Missions
The missions of Wilson are varied and far reaching. Here are a few examples of ways that the folks at Wilson are helping out those in need:
Westside CARES
Weekly Report for 2/15/2012 from Trinity UMC
Here's this week's food pantry needs:
Tuna, canned fruit, beans & vegetables, pasta, spaghetti sauce, cereal, Mac & Cheese, Ramen Noodles and hand soap.
Served this week:
The Food Pantry fed 27 Families ~ 82 People
Commodities were handed out to 58 Families ~ 137 People
Westside CARES Annual Banquet
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.
Hosted by Church of Jesus Christ, LDS, 150 Pine Avenue
Entertainment by the Colorado Springs Children’s' Chorale
Tickets are $10 and available at the door or directly from Westside CARES.
For tickets or more information contact Maryann Stadjuhar, 389-0759 ext 104,
Maryann.Stadjuhar@westsidecares.org.
5K Fun Run for Westside CARES
Saturday, April 14, 2012 at America the Beautiful Park! Watch for details...
Current Needs: We are in dire need of shampoo, soap and women’s hygiene products.
Call for Volunteers
Social Network: Westside CARES needs someone to help maintain the agency Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Web Site Administrator: A tech savvy volunteer is needed to help make regular updates and changes to the Westside CARES web site. One to two hours monthly.
Trucker with a Truck: Westside CARES is in need of a strong volunteer with a truck to pick up food from Care and Share, SAM’s Club, etc. on a regular basis; able to lift up to 40 pounds repeatedly. Usually about 3-4 trips a month, scheduled at least a week in advance.
Thursday Evening Neighbor Advocate: Westside CARES is in need of a volunteer to fill the Neighbor Advocate position on Thursdays from 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM. Responsibilities include, interviewing neighbors, assessing needs, providing Westside CARES services or making referrals to other area agencies. Training provided.
2012 Gardening Team: Last year’s community garden experiment was so successful that Westside CARES will be expanding the program from 2 to 4 raised beds in 2012. The team’s first meeting will be scheduled in March to begin planning for spring planting. The community garden is located at the Westside Community Center at 1628 West Bijou Street. No experience is necessary, just a desire to help grow fresh produce for our pantry programs.
If interested in either of these positions, please contact Deb Mitguard @ 389-0759 or email at Debra.Mitguard@westsidecares.org
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WESTSIDE CARES CLOSURES
Monday, January 2, 2012
Remember, Westside CARES follows the School District 11 snow closure schedule. When D 11 closes for snow, so does Westside CARES but when D 11 has a late start, Westside CARES opens at the normal time.
Haiti Mission Trip - March 21 - 29
Wilson Haiti Mission Trip Update: On March 21, a team of 14 from Wilson UMC will be traveling to Haiti to work with Respire Haiti. Respire Haiti started one year ago in Gressier Haiti, and has grown to serve over 350 children in their Christian School. They operate two feeding programs every Saturday serving 700 children. More information can be found at Respite Haiti. The team is full, but we do have needs for some partial sponsorship. If you would like to help sponsor someone on this trip, please contact Chris or Mara Hagan.
Habitat for Humanity
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The Apostles Build House dedication ceremony was held on Sunday, December 18th. The keys were turned over to a deserving family and the house is now a home Thanks to all of you that have donated your effort or your dollars in support this house. Wilson volunteers donated about 200 hours of work and about one twelfth the cost of the house. For the third year in a row, WUMC and eleven other local churches helped another local family experience a Christmas miracle of the gift of a warm, safe and secure home. In the last 7 years, WUMC has helped pay for and build homes for about a dozen local families in four different neighborhoods in cooperation with Pike’s Peak Habitat for Humanity. If you have any questions, please contact Bob Vozzola. |
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Click here to visit the Apostle's Build webpage.
Shoes and Coats for Afghanistan
The pictures below are of children in the day school for orphans located in Mazar e- Sharif, Afghanistan. The school is operated by the Partnership in Academics and Development, a USA Non-Governmental Organization under authority of the Afghan Department of Education .It is identified informally as the Seeds of Hope School. Children in the school receive new shoes and coats annually under a project further identified as the Helping Hands Project.
