was angry at her family for not visiting her for 7 years. Everything went very smoothly.

Thanks for your hard work,
Diane Amoroso

The residents loved our children!

2008-06-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time on Saturday!
It was our family and the Smith family and we went to Springtree. Between the two families, we brought 5 children with us - 3 girls and 2 boys - and the residents LOVED interacting with the children. Some of them cried (happy tears!) and told us that they loved seeing our families and playing with the children. We played balloon volleyball with the residents in their wheelchairs and the children also did "shows" for them - singing, dancing, and karate moves! We made them pictures and cards and even beaded bracelets. The children loved the attention and the residents were so appreciative that we gave up our Saturday morning to be with them. One resident, Florence, made me promise that we would come back again.

I did promise, so we will have to put it on the calendar again!
-Lisa Hancock
The Hancock Family - Jim, Lisa, Christian and Dylan

God sent me where I needed to be!

2008-06-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

When I arrived at Woodhouse 1 in Dania I realized that their blinds all needed to be repaired. Since that is the field I work in and I had parts in my van, I spent about 2 hours fixing their blinds! God sends you where you need to be. I also enjoyed playing the piano for the residents and they seemed to enjoy it as well. Thank you for all your time and effort that went into making this day a success for the community.

Thank you,
Tony Rao

Visiting the Elderly

2008-06-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

Community Impact - May 31, 2008

I was so blessed by the King's granddaughter Erin, and Tanya's sons. The way these children interacted with the elderly was so touching. Tim Lott, who has worked for VITAS many years, set the example of interaction. Tanya has been around nursing homes all her life in that her mother worked at one when she was a child and she frequently went with her. She has also been taking her sons to nursing homes since they were small, so they were very familiar with what to do. Even though Kent appointed me the interim group leader, I was definitely the follower. I learned so much and was blessed so much that it's hard to describe. I could go on and on. I will definitely do this again!

Blessings,
Sharon

Great Team Work!

2008-06-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Nancy,
I wanted to give my input on Community Impact, Saturday, May 31, 2008.
It was a glorious day! I was at the family in Tamarac who has been out of their home since Hurricane Wilma. Our team was a great team! I praise all of you! We helped paint the inside of her Condo, I stained a closet door and painted a wall the color she wanted (green) thus I have never painted before so I was challenged by this task and the job was well done. We were able to get her whole condo painted and fixtures were put up in both bathrooms and her screen door needed to be put on in the back porch. Another group, Neighbors helping Neighbors were there and they had told the owner that she needed to feed us (Which she could not afford). She left to go get us something to eat, I felt that wasn't right because we were there to serve God and didn't expect anything in return. She felt she needed to go because the other group leader said she needed to get us food. I was not able to stop her at that point, I spoke with John Chace and let him know the situation and he spoke with our team leader Jack Gresham. We called her on her cell phone and I spoke with her and told her our Church wants her to turn around and come back, that we wanted her to use the money on her daughter and herself or anything else she needed for her home, not on us. So she came back. It made me feel good about our fellow members of our Community doing God's work out of the goodness of our hearts and that we all agreed on the situation. God Bless you all for making a great Saturday and helping with all your hearts in our community. That what it's all about!
JESUS' HEART IN MINE
SUE

Thank you note from Soldier in Afghanistan

2008-04-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hello Ms MAY,
My name is Shelton Johnson. I recently recieved the packages from your church and on the behalf of my team i would like to say thank you and that you touched many hearts and minds. Several of us are from Florida, from Pensacola to Miami, and we are really touched that your minstry has choosen to help us in our time of need. I would like to say that we were eager to open the boxes and they met many needs of my soldiers. I am asking that you please keep us in your prayers. We are and have been blessed this far. We pray as a group before moving to missions, because we recognize that God makes all things possibile and that he is the King of all Kings. We gratefully appreciate what you do and your obedience to Christ. May God continue to keep you safe and at peace always.
Sincerly,
SHELTON JOHNSON
US.ARMY

ARC Broward

2008-03-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

I can not begin to thank you and the volunteers enough. Over the past year I have worked with many members of your church and each time I am touched by their generosity of time, energy and spirit.

You all are giving more than you know! We truly appreciate all that you have done~

Sincerely,

Patty
Director of Residential Services

Letter from Soldier in Iraq

2008-03-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Members of Community Christian Church,

Thank you so much for the great packages you've been sending our way! We've been having a great time opening and enjoying everything in them! Everything can be used and all the rest can (and is) eaten! Please keep us in your prayers, but more importantly, our strong families at home who are waiting for us! You are all greatly appreciated!

