Thousands of Giving Opportunities at ChristianVolunteering.org

Website Provides Directory of Thousands of Christian Volunteer Opportunities for Holidays

TechMission News Release

ChristianVolunteering.org website provides a comprehensive directory of thousands of volunteer opportunities in ministries for people who would like to volunteer during the holidays. The site has over 2,000 volunteer and short-term missions opportunities from over 1,000 organizations.

ChristianVolunteering.org’s partners include the Salvation Army, the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, World Vision, Christian Community Development Association, Here’s Life Inner City (Campus Crusade), Urban Youth Worker’s Institute and YouthPartnersNet (formerly Compassion USA).

Some sample holiday volunteer opportunities from the site include:
• Helping serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless
• Helping wrap Christmas gifts for homeless children
• Spending Thanksgiving or Christmas with low-income elders without families
• Sorting and bagging food to give to low-income families
• Volunteering at a Christmas party for homeless children

People interested in volunteering can simply visit www.christianvolunteering.org and search for volunteer opportunities in their region. After finding, an opportunity, users simply click a button to be matched to the organization to volunteer.

Online volunteer matching websites like ChristianVolunteering.org are changing the way people find volunteer opportunities, to enable them to find thousands of opportunities in a few seconds on the Web.

In addition to providing opportunities for people to volunteer in person, ChristianVolunteering.org also provides virtual volunteer opportunities where people can volunteer from home by providing services at a distance. Individuals in the USA can find opportunities to volunteer to help develop a website for a missionary organization in China or provide grant writing for a Christian school in Korea.

An individual anywhere in the world can find opportunities to serve homeless shelters and ministries in the United States by providing graphics design, legal aid, project planning, grant writing, marketing support, prayer and administrative support.

ChristianVolunteering.org represents the first major website to match volunteers with Christian volunteer service opportunities. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the value of the donated time of faith-based volunteers in 2005 was $51.8 billion dollars–which is the target market for this website.

TechMission is a Christian nonprofit social service organization with over 500 member ministries serving over 50,000 people in at-risk communities and maintains www.urbanministry.org, www.safefamilies.org, www.techmission.org and www.christianfreeware.org.

News Release provided by TechMission at ChristianNewsWire.

Children of The Americas Puts Out a Call for Toys

The heart of Children of The Americas ministry is as big as any I’ve seen. These people put the petal to the metal when it comes to feeding and educating children. Children of The Americas does things such as provide a place for the kids from parts of Tijuana to have a hearty breakfast before going to school…making sure they get to school with supplies, and even blessing them with gifts at Christmastime.

I’ve seen Children of The Americas at work, including joining them on their annual Christmas Caravan to Tijuana. God is doing awesome things through Children of the Americas.

Here’s a recent email from the group’s leader, Dave Brisbin:

Toys Needed for Upcoming 2007 Christmas Caravan Scheduled for December 29, 2007

Hi Everyone,

Hard to believe that Christmas is only weeks away, but that’s the truth. The 2007 Christmas Caravan is scheduled for the traditional first Saturday after Christmas, which falls on December 29th this year.

For those of you who haven’t been to a Caravan, it’s an incredible day of barely controlled chaos as up to 100 volunteers help distribute thousands of toys to hundreds of children at our nutrition centers in the colonias and ejido southwest of Tijuana. It’s a great day, so please put that date in your calendar. For pics and more info on the Caravan, you can click here.

In preparation for the Caravan, we’ve just received word that two of our major providers of toys for the children will not be able to participate with us in this year’s Christmas toy drive. This may leave us short on toys, so we really need your help this year.

Please consider gathering new, unwrapped toys from your own family, from friends and associates at work or church or any other group to which you belong. Durable toys that don’t require batteries or English language skills are best. Toys with lots of little parts are generally not good under remote conditions, but toy cars, action figures, dolls, make-up kits, balls, etc. are great.

If you live in Southern CA, you can call us to arrange a pickup or bring them to our warehouse. If you live farther away, call or email us to arrange shipping. We have a shipper working with us to get toys to the kids at no cost to you. Where ever you live, we can get your toys to the children.

For pickups, shipping instructions, help setting up a toy drive in your local area, or for answers to any of your questions, please call Dave Brisbin at 949-293-4259, or email him at dave@americaschildren.org.

Thanks so much for your help this Christmas–let’s put some smiles on little faces, and remember to put December 29th on your calendar to join us in Mexico!

Thanks for being there, as always!

Dave

A little bit from Children of The Americas’ About page:

Children of The Americas works to help poor children find health through nutrition and education by providing all the tools they need to compete, take their place in life, and help their children get the same opportunity.

Our work began in Santa Teresita Orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico, in 1974 when Paul Weiss founded an organization to help the girls of Santa Teresita. The work grew, and by 1984, the dream was expanded into Children of The Americas to reach children throughout our hemisphere, including children in the United States.

Go to Children of the Americas now!

