Posts Tagged ‘Giving’
Standing in the gaps
Posted on: January 6, 2014
BY MIKE SHADOAN
According to the National Education Association (NEA) website in an article entitled Facts about Child Nutrition, “Missing meals and experiencing hunger impair children’s development and achievement. Studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Pediatrics, and the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry document the negative effects of hunger on children’s academic performance and behavior in school. Hungry children have lower math scores. They are also are more likely to repeat a grade, come to school late, or miss it entirely.”
Former Chair of Gleaners Food Bank and current City Mosaic staff member, Carrie Petty knows a thing or two about the fight against hunger. Petty put it bluntly, “One in six Hoosiers are hungry and there is currently no food system for support over holiday breaks. The church must stand in the gap.” Petty also stated, “There is no end in sight to the current hunger crisis and we are heading towards a hunger cliff when government cutbacks come into play. Our food lines are getting longer each month. There are over 5,000 malnourished (kids) in IPS alone.”
This Christmas season, Northview decided to use its Christmas concert to “stand in a gap.” The proceeds from concert ticketing will be used to provide lunches for kids at inner-city schools who aren’t able to get a nutritious lunch during their Christmas break. Northview’s Outreach Pastor Wayland Thompson explained why. “We knew we wanted to make a big impact in the city. We figured that if we charged a small ticket price for the Christmas concert, that due to the popularity of the event, we could make a huge difference in the lives of some of our neighbors on Indy’s east side. We are partnering with Brookside Church and City Mosaic to be more involved in School 54–and through deepening this existing relationship over the last year, we have been able to get to know many of the families, teachers, and administrators. The more you get to know someone, the more you are invited into their lives and see opportunities to be a blessing,” said Thompson.
The Christmas concert raised $20,000. The money will impact over 1,200 kids that attend Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) 54 and 15. Student populations at both schools are over 95% reduced/free lunch which means the majority of students depend on the breakfast and lunch they receive through school as their main source of nutrition for the day. Food boxes will contain items such as tuna, cereal bars, fruit cups, oatmeal, soup and pasta.
Northview’s idea has caught the attention of other organizations in the area. Thompson said, “Because of our partnership with City Mosaic, A Partnership of Churches—the idea that was born at Northview—was shared with the other City Mosaic church partners. One church in particular, Connection Pointe Church in Brownsburg, organized a food drive to coincide with the purchase of the food. The public schools in Brownsburg found out and did a drive for their students at every school in their system.”
Students standing in the gaps for other students…. so how did that work out? Thompson exclaimed, “Not sure how to describe it other than it (food) was stacked seven feet high and covered the entire stage in the Brookside gymnasium.” Thompson also pointed out that other churches were involved at different levels.
Thompson commented on the synergy of the groups involved. “The coolest part of this story is that because churches and communities came together and caught the vision to feed students over the winter break, not all of the money raised from the Christmas concert was needed to purchase food. Because there was so much food donated, we will be able to use some of the money raised to impact the neediest of students over spring break in a few months. It’s so encouraging to see our partnership with City Mosaic bring churches of all different backgrounds together to make an impact for those in need.”
There’s no shortage of gaps to stand in so please consider getting involved. Thompson gratefully concluded, “I am so thankful to be a part of a church that gives so freely. There are so many opportunities to serve at School 54 and Brookside right now. I would invite everyone to come and meet some incredible neighbors in the city.”
Christmas Compassion at Northview
Posted on: January 4, 2014
BY HEATHER GOBLE-SORRELLS
Christmas shopping, lights, presents and visits to Santa Claus are all underway the last few weeks before Christmas. In all the hustle, bustle and gift-giving madness that consumes us every December, do we ever really stop to think of those who are less fortunate? Or those who are not part of our own family and circle of friends?
Northview’s Christmas Compassion does just that and has caused a shift in the church’s mindset.
