Compassion International~ Emily Ciszewski

I’ve chosen Compassion for this month’s organization for a very special and personal reason - that reason? Well, to put it bluntly; Sibomana.
As of July 23, 2011, Sibomana is now my sponsored child through Compassion International! I’ve signed the forms and now I have a 10 year old friend in Rwanda, Africa! It’s so exciting - and the coolest thing? We get to write letters to each other - from over seven thousand miles (I googled it!) of Ocean, trees, grass, mud, sand…you get it I’m sure (I know - it’s modern postal service, but still…)!

This awesome ministry all started with God lover Everett Swanson. Reverend Everett was on a preaching tour in South Korea, while he was there he was moved with…well - compassion, when he saw the poor orphans on the streets. They were hungry, forgotten and lonely - and Everett new he had to do something for them. Check out Matt. 15:32 - the verse that pushed Everett to go the mile;

“Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said “I have compassion on the multitude because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way”. “
(Matt. 15:32 KJV)

It all started with 35 children, but since then God has worked thousands of miracles through Compassion - 1.2 million children have been helped since 1952 when Everett started his small mission - love and compassion has reached 26 countries to be exact!

What can you do?
It takes 38 dollars a month to sponsor a child for a year, that’s $456.00 (for you non-math people like me!). And if you think about it, your parents spend about 100 every month to feed you alone! (Roughly.)
I know 456.00 seems like a lot to people like me with only a summer or a part time job, but this is something that you can do with prayer! It took a lot of prayer for me to get Sibomana!

You can work with children in so many areas! You can sponsor a 3 year old little boy in the Philippines! A 12 year old girl in Ghana, you can even sponsor a college student and help pay his way! For example - you can help 20 year old ‘Luis’ by sending $300.00 a month so that he can become an engineer!

You can even be apart of helping mothers and their children - by send $20.00 a month, you can choose a country and help mothers feed their hungry children.

Compassion doesn’t discriminate against any race or religion, as many people believe. Either way, Compassion sponsors non Christians and allows non Christians to sponsor.

Maybe you’ve heard their statement; “Releasing children from poverty in Jesus name.”

Compassion believes in working through community. They build schools and churches - they teach parents to teach their children the love of God.

Compassion’s mission statement?

“In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults.”

There are about 10 ways for you to give through Compassion, want to check out their website?
Go to


http://www.compassion.com !

And maybe - with some prayer - you’ll end up helping your own Sibomana!

TWLOHA~ An Organization Article by Abby Massung

TWLOHA
(To Write Love On Her Arms)

What I Found Out…
  When I first chose to write about TWLOHA I honestly thought I knew quite a bit about the organization. However, after surfing through their website and various social networking sites’ pages, I realized that I really knew very little about this amazing organization.
  As I read their vision statement and how they got started, I learned about a beautiful group of people who truly proved themselves and their love and devotion for their friend, Renee. What I once thought was simply a group of people trying to raise awareness about cutting, suddenly turned into a group of friends fighting to save the life of a broken friend.
    I barely scratched the surface of what the TWLOHA website had to offer me, but I can honestly say that what I did read took my breath away and brought me to tears at the same time. It wasn’t just the incredible stories or the obvious love that the members of TWLOHA had for hurting people, it was something more too. The statistics they were listing weren’t about people far away I didn’t know -disconnected from me, my family, and my friends- they were much more. Why? Because I know some of the 2-out-of-3 teens who struggle with depression who aren’t seeking treatment; in fact, I can think of at least 3 right now. I’ve seen firsthand how drugs have affected the family of a friend. My oldest sister struggled with suicidal thoughts for years.  I myself am one of the 4% of the population who struggles with self-injury.  The people who TWLOHA are helping aren’t just living on the other side of the world; they’re our next door neighbors, our friends, and even our family members.

How They Got Started…
  TWLOHA got started in the least likely of ways. No one had some huge grand plan to save the lives of hundreds of lost and hurting people or just randomly thought “hey, lets put ‘to write love on her arms’ on a t-shirt and see if we can get someone to buy it!”.
   In 2006, it started out with just a group of friends trying to tell the story of and help a friend. In no time, they were selling t-shirts to help pay for their friend’s treatment, and starting up a myspace page to tell the story.
  After that, they began learning just how many other people out there had similar stories and could relate to their friend’s struggle. They began receiving messages from people telling about the struggles they and their friends faced, others who were looking for help, and still more people admitting to knowing very little about the issues TWLOHA brought to the light. 
 