God Bless each and everyone of you!

In Christ,

Valarie D
Iraq

Serving the Homeless on Good Friday!

2008-03-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Community Christian was invited to serve the homeless at the Thanksgiving in March event at the Broward Outreach Center in Pompano.

58 volunteers from CCC spent Good Friday at the homeless shelter. Brian and the Worship Team played worship music outdoors in the courtyard. The music created a festive party atmosphere.

About 10 from CCC volunteered to wash the feet of the homeless, and the homeless lined up waiting for their turn. Watching the interactions between our volunteers and the homeless was profound.

Some volunteers started up a volleyball game, while others played basketball. The physical activity seemed to be a common language.

We set up tables decorating them with table cloths and center pieces, and we worked in the kitchen helping to prepare the food. The homeless were instructed to take a seat because they were the guest of honor. On Good Friday, they wouldn’t be standing in a food line with their hands out…they sat down and they were served! CCC served them restaurant style. Meals, drinks and desserts were delivered to each person sitting down. Then we cleaned up after them.

After lunch we passed out the Hope Totes that CCC assembled and donated at our last Community Impact Event. Hope Totes are filled with personal hygiene items that the homeless can use to clean up and feel better about themselves.

It was a Great Day! Lives were touched as the volunteers of CCC let God’s light shine through them.

Serving the Elderly

2008-02-25T17:50:00.000-08:00

I would like to say that the Covenant Village loved Angie playing her hymns and sung them by heart. They all knew the words. It was such a precious moment to hear them sing and raise their arms in joy to the Lord. Then there were little Ricky (age 4) and sister Alex (age 9) who went around the tables and introduced each other. Everyone wanted to touch them! And Julie Stitch - what a voice! A little angel! They all wanted to hear the kids sing.

The Wallaces came with their kids and played balloon volleyball and the residents were into the game. They stayed and played and loved it.

CCC is definitely doing His will.

Carla Gates

Feeding the Homeless

2008-02-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

Operation Hope Tote was a huge success!

We received enough personal hygiene items to fill all 75 Purple Hope Tote bags! We could have filled up more bags if we had them. All of the extra items were placed in boxes and delivered together.

We also made 500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Way to go Community! This was a great Family Serve as you can see on our Community Impact Video!

All of the sandwiches and Purple Hope Totes were delivered to Broward Outreach Center in Pompano, where they will be distributed to the many homeless that show up to be fed every day.

Care Packages for our troops

2008-02-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for your generosity to our service men and women that are deployed overseas!

We had enough donations to fill 136 care packages to date! Wow!

Keep watching the blog...we have invited the recipients of our care packages to post their comments on this Community Impact Blog!

Kids in Distress

2008-02-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

I am not a "blogger" but I can tell you that the people at "Kids in Distress" really appreciated our efforts. We were able to do most all the flowerbeds with mulch. They ran out of mulch, got more and ran out of that. For some of us, we overdid what our bodies were ready for but we did it. The representatives for Kids in Distress closing remarks to me was that they wanted us back any time. I am truly glad to have worked with such a good crew of GOD's followers.

Sincerely yours,
Kemper Smith

Community IMPACT

2008-02-23T03:13:00.000-08:00

February 23, 2008

What an incredible day!
Please share your Community Impact stories with our Community family! Tell us how you were blessed and how you were a blessing to others.

If you have suggestions on how to make our Impact Days even better, please call or email me at the church.

Thank you so much for sharing your Saturday morning and making a difference in our community!

A note from June 2007

2008-02-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

My children and I were sent to the Cooperative Feeding Program in Ft. Lauderdale. We found out that they collect hundreds of pounds of food every day for the homeless and less fortunate people. Thank God! We were told that there were about 400 people in this situation - what an eye opener. That information brought tears to my eyes, because it could be any one of us. We are so blessed to have what we have that sometimes it doesn't seem fair.

We opened boxes upon boxes of donated food, sorted them, put them on the shelves and started filling up boxes and bags with that food. In addition to feeding the homeless three times a day, this organization gives out boxes and bags of food to people who can't make ends meet.

Watching my children serve along with members of our church family with smiles on their faces, and them feeling that they've made a difference is priceless! My son asked if we could go back once a month and without hesitation I said "Definately". That brought tears to my eyes, because he gets it!

We had an awesome experience at the Cooperative Feeding Program. It's such a small amount of time to give, and the rewards of serving God and helping people who need so much make you feel worthy and useful. It touches your heart.

Thank you, Community Christian Church for this opportunity! I feel very blessed to be able to contribute in this way.

Deanna