Northview’s Christmas Compassion tree (photo by Denise McCool)
This year marked the third annual Christmas Compassion which was born of other Christmas charity drives in prior years–Share the Blessing and Christmas Outside the Box. Through Christmas Compassion, Northview asks church attendees to take a tag from a Christmas tree and buy something listed on the tag. The tags are classified by age group and gender. They list a need, want and family item. Through this drive, Northview was “able to see the thankfulness from each family,” said Shanna Thompson, Northview’s Good Neighbor Coordinator.
These are some of the items families brought back to church to donate: socks, underwear, hats, gloves, clothes, toys, books, board games, diapers, wipes…and a whole host of other items!
The gifts are all going to local families in Hamilton and Marion Counties. Specifically, the gifts go to Life Centers which serve women in crisis pregnancy, Head Start of Hamilton County which provides preschool to underprivileged families, Indianapolis Public School 54, Good Samaritan Network, Brookside Community Church and a few Latino churches in downtown Indianapolis.
“Each of the families receiving the gifts are extremely thankful for each item,” said Thompson.
Jake’s Garden
Posted on: September 21, 2013
BY DRAKE D’AMBRA
In the northwest corner of Monon Trail Elementary School’s property is a garden. It’s not just any garden. It’s the Jake McConahay Memorial Garden. Jake passed away August 31, 2011, after a tough battle with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that attacks the soft tissue and organs.
Although Jake passed away at 7 years old, he chose to make the most of his life. Tosha McConahay, Jake’s mother, asked Jake what he thought the children at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health need that they don’t receive.
“He thought about it for a while, and he perked up and said, ‘I want to collect 1,000 Pillow Pets for kids at Riley because sometimes kids need something to cuddle with when they are going through tough stuff,’” Tosha said.
The McConahay family didn’t let Jake’s wish go unanswered. Northview Church caught wind of Jake’s story and goal and joined the effort.
“Pillow Pets seemed like a natural way to partner with Jake and his family, help Jake meet his goal and give other kids and families an opportunity to serve,” Shanna Thompson, Northview’s urban outreach coordinator, said.
Jake saw his goal of 1,000 Pillow Pets reached and changed it to one million. However, Jake’s health began to rapidly decline during the 2011 summer, but he never lost sight of his dream. He made his mom pinky promise that the Pillow Pets would continue, and she didn’t break her promise.
In February 2012, six months after Jake passed, his cause reached center stage.
Super Bowl XLVI came to Indianapolis, Ind., and brought along Super Baskets of Hope—a nonprofit that provides gifts to children diagnosed with cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. Super Baskets of Hope joined the cause and carried on Jake’s dream.
While handing out Pillow Pets with Super Baskets of Hope, Tosha met former Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell. “It was what Coach Caldwell said to me that shook me more than anything. He said, ‘Your son accomplished more in his 7 years than what most do in a lifetime.’”
Jake would be proud of his family and all of those who have kept his dream alive.
“I have lost count of all the Pillow Pets, but my guess is we are over 400,000 across the U.S., Canada, Alaska and South Africa,” Tosha said.
The international outreach of Jake’s Pillow Pets would bring a smile to Jake’s face. The Jake McConahay Memorial Garden would, too.
Northview conducts Good Neighbor Weekend each year in the fall. The goal is to get the church’s congregation out of the church and into the community as volunteers.
During the 2012 weekend, 12 volunteers joined the McConahay family to help build a memorial garden for Jake at Monon Trail Elementary School, the school Jake attended.
“It was one of those moments when you see people doing something for the betterment of someone else. I’m getting cold chills just talking about it,” Monon Trail Elementary School Principal Mike Hall said.
The garden contains a patio and two green benches so that classes can utilize the space and students can enjoy the garden during recess. Some of the teachers are known to take their students to the garden to read poetry.
Jake loved animals. “I think Animal Planet was designed just for him because he was a walking, talking Animal Planet,” Tosha said.
He also enjoyed butterflies, so the volunteers and McConahay family planted purple-flowered butterfly bushes in the garden. The butterflies are frequent visitors of the garden and continue to dance around it, a symbol of celebration for Jake’s life.