What They’re Doing Today…
  Today, TWLOHA holds conferences and speaks at various places not only in the USA, but in other parts of the world as well. They reach out to those struggling with addictions, self-harm, depression, and suicide in an attempt to show them they’re not alone, that there is still hope for them, that they can turn their lives around, and that they are loved.
  Their vision may seem simple enough, but it packs a pretty powerful punch at the same time. Finding myself incapable of trying to reword it and still have even a fraction of the same meaning, I decided to offer you a direct quote describing their mission from off of their website instead:
“The vision is that we actually believe these things…

You were created to love and be loved.  You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story.  You need to know that your life matters.
We live in a difficult world, a broken world.  My friend Byron is very smart - he says that life is hard for most people most of the time.  We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments.  You need to know that you're not alone in the places you feel stuck.
We all wake to the human condition.  We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss.  Millions of people live with problems of pain.  Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay.  We know that pain is very real.  It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.

You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption.  We're seeing it happen.  We're seeing lives change as people get the help they need.  People sitting across from a counselor for the first time.  People stepping into treatment.  In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline.  We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take.  We want to say here that it's worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it's possible to change.
 Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.

The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence. 
The vision is people putting down guns and blades and bottles.
The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.
The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and that we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.
The vision is better endings.  The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships.  The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love.  The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise.  The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change.  The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead. 
The vision is the possibility that we're more loved than we'll ever know. 
The vision is hope, and hope is real.
You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.”
                                                                                      

                              -TWLOHA Vision statement as viewed on TWLOHA.com

How We Can Make Their Mission Our Own…
  To my surprise, I learned that TWLOHA really leaves the door wide open for the rest of us to be a part of their mission. Unlike with some other groups and organizations out there, you can truly become part of their team. Here are some ways we can help out:
 
  1. The Street Team: You can join the TWLOHA street team by going to twloha.com or by going to fancorps.com and searching “TWLOHA”. Through joining, you’ll be able to help support TWLOHA and be apart of the TWLOHA movement in your own part of the world. You’ll be able to perform various tasks to earn activity points and store credit to receive free merchandise from the TWLOHA store. Also, you can communicate with other members through the online forum and membership groups. Finally, it’s a great way to get exclusive TWLOHA info such as chats with the team, opportunities to volunteer, behind the scenes videos, and even a street team t-shirt.

  2. Purchasing Merchandise: You can buy t-shirts and other things from the TWLOHA web store as well as Hot Topic, Zumiez, and Ron Jons. This not only supports the organization, but also spreads the TWLOHA story, sparks up conversations, and may even lead someone to seek help with their own personal struggles.

  3. Goodsearch.com: By using good search, a yahoo powered search engine, you can choose to have half of the advertising revenue they make from your searches (about a penny per search) donated to the charity of your choice (TWLOHA) for whenever you use their search engine. I haven’t yet used it myself (yet be the highly operative word), but I would suggest checking it out and at least trying to use it as a secondary search engine now and then if nothing else.

  4. Social Networks:  You can find and follow/friend TWLOHA on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Myspace.

  5. Donating to TWLOHA: You can also support them by sending cash, checks, and/or money orders to:
                         
                       TWLOHA
                       P.O. Box 206
                       Cocoa, FL 32923
 
  6. Benefits & Fundraisers: You can have a benefit or fundraiser for TWLOHA by doing a fashion show, penny drive, 5k walk, concert, or whatever you want to raise money for them. Simply email: benefit@twloha.com and let them know what you want to do so that they can help with the planning process, or ask them for ideas of what you could do. I can guarantee that they’ll be more than happy to offer ideas for a benefit that you could do and help you out with promotions and etc. (be wary if you live in a hundred mile radius of them though, cause they might show up on your doorstep with a pizza one night to have a planning party. Just kidding…I think).
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 I would also strongly recommend checking out the “move” portion of the TWLOHA website to see the rest of the many other different ways that you can offer them support.

