Beautiful Bridges of Hope

Bridges of Hope is a special evening, a night where people connect with each. Some come to volunteer their time and profession, others come to speak with those volunteers. In all, a great atmosphere surrounds over 50 poeple seeking to care or be cared about.

From my initial tally, we had 29 people (not counting volunteers).

I saw many relationships being forged and heard many say how comfortable they felt. I noticed how long people lingered - some came at 6:30p.m. and stayed all evening!

One family was struggling with a very familiar problem to many- the amount of money coming in was less than the current bills going out. Married for forty years, the husband lamented over the reality that, if he divorced his wife and lived with her, he may be able to obtain more benefits. The couple spent the evening brainstorming with two wonderful volunteers (foreclosure specailists) ideas on how to live.

We had six people return from previous Bridges nights and a number of new volunteers. Great!Special thanks to Fellowship for the hospitality; and to Rick Hartman for the voluminous hours of service. Our next Bridges is scheduled for June.

What a Year!

What a year 2008 has already been! Depending upon your sources of information, the USA is either poised for greatness, or we're heading for another Great Depression. I know our efforts have little effect on the direction of a nation, but our small "drops in the ocean" of caring can have tremendous effects on the people in our community. The already have!

Your Faith Community Service Fund has been quietly serving people week in and week out since our beginning in 2005. With a little budget, a lot of volunteers, a little faith and a lot of connections, I've seen the impact a little love can have.

Did you know Faith Community Service Fund and Bridges of Hope have over 75 active volunteers? In estimating the value our volunteers have shared with the community, in one year, based upon a salary of $18.46 per hour, our Bridges of Hope volunteers have given $49,842 in quality time. Add to this the over 1100 hours of FCSF volunteeers ($20,306), and the total is $70,148 of quality time to families!

One drop of water, added to other drops, makes a big difference. Read some of the stories of people we've served. Get involved! We cannot change the course of a nation but we can sure start a river of compassion, flowing over the hearts of people. And we need you.