Bless the Troops with Prayer, Thanksgiving Text Message, Christmas Cards

Baghdad Prayer Patrol ministry has compiled a number of ways to support U.S. troops during the holidays, number one being prayer.

This from Baghdad Prayer Patrol: 

There’s no greater blessing you can give the troops than prayer,
so if you haven’t prayed yet, STOP NOW and PRAY!

Okay, Now that you’ve prayed, you can take another step to bless them in some tangible way. Here are some groups that will help you encourage the troops, through giving, volunteering, sending notes, etc.

Do what you can to support these heroes, but don’t let your doing be a substitute for praying.

(when you send a note to the troops tell them about the “notes of gratitude” waiting for them at http://www.prayercentral.net/baghdad/salute)

Here are some ways to say “THANKS!”

Text a Thanksgiving Message:
For those seeking a quick way to show appreciation to troops serving far from home this holiday season, look no further than “Giving Thanks,” a new initiative from the Defense Department’s America Supports You program.

Between 6 a.m. Nov. 17 and midnight Nov. 22, people wishing to express gratitude to the troops for their service can text a brief one- or two-line message to 89279. Each text message sent will receive a response from an active-duty servicemember.

How easy is That? let’s make sure our heroes know we appreciate them this Thanksgiving.

Send Christmas Cards to wounded Soldiers
Leave the card envelope unsealed so they can be screened. You can put the card and unsealed envelope in a larger envelope for mailing.

Send to:
American Red Cross
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
also
American Red Cross
c/o Bethesda Naval Hospital
8901 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20814

Source: American Red Cross at Walter Reed Army Hospital and Bethesda Naval Hospital

Other Sites:
Send a Card -Let’s Say Thanks!
America Supports You
Operation USO Care Package
Online Message to Soldiers
Adopt A Platoon
Adopt A Chaplain
A Million Thanks -Cards to the Troops

Go to Baghdad Prayer Patrol now!

New Dawn Communities Blog Launches

New Dawn Communities is a ministry of World Christian Outreach. The ministry has established a school in Kenya, where the staff and facility receives 13-18 year old orphaned youth who have graduated from the 8th grade through the government funded primary education program.

The youth are willing and able to continue their education through New Dawn’s high school and vocational training center. Upon graduation students are awarded a diploma and are assisted in choosing their vocation or university.

To learn about the latest from New Dawn Communities visit its new blog at http://newdawncommunities.wordpress.com/

San Diego First Responder Supply Donation Request

This from HelpSanDiego blog:

FIRST RESPONDER SUPPLY DONATION REQUEST

The wildfires continue to burn in San Diego County, and fire crews will likely be working for many days to extinguish them. American Medical Response (AMR) continues to prepare and distribute personal care packs for the first responders of the wildfires at the fire camps. Below is the list of supplies that are most in need. The firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians are grateful for the support the media and community have given thus far.

THANK YOU!!

Revised list of needs:
Deodorant
Sunscreen
Shampoo (travel size)
Bar soap
Eye drops
Gold Bond
Chapstick
Bug spray (travel size if possible)
Empty travel bottles
Water

DONATIONS OF COTS AND PERSONAL TOILETRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED AT
AMERICAN MEDICAL RESPONSE
8808 BALBOA AVENUE, STE. 150 (BETWEEN 163 AND I-15)

To make arrangements or for questions, email info@amr-sandiego.com or call 858-492-3910.

Southern California Fires: Help Blog, Online Giving, and Reporter’s View

Online giving information for the Southern California fires can be found at Network for Good.

_________________________

There are plenty of blogs out there dealing with the California fires. Two I wanted to mention right now are Fox News correspondent Adam Housley’s blog, Housley in the House. You’ll find video postings from Malibu and Lake Arrowhead along with some life-as-a-reporter, covering fires posts. I left a comment for him to head San Diego way.

I’m sure there are more help fire victims blogs, but one that has got to be central to San Diego is the San Diego Union-Tribunes blog, http://helpsandiego.blogspot.com/. You’ll find some really good interaction between those needing help and those looking to help others…real specific as well.

Operation Compassion Teams with Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child

Operation Compassion, Operation Christmas Child Partner in Ministry

FaithNews Network

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has shared the Good News of God’s love with hurting children around the world through the simplest of gifts: shoe boxes! Filled with school supplies, toys, and personal items that are packed by caring people, these boxes help introduce children to Jesus Christ. Local believers follow up with evangelistic programs, and many precious boys and girls later receive Jesus as their Savior. Without question there is no way that Operation Christmas Child would have grown or would have had the opportunity to reach out to so many children in the Name of Jesus if it were not for the involvement of like-minded churches and organizations. Apart from the Lord, first of all, and those who pack boxes, pray, and get involved, the project simply would not happen.

