I appreciate North Point Community Church for many many reasons . . . but one reason is their drive to show us our wealth. Yes, how rich we really are. And each Fall they set up opportunities all over Atlanta where we can serve others, volunteer, help out, and observe how MOST of the country actually lives!
http://www.howtoberich.org/
Yesterday I did my first (I say 1st, b/c I will go back there for sure) service project for the Be Rich Campaign. And I chose an organization I knew nothing about but was lead to register for. It's called Foster Care Support Foundation in Roswell and God is doing AMAZING things there. It's not scary like a shelter can be or filthy like so many donation centers. It's a beautiful building that God hand picked for this group to move into just this past June.
What do they do? Well, they support foster parents & those children by providing clothing, toys, books, hygiene items, shoes, socks, underwear, crib sheets, new pillows . . . everything that we have STUFFED our child's closet with and take for granted every day. Most of the time, children are taken from their home with no warning, no packing and usually just the clothes on their backs and are placed in a safer environment until things get "straightened out" back home. Or, if there is no foster home to take them to, they are sent to a shelter or group home.
No can you just imagine for a minute . . . . you're little one in a new place with nothing of his own to go with him. No blankie, no PJ's no teddy bear, no clean clothes for the next day . . . . just a new place, with no understanding as to what has happened or why he's there? It breaks my heart.
And yesterday, I got to "shop" for these little people. Foster parents will fax or call in a list of what they need for the new child placed in their home (or a new wardrobe for the new season if they've been there a while) and I took those orders and selected outfits, toys, books and lovely things for these children and then it is mailed to them at their new "home". So I walked around the neatly organized racks of clothing and held this paper for Jabari age 10 and wondered all about him and his story and prayed for his sweet little heart. And then I filled an order for a 19 month old baby girl . . . . my, Preston is 19 months and I could hardly read the paper for the tears that just kept coming . . . .
Anyway, I just wanted to send this out because;
1) this is a fantastic place to donate your time and
2) this is a GREAT place to send your clothes, shoes, toys, stuffed animals, baby items, children's furniture, etc!
http://www.fostercares.org/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx
Thanks for sticking with me through this long email . . . check out the site and give Rachel a call to sign up for a volunteer slot- she's the director, and began this organization with her husband out of their garage 12 years ago . . . they have fostered about 50 children . . .
3 comments:
That is awesome! So, glad you got to be a part of that and what a huge ministry they have. Amazing. I am constantly amazed by how much we have and have to be thankful for, yet it is so easy to get self focused.
that is great KPB. i would love to be involved in something like that. maybe when i'm not working as much ... i can do that. i can't wait!!
xo
HH
i didn't know you were a northpoint family.
we were there from when andy started it about 17years ago until our family became so big that the sunday morning 45 min ride combined with the challenge of getting everyone where they needed to be became to much for us.
great church!
i have been praying the lord would lead me...i am wanting to have my girls involved in some outreach over christmas. i'll look into this one.
thank you!
xo
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