“(The garden is) about preserving Jake’s memory and continuing his cause—giving. His focus was on giving to others despite his condition. I’m sure he would be happy in seeing that this garden continues to give to the kids at Monon Trail,” David Holaday, who led and organized the Northview volunteers, said.
Monon Trail hopes to keep advancing the garden as years go on. Although preliminary and nothing more than conversation, Hall hopes the garden will be part of a learning lab for students. He noted a plan is needed before further steps can take place and no such plan is in place yet.
In the meantime, the butterflies will continue to fly at Jake’s garden.
Jake didn’t lose his fight with cancer. He beat it. His memory and spirit will live on in the lives he graced. The giving cause he stood for will continue through the donation of Pillow Pets and his memorial garden.
“I want people to see that you don’t have to be a millionaire to make a difference, you don’t have to be a certain age or a certain class. You can be like a 7-year-old boy with a big heart to make a difference,” Tosha said.
by Brooke Reynolds
Mt. Zion Apostolic Church attendee Nashika Withers was desperate to have Christmas provided for her family this past year – so much so that she called Fox 59 to ask for help. Northview Church member Todd Melloh saw the broadcast and felt moved by God to help. His employer, Samaritan’s Feet, provided shoes for Nashika and her four daughters, and Melloh and his wife donated to the family as well – but he knew that God wanted him to take this opportunity a step further.
Melloh sent out a request for “Christmas help” in an e-blast to a couple hundred people in his address book, and within minutes, he got responses from people all over the country who wanted to pitch in and help the Withers family.
The amount given in money, donations and services is overwhelming. More than $3,000 in cash and gift cards came in. The money currently goes to the Withers family in monthly installments, but some of it also went other Northview Church families who expressed a need for some extra financial assistance during the holidays.
Melloh’s e-blast inspired families to clean out their closets and give away their like-new clothes, J. Crew coats, games, books, boom box, crafts, Crocs and boots. The Withers family “screamed with joy,” Melloh says, when they received a donated TV. They were also appreciative of a donated dresser, as the girls’ clothes had always been packed into garbage bags for everyday storage. They also got a washer and dryer installed, and someone fixed the brakes on Nashika’s car.
But that wasn’t all. The donors made it possible for the Withers family to experience a magical couple days together, right before Christmas. Melloh and his family and friends picked the Withers family up at their apartment on Dec. 23rd to get Nashika’s hair professionally styled. While she was there, they took the four girls to Macy’s for dress shopping and Target for shoe shopping. “As we went past the pillow section at Macy’s, the girls commented that they didn’t have pillows to sleep on,” Melloh says. “After we picked our mouths up off the ground, we bought each of them pillows.”
That evening, the Withers family checked into a room at the Westin Hotel. “Their eyes lit up as they walked into the Westin lobby and saw how nice and big the hotel was,” Melloh says. They were amazed at how comfortable their beds were – Melloh says their own beds are infested with bed bugs.
Melloh then announced that they had a limo waiting outside their hotel to drive them to dinner at Harry and Izzy’s. The limo toured the downtown streets for a great view of the Christmas lights before they arrived for dinner. “They had never stayed at a downtown hotel, nor been in a limo, or ever had dinner downtown,” Melloh says.
When the Withers family woke in their luxurious hotel room on Christmas Eve morning, Melloh delivered Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Then, while their apartment was being sprayed for bed bugs, the family was treated to lunch and a movie at Circle Centre Mall. Melloh says two of the girls had never been to the movies before.
Nashika & family at Christmas (Submitted photo)
And on Christmas Day, Nashika and her four girls had multiple presents to open thanks to the donors’ generosity.
Melloh still talks with Nashika at least once a week. “We want to help her even outside of the holidays,” he says. He gave the leftover funds to Mt. Zion Church for them to administer to Nashika in $200 increments. The church also helps to track her progress with her life goals and successes. Nashika is enrolled at Indy Excel Academy and is on her way to earning her GED.
Today, Melloh is working hard to find the Withers family a clean home, a new car and a safe school system. “The stories the girls shared about the kids in School 27 would scare any mother or father,” Melloh says. “The area is not safe; the kids don’t go outside. They are locked in the apartment the minute they get home from school.”