Over the past several years, it has been a joy and privilege to see the Lord build the partnership with one of these like-minded ministries of the Church of God, Operation Compassion. With the shared passion to reach out in the name of Jesus and mobilize individuals and churches, the simple hands-on missions opportunity of Operation Christmas Child has become a common ground of service and effective outreach.

It requires an army of folks who provide gifts, collect the boxes during National Collection Week, and keep them moving on their journey to the processing centers where they are prepared to go literally around the world. A great part of that army has been Dave Lorency and Operation Compassion, providing items to go in shoe boxes, as well as the location and manpower around the Cleveland, TN area that has resulted in the generation of some 230,000 shoe box gifts!

In all of this, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve together and that the Lord has provided the paths for us to walk together for his glory, and for the sake of the hurting and forgotten children of the world. Many Church of God churches and groups take part in this project, and there may be some on the international side who have received gifts to distribute as part of your outreach and ministry. We would love to hear from you! Tell us how OCC has served your church and special ideas you have implemented. If you receive gifts internationally to distribute to children where you minister, we’d love to hear stories from you as well. Please write to us at: occinfo@samaritan.org.

For more information about Operation Christmas Child or to order materials, go to www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.

Send coffee to U.S. troops

Boca Java Gourmet Coffee

Boca Java will roast your coffee to order, just for you. Choose any four coffee blends or flavors shown on site. Your coffee selections today will be roasted-to-order just for you, packed in 8-oz. stay-fresh bags and delivered to you in about a week. When you place an order, two 8-oz. bags of coffee will also be delivered to our troops in your name. There is no further obligation, but if you choose to continue to receive coffee and donate to the troops, you will receive a monthly notification to confirm delivery of your coffee (or tea) selections, and two more 8-oz. bags of coffee will be delivered to the troops. Thank you for trying Boca Java’s roasted-to-order gourmet coffee and for sending a comforting taste of home to our troops each month.

Go to Operation 5 Million Cup Club now!

Camp Noah: helping children heal

Eight-year-old Emmily Woodward holds up a photocopied picture of her father, who got caught in a fire during a mission in Iraq as she talked with a group of 7- to 10-year-olds Wednesday, June 27, 2007, at Camp Noah in Baxter, Minn. The camp is a free day camp for children with parents serving in Iraq. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Camp Noah is a weeklong, faith-based day camp offered for elementary-age children in grades K-6 who have experienced disaster. It is staffed by trained camp counselors and is supported additionally by a local mental health professional. Camp Noah combines disaster recovery support for children with fun-filled recreation to form a unique and healing experience!

Go to Camp Noah now!

‘Freedom Is Not Free’ aids wounded troops, their families and the families of the fatally wounded

By FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

The U.S. led invasion of Iraq, and the military efforts in Afghanistan to uproot the terrorist infrastructure, made headlines from the start. By 2005, however, casualty reports were barely making page six news. The American public had settled back into the mundane routine of daily life. In Iraq and Afghanistan, however, injuries and fatalities were mounting daily.

It was precisely this disparity that motivated David Dominguez, a San Diego entrepreneur, to establish FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. The name he chose for the non-profit gave expression to his sentiment that the brave men and women serving in the military, and their families, were shouldering the price, and all too often the ultimate price, for the freedoms that we ALL enjoy. David enlisted long-time friend and Vietnam veteran Carl Frank. Together they began to frame the FREEDOM IS NOT FREE philosophy, ultimately formulating the mission statement under which the organization has labored since its establishment:

“Aiding wounded troops, their families and the families of the fatally wounded”

The mission epitomizes the founders’ belief that the injury or loss of a hero has a far broader effect than the specific individual. They wanted to create a safe environment where supporters would feel confident that their donations were actually going to help those most in need.

Dominguez and Frank established an intentionally lean organization with special emphasis on financial checks and balances. They deliberated at great length on the importance of a transparent model for the allocation of funds to the most worthy recipients. This requisite led to the establishment of the Purple Heart Board. They assembled a group of carefully selected, highly committed veteran and active duty Purple Heart recipients and their relatives to serve as “gatekeepers”. The Board, made up of “those who have been there”, determines how the funds raised by FREEDOM IS NOT FREE are allocated in order to respond to the innumerable number of requests received.

In a similar vain, the FREEDOM IS NOT FREE Patriot Advisory Board was established. Its primary role is to serve as an advisory body to management and assist in the promotion of FREEDOM IS NOT FREE programs and fund raising initiatives. The Patriot Advisory Board is comprised of a diverse group of individuals with complementary personal and professional backgrounds, skill-sets and experience. They all share the passion for the “mission” and the will to make a difference. They offer unbiased feedback, new ideas and an invaluable knowledge-base that contributes to FREEDOM IS NOT FREE’s operations.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE is an a-political, non-partisan 501(C)3 non-profit organization registered with the Registry of Charitable Trusts. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE’s programs and grants are made possible solely by the generous support of donors. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE receives no federal, state or governmental support or funding.

Go to FREEDOM IS NOT FREE now!