The Helping Hands Project begin in 2003 when George Calhoun (a Wilson UMC member) visited the school in connection with his volunteer work in Mazar. The project has distributed the shoes and coats continuously since 2003, usually in the Fall before cold weather sets in. Members of Wilson UMC have assisted in providing funds to the project over the years. This year, 180 children, some of whom are pictured here, received their shoes/boots and coats in October - before the snow started.
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Global Hope
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In February of 1991 Sue Jessen traveled to Romania with her daughter, Cheri Walker, to look at the possibility of adopting one of thousands of children living in an orphanage system that was overcrowded, understaffed, and unable to care for the number of children being abandoned. |
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As a result of that trip, Cheri and her husband John adopted Loredana when she was only five weeks old. They found her in the city of Arad on the western side of the country. In January of 1993 Randy Jessen and Cheri traveled back to Romania in search of Loredana’s older sister, Ana. Randy and Sue adopted Ana into their family.
The adoption of children has opened many doors for mission ministry. Since their first trips in 1991 and 1993, Randy and Sue traveled extensively in the country and led mission teams from American churches.
Global Hope was founded in the Fall of 1996 when Randy and Sue gathered friends together who had traveled to Romania as members of mission teams. The goal was to create a structure that could serve as a mission agency for the growing mission ministry in Romania.
Projects have provided medical supplies for children, support for Christian nursing students, relief for the orphanage system, and evangelistic efforts in the western area. Today, the ministry of Global Hope includes one children’s home in Arad, Romania, and ongoing support for children in foster families. Children are brought out of the state orphanage system and raised in Christian homes. Childcare workers and house parents are all members of the Christian community in Romania.
Global Hope is an official Advance Special project of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church, which includes Colorado, Utah and parts of Wyoming. They now have supporters in Chicago, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan and elsewhere. Expanding the base of support will not keep them from continuing to administer Global Hope here in the U.S. with all-volunteer labor: they fully intend to keep every dollar possible going overseas. Currently, at least 95% of every dollar contributed to Global Hope’s general fund goes directly to operations in Romania and the Rescue Center in Kenya.
The Garden Project
The garden at Ana’s House is looking better and better! With God’s help, and the support of the First United Methodist Church of Durango four years in a row, the end result they have been striving for has arrived: they’ve produced more in the garden than they have need of, and are heading to the market to sell from the abundance! They will keep 20% of what they earn in return for their work, and the rest will be reinvested into the garden project. A local Italian restaurant owned by Christians has "contracted" with Ana’s House as their provider. So every morning they take fresh vegetables to the restaurant as well. The purpose of this project is to develop a business and to develop new skills in the children, skills that will help them as they make their way into the world. Ana’s House invites all to come and visit, and taste the produce yourselves!
Heifer Project International
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With the advent of Rally Sunday just around the corner and the beginning of a new Sunday School year, I would like to emphasize the importance of your donations to the Heifer Project. Aside from the fact that your generosity ensures the most effective means of fighting poverty and hunger across the world, it also provides critical support in terms of natural disasters and catastrophe--the May 12 earthquake in China is one case in point. |
Heifer’s influence in China began in the mid 80s with only three projects. Since then, it has grown into serving more than 60,000 households with over 4.5 million animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbit, and poultry. In May 2008, however, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake caused severe damage; impacting thousands of people (Heifer’s central office located in Chengdu was just 50 miles from the epicenter of the quake). When disaster hit, HPI was ready. In spite of the fact that HPI is a developmental agency rather than a relief agency like the Red Cross, HPI personnel quickly implemented nine rehabilitation projects to help restore the lives of thousands of Chinese families impacted by this catastrophe. (More than 8,000 families participating in Heifer development projects were in the region hit by the quake). The fact that HPI promotes sustainable agricultural practices will help prepare these families to withstand any future cataclysmic events by remaining self-reliant. Probably one of the most heartening aspects of this incredible human effort comes from the number of other Chinese Heifer Project families outside of the disaster area that provided relief aid to the quake victims. In the truest sense of HPI, both money and livestock were sent in order to help others help themselves.
