News Around the Corner

Transcription

1 News Around the Corner Dec 2017 THE 14TH AND CHESTNUT COMMUNITY CENTER'S MISSION IS TO BE A PARTNER WITH AND PROVIDE MINISTRY TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND THE CENTER IN ORDER TO ASSIST WITH A VARIETY OF SPIRITUAL, PHYSICAL, AND EDUCATIONAL NEEDS. INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Christmas Hours Barrels Investments ISU Sports 2 2 Needs List 3 & 4 Holiday Dinners Self-Defense Books VCPL Roof Pulse Christmas Sponsors Verse of the Month: Matthew 2:2B Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him Did you know? Chapel Contest Every year during the month of November, we have a contest in chapel. The students donate Merit Money that they earn to an organization that helps kids around the world. Each year the groups compete against each other, and the group with the most money has a party and picks what we buy with the money that we raise before sending it overseas. Bill matches the money we raise with actual money in order to make a donation in time for Christmas. The kids always get excited about bringing their money up to the front of Chapel and giving it to others in need since God has provided them with so much already. This year we raised $540 for Samaritan s Purse Do you know who plays Santa for us every year? Answer page 2

2 Christmas Hours During Christmas Break, our hours will change. Monday through Friday, our kids program will run from 9 am to 12pm. We will be closed in observance of Christmas on December 25th and of New Years on January 1st. We will resume our After School Hours on January 2nd. We can always use extra help during these weeks since many of our college students go home. If you are able to help in any way, please contact the Front Office! Barrels All Around The center has 7 barrels out in the community decorated for Christmas. On each barrel is cards for each of our children with their Christmas Wish List printed on the card. We encourage the community to grab a card off of the barrel, purchase an item (s) for that child and then place it back in the barrel with their name on the item(s) for us to pick up and give out on December 23rd. We will pick up the barrels from the locations on Monday December 18th in order to sort the presents and get them ready to give out on the 23rd. Presents can be placed in the barrels before then, or they can be dropped off at the center at any time. We want to thank 5/3rd Banks, Starbucks, and Gordon Chiropractic for allowing us to place a barrel in each of these locations. Investments Help the Center 14th and Chestnut Community Center has set up an investment account and is able to receive gifts of stocks and bonds. Please keep the center in mind for your estate and year end tax planning purposes. Contact your accountant or tax preparer to inquire about the tax incentives for donated investments. Also contact the center or Love Financial for further details about the account. ISU Sports During the next several months, our kids will have the opportunity to attend several different ISU Sporting Events. During November, the 5th Grade and older Boys and Girls will be able to start attending ISU Basketball games. They enjoy the night out with friends and watching the teams play. They also enjoy the opportunity to meet the players and build a connection with them, They look forward to each and every game! Star Ashley Taia Signs Autograph Kroger Number Did you know that when you grocery shop you can help the center out? 14th & Chestnut Community Center are enrolled in the Kroger Community Rewards Program. The center will receive a donation each month based on a percentage of sales by our enrolled members. Please go online to krogercommunityrewards.com and register your Kroger Plus card with our organization. Kroger has assigned the center with the NPO number Pag Did you know? Every year, John and Mary Wade dress up as Santa and Mrs. Clause and pay a visit to the center. They also are Santa and Mrs. Clause for other events, and instead of accepting money for those events, they encourage the parties to make a contribution to the center in their honor. Thank you John and Mary Wade! NEWS AROUND THE C ORNER

3 December 2017 NEEDS LIST 14 th and Chestnut Community Center 1403 Chestnut Street. Terre Haute, IN Phone: Visit our Website! 14thandchestnut.weebly.com Thank You for your support of what we do! We truly would not be here without you! PRAY for God s blessing on our children and their families. Pray also that God will continue to move through the ministry of the Center and provide for all of its needs. BIGGEST NEEDS Our biggest needs for the month of December: Food We are in need of snacks, meats, juice, ice cream, breakfast bars, and gift cards for our Kitchen and Food Pantry. Tutors We are looking for people to help out in our Homework Room Sponsors We are looking for people to sponsor a birthday party for a month, and we are looking for people to sponsor families for Christmas Formal Attire Nice Dresses and Dress Clothes for kids to wear to Snow Ball and Prom Gifts for Mom s Matter We need brand new items to give to our Mom s Matter Group Christmas Presents We are looking for new items to give out for Christmas Presents especially for our older kids. Food for Food Pantry The Food Pantry is in desperate need of dried beans and rice to give out. HOLIDAY NEEDS Paper Boxes We will need empty paper boxes for our Food Baskets in November and December Christmas Sponsors We are looking for people to sponsor families for Christmas Contact the office for Christmas Wish Lists for our Kids. GRUMBLING TUMMIES CAFÉ Serving daily snack and dinner throughout the school year. Help us keep their bellies full! Our biggest need for the kitchen is meat and fresh fruits and vegetables We are also in need of containers to store cooked meat in and freeze. We are also accepting any donations of canned or boxed food as well as main staples like bread and sugar.

