Welcome to One Body DFW

http://www.thestewpot.org

The Stewpot offers a safe haven for homeless and at-risk individuals of Dallas, providing resources for basic survival needs as well as opportunities to start a new life. Established by First Presbyterian Church in 1975, The Stewpot began serving food when church members realized no other resources were available for the homeless and hungry. The Stewpot is currently serving three meals a day, seven days a week to more than 700 people per meal in the Second Chance Café – with the assistance of over 1300 wonderful volunteers a month!

Location: The Bridge is located at 1818 Corsicana Street, Dallas, 75201, just north of Interstate 30 and 2 blocks west of the Farmers Market.  The Bridge parking lot is at the corner of Corsicana and St. Paul

Volunteers are requested to arrive 30 minutes early for orientation and preparation before we serve dinner at 6pm. ALL meal service volunteers MUST be prescheduled to serve, therefore we have registered 15 participants for the above described volunteer opportunity months in advance. With that being said, the first 15 who have committed to help that Saturday can email me, reply on the facebook event, or comment on this website to secure their spot. Volunteers, please wear closed toe shoes and leave purses and other personal items in locked cars.  If you have questions regarding the Stew Pot, please contact Jean Jones at jean.jones@thestewpot.org.

Special Olympics of Tx (SOTX) Greater Fort Worth-Area 11

The missionof Special Olympics Texas is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

What: Be an athlete chaperone for a day! We will be working to make sure they are where they need to be and to cheer them on during their various sport competitions.

All volunteers are welcome.  If all athlete-assistance positions have been filled by the time you arrive, you will be assigned as a spectator (cheerleader) or water brigade personnel.

Lunch will be provided for all day volunteers and drinking water will be provided at each venue.

Attire: Please dress for comfort and mobility. Wear comfortable shoes – you will be on your feet most of the time.

For security purposes, please make sure to bring a current photo ID with you to the volunteer check-in area and arrive early enough to check in and get to your assigned station for training.

Get ready for an awesome time, giving them all a spirit of encouragement and love. Bring some sunblock, shades and a great attitude!

Come join us for APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS PARTY for the children at The Family Place Emergency Shelter!  Helping Hands is a social and fundraising auxiliary of The Family Place, the largest family violence service provider in the Dallas area.

Activities:
~ Help children decorate terra cotta pots
~ Help children plant flowers
~ Make ice cream floats

You can help by:
~ PARTICIPATING, and
~ Bringing any of the following items:
- Four to six inch terra cotta pots for decorating (usually available at Walmart)
- Flats of flowers for planting
- Planting soil
- Vanilla ice cream
- Root beer or flavored soda for making floats
- Plastic spoons
- Cups for floats

PLEASE include in your RSVP what you will bring so that we can be sure we have everything we need for the event.

For the safety of the families staying at the Emergency Shelter, the location is confidential. Directions to the Shelter will be emailed to you prior to the event.

Did you know?

• Family violence is an epidemic in our community and our country
• According to the FBI, a woman is beaten in this country every 15 seconds.
• 70% of the children of abused women are also physically abused, and 20% are sexually abused. The majority of abusive men were either abused as children or witnessed their mothers being abused. (WomenKind, Inc.)
• The 2010 the Dallas Homeless Count 5,750 people living on Dallas streets or in shelters, up slightly from the 5,675 counted in 2009. Together women and children make up almost half of the homeless population on Dallas streets at 27% and 20% of the total, respectively in 2010. Domestic abuse/family problems were listed as the reason for homelessness by 27% of the population in 2010 down from 32% in 2009.
• In 2010, The Family Place answered 11,524 hotline and crisis calls, an increase of 53%.
• In 2010, the The Family Place Emergency Shelter Services provided food, short-term housing, counseling and supportive services to 743 women, children and men totaling 28,697 service days.

How to sign up:

1.  Confirm you will attending the event either via Facebook event or send me an email at info@onebodydfw.org.

2.  Again, for the safety of the families staying at the Emergency Shelter, the location is confidential. Directions to the Shelter will be emailed to you prior to the event.

Looking forward to sharing a beautiful and blessed time with the children!

For the  first One Body DFW volunteer event for 2011, we will be partnering up with 2 groups,  Random Acts of Kindess and the Soup Mobile! Random Acts of Kindness is a non profit organization created by a girl who grew up with her well being sometimes quite dependant on the kindness and generosity of complete strangers.  She now wants to provide ways for those of brilliant minds, compassionate hearts, with understanding and ability to do something to improve someone else’s station in life.

