Season of Compassion Giving from the Heart
Merry Christmas! In the season of compassion, I invite you to partner with the Council of Churches of the Ozarks to give gifts from the heart that can’t be returned, re-gifted, or repaid! The following pages give a sampling of the services we provide in our community – feeding hungry families, sheltering homeless women, providing new clothing for children in foster care, and more! Our community needs us now more than ever to do together what can best be done together. You can give these gifts of compassion knowing they are wrapped and filled with the love of Christ. May God bless you and your family this Christmas and throughout the New Year. Thank you,
Mark Struckhoff Executive Director P.S. If you would like us to notify a loved one of a special gift made in their honor, give online at ccozarks.org, alert us by mail, or call us at 417-862-3586, extension 233.
Donate online at CCOzarks.org
Compassion of Christmas Your special Agency Support gift to the Council of Churches of the Ozarks will be put to work immediately in the area of greatest need. A gift to the Council of Churches will help to ensure that our service agencies can continue to serve the community uninterrupted, sharing the compassion of your heart, all year long.
$300 = Sustaining service to the vulnerable
Nourished Bodies, Grateful Hearts
One in five people are living at or below the poverty line. On average, 255 people a day receive food from the pantry, up 7.4% over last year. Throughout 2014, Crosslines has had a steady increase of hungry families receiving food assistance and is on pace to provide food for over 60,000 people in 2014! Your gift can be the reason thousands of Ozarks families sleep better tonight.
$1,000 = Day sponsorship for 200 people (2,270 meals) $150 = 336 meals for a family of four $50 = 112 meals for a family of four
Thank You!
PO Box 3947 Springfield MO 65808 417-862-3596 ccozarks.org
Needs shown reflect the project at the time of writing. If the specified need is fulfilled, your gift will be utilized in the area of greatest need.
Share
the Joy of the Season Imagine not being able to provide the food for a holiday meal. The holiday season is a special time to gather as a family, creating life-long memories. Thanksgiving dinner is one of the most anticipated meals of the year for many families and the joy of sharing Christmas with cherished family members is one of our greatest blessings. Through Crosslines Holiday Center, more than 1,000 low-income families and seniors can have a holiday meal (10,000 people). The food baskets include a turkey or ham, vegetables, potatoes, butter, eggs, milk, dessert and food for a morning meal and afternoon snack.
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$35 = one Holiday Food Basket $70 = Christmas and Thanksgiving Food Basket
When John and his wife sat down with their two young children to apply for a Christmas food basket and toys, I could see his reluctance to be there. Together, we began to complete the application and as we came to the section on income, John broke down with tears in his eyes. He looked at me and said, “I was successful. I work hard. I am a landscaper by trade and business has been so slow...How can I explain to my children that we can’t even afford a Christmas tree?” I looked at this father, so embarrassed by his circumstances, and gently reminded him that we are here to help him and his family. -Crosslines Volunteer
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Give from the Heart Do you remember the joy of a new toy on Christmas morning? You can bring that memory to life for a child in need through your gift to support the Crosslines Holiday Center. Your gift will bring joy to a child on Christmas morning and take a stressful weight off a parent’s shoulders worrying about how to make ends meet. Thanks to you, a child will open three new toys, a knit item (hat, gloves, socks) and a new book on Christmas morning. How many children will you help with your compassionate gift?
$135 = Christmas gifts for three children $225 = Christmas gifts for five children $450 = Christmas gifts for ten children (Your gift could touch three families!)
Donate online at CCOzarks.org
Keep a Homeless Woman Safe Imagine not having a home to return to. Imagine the stress, loneliness and despair; the difficulty of finding a safe place to sleep at night. For many homeless women, this is their reality. Safe to Sleep provides homeless women a nightly refuge and in 2014, Safe to Sleep provided more than 600 women with shelter – on average, 25 women a night. Your gift can help ensure a homeless woman has a safe place to find refuge at night.
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$250 = Overnight shelter for 25 homeless women for five nights $80 = One tank of gas for the van that transports the women to safety $30 = Overnight shelter for a homeless woman for two weeks (the average stay) It amazes me that 30 women sleep so restfully on army cots for eight full hours - they come in so very tired. One woman is new and looks frightened; there are three new ones tonight. All seem nice and I wonder why they are here without a support system to take them in during a crisis. It is so quiet. I walk around to check and want to stop and pick up covers that have slid to the floor or cover up bare feet sticking out the bottom as I would for my own child. -Safe to Sleep Volunteer
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Peace and Comfort for a Neglected Child
Some children in our community enter into foster care neglected, hopeless, and scared. Ambassadors for Children’s programs meet practical needs while instilling a sense of value and dignity to bring hope to foster children. The Kids’ Closet provides brand new clothing for foster children including pajamas, undergarments, socks, winter coats, and gift cards for shoes. For some of these foster children, it is the first time they’ve ever worn brand new clothes. Can you help bring comfort and self-confidence to a neglected child?
$150 = six complete outfits for a foster child and socks, underwear, pajamas, a winter coat, a stuffed toy, and a haircut voucher $75 = three complete outfits for a foster child and socks, underwear, pajamas, a stuffed toy and a haircut voucher $15 = a new pair of shoes for a foster child
Donate online at CCOzarks.org
Christmas Blessings for Children
This Christmas, more than 350 foster children will open gifts from Ambassadors for Children. To bring smiles to these children in need, we need your help! Can you make sure a foster child has special gifts, just for them, this Christmas?
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$100 = Christmas gifts for one child in foster care
A six-year-old boy and his new foster family visited the Kids’ Closet just weeks before Christmas. He had been taken into state custody with virtually nothing—not even a coat—just as it became bitterly cold in the area. Although he was a little worried Santa wouldn’t know where to find him on Christmas Eve, this young foster child was elated by something as simple as picking out a brand new coat, just for himself.
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-Ambassadors for Children Volunteer
Christmas Blessings for Nursing Home Residents
Oftentimes, nursing home residents have no family, no visitors, and no Christmas gifts. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman program provides advocacy throughout the year for nursing home residents and a very special “Secret Santa” program for the residents at Christmas. More than 500 residents will receive gifts with your help. One resident’s eyes filled with tears as she opened her gifts – gifts saying simply, “You are not forgotten.”
$20 = one Christmas gift for a nursing home resident
Providing a Sturdy Foundation
for Early Childhood Development Child Care Aware® of Southern Missouri focuses on early childhood development and training for early child care providers. A variety of resources are offered for providers including a lending library of educational materials, social-emotional training, and enhanced referrals for families seeking quality child care. You can help child care professionals with the latest training tools and keep children safe.
$250 = a group of child care providers a one-hour training to increase their quality of care $125 = an on-site visit to a child care program $30 = Comfort Kits for three children
Instilling a Sense of Independence and Safety for Low-Income Seniors
Connections Handyman Services enables elderly and disabled homeowners to continue to live independently and safely in their own homes. Imagine your home of 50 years in disrepair and you don’t have the means to fix it, both physically and financially – your gift can help keep an elderly homeowner in their home.
$450 = materials for a 10’ wheelchair ramp built by volunteers $185 = one water faucet, installation, tools and materials by a licensed contractor $95 = one set of installed grab bars for an elderly person’s bathroom