Melloh acknowledges that most people want to give, but they want to be able to trust the source that’s passing out the donations. Melloh puts it this way:
“Nashika knows that she needs to help herself. We are trying to empower her to do that. If she doesn’t reach certain achievable milestones, our help will go away. She wants a hand up, not a hand out. However, we will work hard to prevent her from falling down again. We are going to try our best to keep her on track to becoming self-sufficient. Based on our encounters with the girls, Nashika is doing a great job of raising them with what she has.”
“She is a strong Christian woman — a loving mom with four beautiful, smart and intelligent girls with a lot of dreams,” Melloh says.
She just needed people to believe in her.
If you are interested in helping the Withers family, please contact Todd Melloh at tmelloh@yahoo.com or 417-3525.
by Karyn Tarnacki
2009 was a horrible year….
January – $20,000 pay cut in order to keep my job.
March – Uncle passed away of pancreatic cancer.
June – Father passed away from liver disease. A day after my father passed away, I broke my toe at his house. Three days later, I had to have surgery on my toe.
July – Potential of losing my home due to pay cut and not being able to pay my bills. Also considered bankruptcy.
*****
During all this turmoil, I had discovered Northview that February. I was captivated by Lead Pastor Steve Poe’s acknowledgement of many suffering from the recession. I felt he was speaking directly to me in his messages. Throughout my awful year, I periodically reached out to Pastor Steve via his Facebook email for support, guidance or just to put my thoughts into words in black and white.
He encouraged me to speak with someone at Northview about my thoughts on filing bankruptcy. I honestly could not believe that he cared enough about me to even refer me to someone. Shortly thereafter, Pastor Steve mentioned Financial Peace University in one of the services. I sent Steve a message asking how to find out more about the class. I wasn’t sure how in the world I was going to pay for it; ninety-nine dollars might as well have been $999.
The very next day, I received a phone call from Teaching Pastor Stan Killebrew. He said, “A little birdy told me you were interested in learning more about FPU. I have great news for you: I have a scholarship to offer you that will allow you to take the class! A gentleman who took the class last year decided to give back by paying for nine people to go this year!” I was elated and at a loss for words!
The class was amazing! I talked a great friend of mine into taking the course with me. We looked forward to the class every week. Dave Ramsey is so captivating and funny — it’s difficult to not listen and pay attention.
Since he has been down the same road and can speak with confidence about the experience, and I can even see how he recovered, why wouldn’t I listen? We honestly were sad when we were done with our 13-week course. Molly and I met great people that were at our table each week. We learned about everyone’s family and truly bonded with our new friends.
As of March of 2010, I am completely debt-free! I tithe more than I ever have in my life. I have my $1,000 emergency fund and have now begun to contribute to my retirement fund. The materials and tools that you receive as part of the program are incredible – they’re easy to understand and implement. Certainly, it is scary when you put it all on paper. You wonder, “How in the world is this even possible?”
All I can say is: You have to believe! If you do, you WILL achieve. Period. It is that simple. I am a true example, and I never in a million years thought that in the heat of my darkest days, with the financial burden I carried on my shoulders, it was possible.
Giving back to the program was not even a second thought. I was not able to give as much as the gentleman who paid for my class. I did, however, give $200 for two people that may be in the same financial situation as I was one year ago, so they may also be blessed with this amazing opportunity.
All I can say is that Northview Church and Pastor Steve have been my saving grace. God guided me when I needed Him most. He has given me strength, optimism and a new church family that pulled me through some of my toughest, darkest days. I cannot thank Northview enough.
Editor’s Note: If you wish to take Financial Peace University, it is being offered at the Carmel campus starting on Jan. 20. Sign up at www.northviewchurch.us/nu.
by Katie Mayes
It started with a sermon. Now 6,000 Haitians have clean water, and one family’s perspective on Christmas has been radically challenged.
During last year’s “Christmas Outside the Box” series, Lead Pastor Steve Poe encouraged everyone to give a portion of their Christmas money away to those who critically need help. One weekend, he showed a video about a young girl who walked miles to get clean water, the only source of comfort for her sick, weak siblings.