The Soupmobile is a mobile SoupKitchen that began feeding the homeless in 2003 based out of Deep Ellum.  Their #1 mission  is feeding the homeless.  Jesus said ‘Feed MY Sheep.’   The SoupMobile is now we serves an amazing 200,000 meals per year, including over 500 meals a day, Monday thru Friday.  We will be scheduled for February 12th from 10:30-1pm.  The goal for them each week is to make more than 1000 sandwiches. The location will be at eXcuses eXtreme cafe in Deep Ellum.

3025 Main Street
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 741-1111

THE MOST IMPORTANT GIFT IS YOURSELF, AND BRINGING ITEMS IS OPTIONAL. HOWEVER, IF YOU’D LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE PLEASE STATE WHAT YOU’D LIKE TO BRING IN YOUR RSVP TO HELP WITH OUR PLANNING OF THE EVENT.

1 loaf of bread makes 11 sandwiches
16 slice pkgs of lunchmeat, bologna or whatever’s on sale
16 slice pkgs of cheese if you can (if not, just meat is OK)
Mustard
1000 zip top sandwich bags (each sammie in a bag)
2 sets of gloves for each 1 attending

How to sign up:

Click on the link: http://www.meetup.com/randomacts/calendar/16026230/?from=list&offset=0

1.  Give them your name, email and password (right hand side of page)

2.  They will send you a confirmation email

3.  RSVP for upcoming event: Bologna and Cheese Sandwiches for Soupmobile February 12th (make sure you have the correct date!)

Let’s start off the year enriching others lives by blessing others with our time, talents and hearts for God’s glory together.  Hope to see you there!

As the holiday season is upon us, let us join forces to end  the year on a great note with a service project!

Website: http://operationcaredallas.org/

Mission: To provide for the physical and spiritual needs of the homeless, men, women, and children of Dallas and beyond by facilitating services and sharing the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Event Details: Reuniting the Family: A Christmas to Remember
‘Tis the season’ for sharing the spirit of Christmas. Operation Care International will again host the nation’s largest Christmas party for the homeless at the Dallas Convention Center on Saturday, December 18th with a special recognition of our homeless veterans.

Our goals:  We will be donating our time and services by arranging and preparing goods, decorations and materials for later transportation to the Dallas Convention Center for the Christmas Party. This is an important preparation activity where volunteers will be GREATLY APPRECIATED.

When: December 11th, 2010 1-4pm

Warehouse Location: 3113 Glenfield Ave, Dallas, Tx 75233

We hope that you and many other willing hands are able to join in on this project to help others partake in the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ this holiday season.

Hey – it’s that time again! Time for another great volunteer opportunity. This weekend, we’ll be helping at the North Texas Food Bank. They have a warehouse where they store, pack, and deliver food items to needy families. Come join in as we help organize and sort these goods.  We’ve signed up for 20 volunteer spots, so bring your friends!

Where: 4500 S. Cockrell Hill Rd. Dallas Texas, 75236.

When: Saturday, October 9th @ 1-4pm

Website: www.ntfb.org

IMPORTANT: For safety reasons, wear closed-toe shoes or they won’t let you help! No flip-flops!

Many thanks to the guys and girls who braved the heat to help plant and trim at Family Gateway in June! I will post the few pictures I have sooner or later.  

It’s been a while since One Body DFW’s last volunteering event. I apologize for the lack of updates to the One Body DFW website, but thanks to those for checking it and asking me about our events   August’s event will be at Buckner’s Shoes for Orphans Warehouse. I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity since it’s such an awesome minstry (http://shoesfororphansouls.org/).  

When: August 28,2010, 1:30PM-4:30PM

Where: Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid
5405 Shoe Drive
Mesquite, Texas 75149  

Unfortunately, I will be out of town that day, but Rebekah from VBC – Garland has thankfully agreed to be this month’s contact person. We signed up for 15 spots, so hopefully we will get those all filled! I don’t think there’s an age limit for this so feel free to bring the younger ones.   Hope you guys can make it!

Where: Gateway Apartments, 4712 Gaston Avenue Dallas, TX 75246

When: Saturday, June 5^th 10AM

What: June Community Service Opportunity – “Faith Through Flowers”

We’re going to do a landscaping/beautification project at Gateway Apartments. I’m asking each volunteer to buy a PERENNIALS (Any color. Approx. $10 worth) at your local Wal-Mart/Lowes/Home Depot and bring it with you in addition to whatever gardening tools you have. We will start planting at 10AM.