In Conclusion…
  I wish I could offer a better picture of TWLOHA to you, but time (and my extremely patient boss who’s probably about ready to kill a certain procrastinator) limits me from being able to research and write everything I’d like to about the awesome TWLOHA team. Therefore, I’d like to suggest that you invest some of your spare time in doing a bit of your own research about the organization for yourself. I can promise that it’s definitely worth your time and that they won’t disappoint you.

sidenote: check out the music that they have up on their site and pages. I can't help but be attracted to the music wherever I go, and I found several new favourites among the songs on their playlist.

How You Can Help Other This Season~ An Organizations Article by Rachel Melillo

Christmas time is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ.  So often by families, we practice this holiday by giving gifts to our friends and family.  However, there are so many others who also need the love Christ came to bring. Think of them this Christmas as you consider giving to any of the following organizations.

 

 

 

1.    Samaritan’s purse.  You’ve probably all heard of this organization.  They pack shoe boxes with gifts for underprivileged children in third world countries.  Perhaps your church hosts an Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoebox filling event, and maybe they didn’t but you sent one anyway.  Well, since it’s too late to send in a shoebox, what they do need is also money donations.  Although with each shoebox, people give a seven dollar donation to assist with sending it, they also pack many shoe boxes themselves, along with having extra expenses to cover the cost of the materials and such.  So even though it’s December, you can still help by donating and by that donation, you’ll be indirectly helping an impoverished kid somewhere.  Visit www.samaritanspurse.org for more information.

2.    There are about fifty two countries where it’s illegal to be a Christian and many more where they are hostile towards Christians.  Voice of the Martyrs attempts to help those who have been imprisoned in their faith and their families while they go through this persecution for the name of Christ.  Not only can you help by donating money to help support families whose fathers or mothers are in jail for their beliefs, but you can also write to government officials asking for the release of family members, to family members to know that you’re praying for them, and to the prisoners themselves applauding them for standing strong in their beliefs and convictions.   Also, make sure you pray for these countries, for God to touch the leaders and spark a Christian revival so that we may worship freely and speak of our faith openly no matter where we are.  Wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in your letter as well. J  More information and stories at www.persecution.com.

 

 

3.    This year 1.7 million children will have a parent in jail.   Angel Tree, a program of Prison Fellowship, seeks to reconcile prisoners and their families to God and to each other by giving Christmas gifts and the Gospel message to families that have a parent in prison.  There are three ways you can help.  Firstly, you can recruit your church to participate in Angel Tree program.  Perhaps it already is registered, if so; sign up to buy gifts for a needy family to make this Christmas one to remember.  Secondly, you can donate money to buy families what they really need and want for Christmas.  Finally, you can sign up online to give gifts to a family or perhaps even just one kid and make their Christmas dreams a reality.  Find out more at www.angeltree.org.

 

 

4.    The Make-A-Wish Foundation helps the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions by making their wishes come true. In 1980, 7-year-old Chris Greicius was being treated for leukemia. Every day, he dreamed of becoming a police officer.  U.S. Customs Officer Tommy Austin had befriended Chris and his mother.  He promised Chris a ride in a police helicopter. When Chris’ health worsened, Austin contacted Ron Cox, an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer, and planned a day that would lift Chris’ spirits. Austin and a caring group of DPS personnel started Chris’ day with a tour of the city in a department helicopter, which also flew him to headquarters. Three cruisers and a motorcycle officer greeted him before his meeting with the DPS command staff. There, Chris was sworn in as the first honorary DPS patrolman in state history.  But his experience didn’t stop there. Cox contacted John’s Uniforms, which agreed to make a custom-tailored DPS uniform for Chris. The store owner and two seamstresses worked through the night to finish it. The officers presented the official uniform to Chris on May 1 and arranged a motorcycle proficiency test so he could earn wings to pin on his uniform. Needless to say, Chris passed the test with flying colours on his battery-operated motorcycle.  This boy’s wish was the inspiration for the Make-A-Wish-Foundation.  More stories and ways to help at their website www.wish.org

I hope that this Christmas season, you find it in your heart to help at least one of these organizations. We don’t realize how much we have until we look at others who have so much less than we do.

