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Churches Help DHS and Foster Kids |
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When the State Department of Human Services (DHS) moved into new headquarters this fall, they asked area non-profit organizations to help with decorating the new children's intake rooms that had been created as a part of the remodeling project. The rooms are used as spaces where children can meet with their birth parents as well as other meetings involving the children. Often, foster children must spend a lot of time in these rooms, so it was desirable to make them as kid-friendly as possible. |
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Churches Have a Blast in Their Neighborhoods |
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All summer long, including—but not limited to—National Night Out in August, churches partied with their neighbors. Some had block parties with music and bouncy houses. Others hosted neighborhood resource fairs, in which families could connect with ministries and agencies providing valuable services. Some churches organized fix-up brigades and volunteer-service days—for example West Hills Church, which sent teams to Family Building Blocks, Easter Seals, Union Gospel Mission, Harritt Elementary School, and the nearby apartment complex. |
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How far have we come in 10 years? |
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Ten summers ago, two tractor-trailer rigs from Texas pulled up at Walker Middle School. They were loaded with food. A long line of people stretched from Walker into the nearby cannery district. The people had come to receive two bags of food. Sent from Texas. Many local churches and ministries (including SLF) were involved in the outreach, which was called “Convoy of Hope.” The Salem team engaged the Texas ministry to bring the trucks to Salem as a demonstration of Christ’s love to those in need. It was a pretty cool concept: invite families to a central location not only for the food, but a family carnival, as well. There was a bouncy house, hot dogs, snow cones, face-painting, puppets, balloons. We all agreed it was a superb format for Christ-like outreach. But something was sideways. Not quite right. |
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