Over the following weeks, Northview attendee Roger was haunted by the images of children who could only crawl on their bellies in the dirt.
“I’ve seen a lot of suffering and hurt, but that video made me cry,” said Roger. “I began to have same dream over and over. Every time, little children were standing around me, asking for help, telling me they were thirsty.”
Finally, Roger told his wife, Mary Jane, about the dream. She fully supported his desire to give, and so they immediately purchased a water purification system through New Life International (http://waterfortheworld.com/). This ministry builds water purification systems here in Indiana and installs them in thirsty countries, providing clean water to villages, orphanages and schools for a fraction of the cost of digging a well.
But this gift wasn’t enough. Roger knew God was asking for more, and his wife kept encouraging him to keep giving.
“I told Mary Jane we needed to do more, and she didn’t hesitate. She said, ‘All we have is because of God and it all belongs to Him, so let’s just do whatever we can.’”
Then Roger learned of a team that was planning a trip in October to install two water purification systems near Cape Haitian. If the team received $1,000 more, they could install a third system which would help 2,000 more children.
Roger and Mary Jane began spreading the word and soon raised enough money to install two more systems. By this point, Roger had committed to travel with the team to Haiti and help install the water purification systems.
“Here is proof that you can never out-give God,” said Roger. “By the time we started making reservations to go, there was money received for six purification units.”
During the trip, an outbreak of cholera began spreading just a few miles from Cape Haitian, but the team witnessed miracles and God’s protection every step of the way.
In a certain village, one minister was extremely worried about the cholera reaching the villagers and the orphanage, which housed 75 kids. He prayed that God would send help and the very next day, Roger and the team arrived to install a purification system.
For Roger and Mary Jane’s family, the messages at Northview have shown them God’s plan for all Christians.
“We [always] tithed our time, our talents and our money, but until coming to Northview, I don’t think I was really alive and involved the way I was intended to be,” said Roger. “Those messages demonstrated to me that one person becomes two, becomes six, becomes many and becomes the body of Christ. This is all God’s work and He made it happen.”
by Scott Hiller
Wow, is it the Christmas season already? If “Elf” and “Christmas Vacation” on your TV screen aren’t enough to answer this question, one look at the Brookside Church calendar would say, “Yes!” What a time of joy and celebration!
That’s because this year, unlike in the past, Brookside has multiple events planned throughout the month of December and is calling this exciting group of events, “The Brookside Christmas Experience.”
This year’s Experience includes:
Brookside Christmas Festival on Dec. 12 – Following the service on this Sunday families will be treated to a multi-faceted Christmas celebration. Urban Volunteer Coordinator, Beth Shelby, says, “Families will enjoy a box lunch, crafts, pictures and pre-register for the Christmas Store. Children will have the opportunity to shop for parents at this time.”
Christmas Dinner on Dec. 19 – After the Sunday service, a special Christmas dinner will be served.
Christmas Store on Dec. 21 & 22 – The “store” will be open for parents to come in and select gifts for their children.
Beth says, “Each event builds on the next. It is our prayer that we will have new families step foot into Brookside Community Church, possibly three times within one month. It is our prayer that through providing these events, our near-eastside neighbors will feel the love of Christ and witness the kingdom working together.”
Are you looking for a way to get involved? The first opportunity is through the Gift Drive. Gifts can be donated for the Christmas Store by dropping them off in the Good Neighbor space or the Urban Ministry Cart at Northview. The gift drive is taking place through Dec. 16. A wish list is available at these locations as well.
There are many volunteer opportunities related to the Brookside Christmas Event. If you would like to get involved, these opportunities are listed on Northview’s Good Neighbor website. Beth will also be at Northview’s Carmel campus before and after weekend services with the Urban Ministry cart to answer any questions.
It’s an exciting time at Brookside as these events embody the broad view of Northview’s Christmas Series, “Come Home for Christmas.” As Lead Pastor Steve Poe said, “Christmas is not about us.”
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