Habitat for Humanity~ An Organizations Article by Hogan Stevens

There are many people in the world who do not have the privilege of a nice, safe house to live in. These people need help; they need to feel reassured and loved, and Habitat for Humanity is one way to provide for them.

  Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds decent homes for those in need, was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller. Millard was a self-made millionaire by the age of 29, and he and his wife chose to use this blessing to give to the poor and needy. Thanks to Millard and his wife, Habitat for Humanity has become an international organization that has provided more than 1.75 million people with decent and affordable homes. Millard passed away in February of last year at the age of 76, but his work is still being carried out today.

  The houses build by Habitat for Humanity follow three simple guidelines: They are simple, which means each house is large enough for the family it is built for, but small enough to be affordable; they are decent, meaning they are built from quality products and are designed according to climate and culture; and they are affordable. Because of the many volunteers and the modest size of the houses, it is possible for low-income families to afford these homes.

  Every house is also built with the family’s needs in mind. In North America and Canada, the houses may be no larger than 1,050 square feet, though Habitat is eager to help meet the needs of a family. For example, if one family member is disabled, an easy access ramp and wider doors and hallways may be built.

  In other countries, the houses are much smaller than those built in the U.S. but they are still built with the families in mind. Each house is designed according to the custom of the country it’s in (some houses are wood, but others could be of concrete or clay). Habitat always uses building supplies that are locally available, which ensures the houses to be as affordable as possible.

  As Millard Fuller once said, “I see life as both a gift and a responsibility. My responsibility is to use what God has given me to help his people in need.” And that is how we all should feel. Maybe we can’t become millionaires and use all of our money to build thousands of houses all over the world, but we still have the power to make a difference, however small.

  There are so many underprivileged people in this world today. But if we are willing to use what God has given us to help others, then perhaps we can show others that it is possible to express the love of God through hard work. Millard Fuller made it possible…what will you do?
　
If you want to learn more about Habitat for Humanity, you can visit the website at www.habitat.org . There you can see pictures of different houses that have been built, or if you feel a need to help, you can donate money or report a family that could benefit from Habitat for Humanity. You can also visit their website and help volunteer at a building project near you!

Organizations~ Operation Christmas Child~ By Emily Ciszewski

Dedicated to Giving to the Forgotten
If you have ever wanted to give to that poor child on the TV who seems to cry out to you, then this is an awesome outlet!

How it started
In 1990, Dave Cooke sat in his living room watching TV. Seeing the abandoned children in Romania put a burden on his heart to give them love. Dave went into action and asked friends to help him fill a semi truck with gifts and head out of North Wales and off to Romania. Soon people were giving in overwhelming numbers. Now O.C.C. is all over the place. Even non Christians give because of the joy they receive when they see children in Third-World countries opening their boxes.

What your gift does
Children all over the world experience the joy of Christmas because of a simple shoe box stuffed with a few trinkets and candies. Often, the children receive small picture Bibles and other books explaining the gift of Jesus. Children who are otherwise forgotten realize someone out there cares for them!

Since 1990, over 81 million children have received a shoe box because of a couple friends feeling the love of God pushing them to fill a semi truck.
If you would like to give a child joy this Christmas - if you would love for another kid to know the happiness you've felt on Christmas day - you can.

What you can do
If you want to be apart of this amazing God-thing, get your Church family, some friends, or just your family at home to help you pack some boxes! You can make a child smile inside and out. All you have to do is pack a shoe box!

 Here are some things you can put into your shoe box.

Toys~ small dolls, small cars, slinkies, stuffed animals, jump ropes, yo-yos, etc.
School Supplies~ pens, pencils, crayons, writing pads, stamps, stickers, coloring books etc.
Hygiene Items~ toothbrush, toothpaste, combs, washcloth, etc.
Others~ ball cap, hair slips, lollipops, gum, etc.
A Personal Note~ “In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)” Taken directly from Operation Christmas Child website.

Also, your shoe boxes should not include the following…
Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans.
Also, O.C.C. asks that you send $7 or more along with your shoe box to cover shipping and other project costs.
To learn more or how to organize an event go to;http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/
　
Luke 6:38
"Give and it shall be given unto you; a good measure, pressed down and shaken together, shall men give into you bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."