4 MERIT MART REWARDS STORE Help us reward our kids for good behavior! The store is where children can spend the play money they earn on hygiene products, toys, books, crafts, school supplies, etc. We accept donations of new or gently used items for the Merit Mart. Our biggest need is hygiene products especially for boys, such as deodorant, body wash, shaving cream, etc. We also accept toys, school supplies, jewelry, and candy for the children. MOTHER HUBBARD S PANTRY Please help us keep our emergency pantry stocked to help people in our community in an extreme time of need. Our biggest need for the food pantry is meat like hot dogs, spam, tuna to make a complete meal. We are also in major need of Mac and Cheese! We are also accepting donations of canned and boxed goods as well as supplies for babies such as diapers, wipes, and jars of baby food. CLOTHES CLOSETS Once a week, any of our registered children can go to the clothes closet and get NEW OR GENTLY USED clothing to keep them clean and warm. All donations are appreciated! Our biggest need is new underwear and new boxers for our kids in any sizes. We are also in need of clothes from size 5 to 12 for both girls and boys. We accept clothes for kids from size 5 up to adult XL. MOMS MATTER Where mothers can get together and encourage each other through their daily parenting struggles. Each mom in attendance is given a small gift. Help us encourage them! Gift baskets, lotions, bath items, candles, picture frames, and any other gift a mom might like Gift cards for gas, dining out, or local grocery stores BUILDING & GROUNDS Cleaning supplies Pledge, Windex, paper towels, liquid pump hand soap, toilet bowl cleaner, Ajax detergent, liquid dish soap, Goo Gone or Murphy Oil Soap, 409, Spic and Span Old cell phones or old printer cartridges Thank you for your continued prayers and support! 14 th and Chestnut Community Center 1403 Chestnut Street. Terre Haute, IN Phone: th.chestnut@gmail.com

5 Holiday Dinners For Thanksgiving and Christmas, we host a program one night during the month to celebrate the holidays with the families of our children. Our families enjoy a nice fully prepared holiday dinner for everyone in the family. Then the kids preform a chapel song and recite a chapel verse from memory for their families. We also have some of our older kids speak or do a special skit in honor of the holiday as well. After the program, the families receive their holiday food baskets which hold everything they need to cook their own holiday dinner at home including the meat. This is a very enjoyable night for all of the kids, staff, and families. This year we had 310 people in attendance for our Thanksgiving Program. We hope to have as many in attendance for our Christmas Program as well. We want take this time to thank everyone who helps make this entire night possible. Terre Haute North s Interact club helped collect items and pack the holiday baskets we give out to our families. The Terre Haute North Swim Team helped with serving and cleaning up the dinner. Bob Baesler has helped us get the turkeys and hams for a great price. Officer Nick Pesavento was here on Thanksgiving to provide some extra security and helped maintain the peace around the neighborhood. We appreciate all of these people and groups for helping us out during these times. Without them, these programs would not be as successful as their were. Self Defense We want to thank Minton s for hosting our 6th Grade and Older girls in order to teach them some basic self defense moves. With everything going on in the world, we never know when someone might try to attack us or try to steal from us. Minton s hosted our 6th Grade and Older girls for 2 days in order to teach them some basic self defense in case they are ever in a situation that is uncomfortable to them. The girls had a great time, and they came back and taught some of their friends who missed that day some of the moves. Books, Books, and more Books! Books a Million is teaming up with 14th and Chestnut Community Center again to help spread some Christmas Cheer to our kids. Last year and this year, they are asking customers to help out 14th and Chestnut by either donating money or items throughout the store. When they collect money, then the employees pick out items to purchase for the kids. Most of the items are books that the kids are into and wanting to read. They do also have some toy items, craft kits, and art supplies for the kids as well. Last year, they donated over 30 boxes to the Center. They extended their program this year and are hoping to donate more! Please stop by and check Books a Million out for your Christmas books, and consider dropping off an extra copy in their donation bin for a kid at 14th and Chestnut. VCPL Over the past few years, we have developed a great connection with the Vigo County Public Library. They are continuously receiving grants for some of the new technology that is part of the STEAM Program. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.) They are allowing us to bring a few of our kids at a time to come try out some of their equipment since we cannot make it to their workshops that they host on the equipment. Last month, some of our girls tried out the Virtual Reality Headsets that they have on hand. The girls really enjoyed themselves. Thank you VCPL! Page 5

