The staff is laser-focused on mission

Every Christmas, our staff has a party to celebrate the year and exchange "white elephant" gifts. Pictured above is Karen Holloman wearing her new scarf, with Michelle Baker and Nia Simmons on either side of her.

During the party, we went around the room and shared moments in which each of us experienced CCSC's mission firsthand. Finance Director Judie Kochenower helped screen the vision of pre-schoolers earlier this year, and it touched her heart to see these vulnerable children because her daughter is the same age.

Carla, the Assistant Manager at Emergency Services-Central, told of an elderly client we help regularly with food and clothing. Her limited income is stretched because she has voluntarily chosen to provide for a non-family member who is mentally challenged. Carla shared her respect for this woman who is sharing her limited resources to help another person.

Brittni, our Receptionist, said her "mission moment" came this week. She had spoken with several difficult callers, with the last phone call leaving her feeling discouraged. She got off the phone to find a staff member of St. John the Divine Episcopal standing in front of her. The church staff was volunteering that morning at CCSC, and this particular person said, "I'm here to work for Jesus. Where do I go, and by the way, you are blessed to work at CCSC."

Wow. This was just what Brittni needed to hear and a nice reminder to all of us that we are here to do Jesus's work.

The hungry need help

If you're on the CCSC mailing list, you have probably received our year-end letter. I'm sharing the letter below to illustrate how prevalent hunger is as well as how important CCSC's mission is.

If you are a reader of this blog and would like to support our work (thank you!), click on this link to make a secure donation:  https://ssl2.webwize.com/ccsc/donations.html

I want to share an experience one of my neighbors had.  

He and his wife were in line to pay for groceries when the person ahead of them asked the cashier to stop because he had run out of money. There were items left in the cart, and when my neighbor looked in, he saw juice and bread and lunchmeat. This troubled him, so he quietly paid for the remaining food.  

When recounting the story, he shared his surprise at seeing hunger up close as well as his gratitude and understanding of why CCSC exists.  

Most of us are not going to be able to help someone as personally as my neighbor. Instead, we need a trusted system to operate on our behalf.  A system that addresses short-term and long-term needs, building in fairness and kindness.  

CCSC is that system. We maintain a healthy system to support our Christ-centered mission of addressing the effects of poverty: hunger, unemployment, children’s needs. And all this is done with a lean workforce, heavily weighted with volunteers. 

Many of us make our charitable gifts at year-end, so I ask for your support of CCSC’s work, pledging excellent stewardship and abundant compassion as we continue to fulfill our mission, one person at a time.