One Body DFW Contact: Ellen Vuong

As I’m organizing the landscaping/beautification project at Gateway Apartments, I spoke to Shama Shams, Family Gateway Community Relations Manager, to gain a better understanding of the organization and its clients. The question I really wondered about was, “How does someone find themselves living in transitional housing?”  Shama explained that multiple contributing factors often play a part in homelessness: lack of work skill, lack of role models, different value systems, lack of values of self sufficiency, etc. She encounters “Generations of Welfare,” which is when the children, who have homeless parents using welfare, grow up and live out the same situations.

The goal of Family Gateway is to provide housing for employable individuals and then teach them job and life skills. Currently, Gateway Apartment has 74 residents, 48 of whom are children (under 17 years old). The program’s process:

1.  The family is referred to the shelter by another social service organization such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Interfaith Housing Coalition. Clients do not walk in directly from the streets. The family applies for admission to the Family Gateway Center located in downtown Dallas. One of the requirements is that they provide an official letter of homelessness from the state. Housing here is temporary (10-12 weeks). Clients complete “Phase 1” of the Family Gateway’s curriculum: life skills classes that include money management, computer training, etc.
2. If there is an available apartment, the family transitions to Gateway Apartments (separate location) and live there for a period up to 1 year. Here, they complete “Phase 2” of the Family Gateway’s curriculum. Residents have weekly individual check-in meetings with the apartment caseworker to monitor progress. Some sobering thoughts:  Not everyone succeeds in the program because a lifestyle change is ultimately a matter of individual choice.  

So why flowers?  Well, why not? Actually, Shama asked us to help make the apartment complex feel less like an “institution” and more like a home. I hope the flowers will serve as a beautiful reminder to the residents of God’s love for them. It’s always nice to come home to a place that is welcoming.

Note: The Kids Activity Day on April 17^th was cancelled due to weather. The rescheduled date and details will be posted soon.

May 1^st – 2nd is “Go and Be” weekend (www.goandbe.org) One Body DFW will not all be volunteering together at one event (similar to Mission Arlington) Instead, please anticipate splitting up into smaller groups and choosing whatever activity most interests you!

Springcreek Community Church of Garland has organized numerous volunteer opportunities.

How to SIGN UP:

• Go to www.springcreekchurch.org
• Click on “Events.”
• Click on “Go and Be” on the right side.
• Click on “Go and Be sign up page” link. Once you get there you will be able to see all of the projects and details.
• On THIS One Body DFW post, click “Sign me Up!” and leave your name, phone, and e-mail, time slot and event that you want to help at.
• I will forward your contact information to the Springcreek Community Church coordinator
• There is no deadline for sign ups, but some of the time slots are going quick.

Some members of One Body DFW will be volunteering at the Garage Giveaway. Details:

Name of Organization: Springcreek Community Church of Garland

Address:  2660 Belt Line Road, Garland, TX. 75044

Organization’s Contact: Lorraine Kempf (972-494-5683)

Time Commitment : 3.5 Hr Shifts

Project Description:  Think Garage Sale, but everything’s free. Springcreek Community Church is giving away donations that are collected during the week.  Donations are accepted on Thursday, April 29h from 4pm-8pm and Friday, April 30th from 10am-8pm.  They are still in need of prayer team, security (which can be anyone), runners (people who help carry stuff to cars), and clean up crew.

Where: Gateway Apartments, 4712 Gaston Avenue Dallas, TX 75246

www.familygateway.org

When: Saturday, April 17^th 1-3PM

What: April Community Service Opportunity

We are hosting a Kids’ Activity Day from 1-3pm. Activities will include: face painting, games, prizes, balloons, etc. Volunteers will be running the activities and interacting with kids and parents.

One Body DFW Contact: Ellen Vuong, member of Vietnamese Baptist Church of Garland

A few weeks ago, I met with Shama Shams, the Community Relations Manager for Family Gateway. Family Gateway is a social service organization that helps homeless families transition into permanent housing. Family Gateway has two locations: a center in downtown Dallas and “Gateway Apartments” on Gaston Avenue. The residents at Family Gateway can call the apartments “home” for a period up to 1 year, and everyone pays rent on a scale based on their earnings. As part of the program, the residents receive career counseling and must abide by rules regarding drug use, curfew, and chores.

I asked Shama to identify Family Gateway’s greatest need and how our group could help. She asked if our group could help with a landscaping project to help make the apartment complex feel more like a home and “less like an institution.” So, that’s what we’re doing! In JUNE.

On April 17^th, we are going to host a Kids’ Activity Day from 1-3pm. Instead of just stopping by and leaving flowers, I figured it’d be more worthwhile to get to know the tenants who call Family Gateway, “home.” I invite you to stop by to have some fun with the kids and parents while familiarizing yourself with the location and thinking of some landscaping ideas.