6 Birthday Party Each month, we host a birthday party for all of the kids at the center. The kids that have a birthday during the month receive a present from us. Everyone gets to have cake and play awesome games. We still need sponsors for the rest of the school year. If you or a group is interested, please contact Heather at for more information! Tutors We are looking for people to help out in our homework room on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3 to 4:30pm. Our homework room is a quiet space for our kids to come and work on their homework and ask questions. Our older kids are looking for the quiet space to complete their homework. Our younger kids may require a little help in reading and understanding what they are supposed to do. Some may just need someone to read a story to. If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact the front office for more information. Blankets We are collecting new and gently used blankets to give out to our kids and families. Many of our families cannot afford the rising costs to keep a house heated during the winter times. Many of our families rely on one or two small space heaters and coats and blankets to keep everyone warm. Many times that means our kids are huddled up under blankets with other siblings. Our goal is that each family has enough blankets to make sure that everyone has their own blanket and stay comfortable through the upcoming cold winter months. We accept all shapes and sizes of blankets. They can be dropped off to the center at any time. Roof Work We want to thank Plen Smith and his company Guarantee Roofing for their patchwork on our Food Pantry. For a few years now, we have had a slight leak at our Food Pantry every time it rained. We have had several companies come and inspect the roof and attempt to patch the leak, but after about a month, the leak is back. Guarantee Roofing s patchwork is currently holding on strong and should help us last through the winter. Thank you Guarantee Roofing for coming to our rescue, and listening to our need! Pulse Thank you to the teams of PULSE for your contributions that you collected during your Thanksgiving Competition. They practiced some real compassion during Thanksgiving by raising over $1700 for us on Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving morning, they held 4 different classes, and the classes competed to see who could raise the most money to help us out. We appreciate their compassion and exercise in supporting our After School Program. Page

7 Page 7 THE NEED IS THERE BE A CHRISTMAS SPONSOR BY: JEANIE EDINBURGH 14th & Chestnut Community Center is in its eighteenth year of services to inner-city children in Terre Haute, Indiana. In an era of economic recession, decreased giving, and failing nonprofit organizations, the 14th & Chestnut Community Center remains faithful to its mission. During the eighteen years many young lives has been touched, fed, tutored, clothed, and improved by the services and mentoring provided by the 14th & Chestnut Community Center. For over a decade, the 14th & Chestnut Community Center has successfully relied upon community foundations, businesses, churches, and individuals to assist us in sustaining this program and to purchase food, school supplies, and tennis shoes for our after school and summer programs, clothing for our clothes closet, winter coats to make sure our children go to school warm. We have also relied upon them for Thanksgiving and Christmas food for our holiday baskets, as well as toys and new clothing for the children at Christmas Now we are entering into our Holiday Season, and we are coming to you once again. So many lives in our community depend on the services provided by the 14th & Chestnut Community Center. I personally go into the homes of so many of our children, I see how they live, and I talk to the parent about their basic needs. I am coming to you because without your help, many of our children will go without a Christmas, as many have in the past. Each year 14th & Chestnut Community Center spends a great deal of time searching for businesses, churches, and even individuals to sponsor one or more of our families for Christmas. The families of the 14th & Chestnut Community Center consist of a family of three or more. Without your love and support many may go without a Christmas this year. As a child coming up, I was in one of these households, and it breaks my heart to see that so many of our families live even worse than I did as a child. I would often hear adults say, It takes a whole neighborhood to raise a child, in today s economy I have to say, it no longer takes a neighborhood, instead it takes the entire community to raise a child. With the economy in the state it is currently in, so many parents have lost their jobs, therefore the security of knowing that their basic needs are being taken care of are gone. Many that donated to the center, now find themselves in the spot of needing help themselves. The 14th & Chestnut Community Center is depending upon YOU to assist us in making sure our families have a Happy Holiday Season. Please feel free to call me at the 14th & Chestnut Community , I will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and give you the names and information regarding a family, or families that need your help. Please join us in bringing smiles to our families this Christmas Holiday Season. In His Service Jeanie Edinburgh

8 Terre Haute District Office United Methodist Church 14th & Chestnut Community Center 1403 Chestnut Street Terre Haute, IN Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 616 Terre Haute, IN Dec 2017 Return Service Requested We re on the web! 14thandchestnut.weebly.com Help make a Difference in a Child s Life Here are some ways you can help out at the Center: Wills and Bequests Gifts will be invested to insure quality services for youth in the future. Memorial Honor Gifts Gifts made in memory of a deceased loved one or in honor of a family member or friend. Miranda Harper Scholarship Donations can be made to our Scholarship fund to help our students with college expenses. In-kind Gifts Gifts such as clothing, toiletries and household items can also be donated. For current list of needs, see pages 3 and 4. Monetary Donations Checks made payable to: 14th and Chestnut Community Center, 1403 Chestnut St., Terre Haute, IN Endowment Fund If you would like to contribute to our Endowment Fund through the Wabash Valley Community Foundation, contact Bill Felts at th and Chestnut Community Center 1403 Chestnut St. Terre Haute, IN After School Program Monday Friday 3:00 pm 6:00 pm Snack served at 3:00 pm Dinner served at 5:30 pm Executive Director Rev. Bill Felts Program Director Heather Slee