What can you do to help? Ensure the success of the aforementioned Heifer initiatives by donating funds. While donations can be provided a variety of ways, the easiest is through Sunday School (adult, youth, or children). During every class, a yellow envelope is passed around for collection. Just place your donation in the envelope, and the funds will be set aside for HPI. Wilson children can also use "Ark Banks" to help save money for Heifer. If your son or daughter would like to have some "extra banks" around the house, they can be found on the tables located in the narthex area as you come into the church. Looking for a gift idea? Donations can also be made on behalf of individuals celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, graduations or any other special occasion. In fact, Heifer Project International donations make great gifts throughout the year for everyone in the family.
For more information regarding this program, please contact Don Veverka.
Soap for Afghanistan - A BIG Thank You
"Thanks to those of you who donated bars of soap in support of the Joint Development Associates, International’s (JDA)WASH project in Afghanistan.
The project involves surveys of a number of villages located in the area surrounding Mazar. The survey includes assessments of sanitary conditions which lead to discussions with the women in the villages as to why their children are so often sick with worms and diarrhea. The survey team uses pictures to try to explain why the children have these problems, the causes of the infections, and actions they can take to prevent the problems. As part of the project the survey team has planned some small incentive packages for the women who participate in a series of ten lessons dealing with the local health and sanitary conditions. This is what prompted JDA’s request for assistance in locating a source of soap, tooth paste and tooth brushes.
Our Pastor, Randy Jessen, has a friend who has access to tooth paste and brushes - which were provided within a matter of a few days. Randy also suggested that letting members of the congregation know that we needed bars of soap should also provide positive results. We are closing in on the 200 bars of soap quite rapidly and I have sent the first package of 50 bars to Afghanistan. Everything should be in Afghanistan by the end of January." - George Calhoun
The Green Team
If you are interested in helping with the community garden planning, please contact John Sobecki at 598-8326 or e-mail at john.sobecki@gmail.com.
A Green idea: Going to a church meeting? Why not hook up with the other committee members that live near you and ride together. I know gas is cheap now, but it saves wear and tear, reduces airborne pollutants, and makes for good conversation!
Lawn Care and The Environment
As you buy garden supplies this year, consider organic fertilizer products. The residents of Pueblo and points south may appreciate it. The herbicides we all apply to our lawns effect the earthworms, birds, and wildlife we all love to experience here in Colorado.
Take a look at this Master Gardener's webpage and his recommendations for an organic lawn: http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp.
If you need to apply chemicals, consider:
- Weedban - it's made from corn gluten meal, a pre-emergent organic herbicide.
- If you need a more powerful product, try GreenMatch®EX. It's also organic and is made of lemongrass oil, a powerful, herbicidal essential oil that strips away the waxy cuticle from weeds’ leaves causing fast wilting (necrosis), dehydration, and death.
Reusable Grocery Bags
Remember, we sell our own Wilson reusable grocery bags. The cost is $2.50 each. Look for one of the Green Team sales in the Taos Room on Sunday morning.
El Paso County Recycling Directory
Got questions about what you can recycle, or where to take it. Click here to view El Paso County's Recycling Directory. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
El Paso County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility
Did you know El Paso County has a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility? For more info, click here .
Multiply the Power of Your Donation To Westside CARES --
Donate through the Enterprise Zone!
Westside CARES is now recognized as an Enterprise Zone Organization. With this recognition, Westside CARES can provide donors with significant tax advantages. Any donor who gives a minimum of $250.00 per year to Westside CARES through the Enterprise Zone is eligible for a 25% tax credit on their Colorado State Income Tax. As an example -- a donor wishes to give $500.00 to Westside CARES:
- The donor writes a check payable to "EI Paso County Enterprise Zone" and in the memo line writes "Westside CARES."
- The donor sends the check to Westside CARES.
- Westside CARES records the check then delivers it to EI Paso County which makes a monthly distribution to all Enterprise Organizations.
- EI Paso County also sends a certified receipt to the donor for use with the Colorado State Income Tax Return.
The donor may reduce their Colorado Income Tax by $125.00 (25% of the donation). Instructions are included with the certified receipt. This tax credit is in addition to any allowed deductions on state or federal income tax. Please feel free to contact Steve Brown, 389-0759, with any questions about this valuable benefit.