Community Service Oppertunities!

Boys and Girls Country:
1) Boys and Girls Country is a Christian Home, providing children from families in crisis with love, security, a sense of self-worth, and opportunities to prepare them for a successful life. They serve the community by providing a home for children from a broken home.
2) This organization works for the mission of God by showing His love and compassion to His children by taking care of them and showing them the love and safety in a Christian home.
3) The organization needs volunteers to spend time with the children, mentoring and showing them God’s love for them. They also need money to improve housing and food for the children living at Boys and Girls Country. They also take household furnishing, personal items, and gift donations for the children.
4) This organization impacts the lives of the children who would otherwise be living in broken or dysfunctional families. The program provides safe, loving, and Christian living conditions for kids who desperately need to be show the love of Christ.
5) If this organization did not exist, children all over the Houston area would be living in dysfunctional homes or on the streets. Boys and Girls Country takes kids who need a safe place to live and gives them a home.
6) I think we could very easily partner with Boys and Girls Country as a class throughout the year. I personally have volunteered at Boys and Girls Country through NCL many times and they are always very grateful for our help. Whether we are setting up Christmas decorations, mentoring and tutoring the children, or running their carnival fundraiser, there are plenty of
opportunities for us to contribute to the organization.

Young Lives:
1) Young lives is an program organized by Young Life to mentor and help teen mothers. Young Lives provides a safe place for young moms to escape the pressures and demands of life as a mom. This organization serves the last, the lost, and the least, by serving young women who are often times ignored or shunned by society and providing them a Christian environment and showing Christ’s love for them.
2) This organization fits within the mission of God by showing young mothers that God loves them despite any mistakes they may have made in the past. By providing teen moms a place to hear about God while their children are cared for by babysitters, Young Lives shows the girls how God loves them in all circumstances.
3) This organization is in need of volunteers to babysit the children of the young mothers while they participate in the Young Lives club activities.
4) This program impacts teen moms by helping them get their lives back on track and providing them Christian advice and guidance in their daily lives. This outreach program impacts the lives of young moms who feel helpless and need the love of God.
5) Without this program, many young mothers would not be involved in Young Life at all and may never hear the word of God. Young Lives provides a fun environment where young women feel free to be themselves and hear about the word of God. For many teen moms, Young Lives is the only time they are in a Christian environment and the only place where Christian advice is available to them.
6) I think we, as a class, could easily contribute to this organization. Young Lives meets once a month on the second Thursday of every month and is in need of students to volunteer as babysitters for the teen mom’s children. There is no real age limits for babysitters so all high school age students could easily volunteer.
Brookwood Community
1) What is the goal of this organization? What are they doing to serve the lost, the last, and the least in our community? The goal of Brookwood is to provide a safe Christian place for functionally disabled adults to live, love, play, and contribute to society in their own unique ways. Brookwood allows disabled adults to have supervised independence that most disabled adults do not have the privilege to experience. They give the credit to God in everything they do, and encourage the faith of the members who live there.
2) How do this organization's efforts fit within the mission of God? Brookwood’s efforts fit in with the mission of God because Brookwood give God the glory He deserves. They acknowledge the fact that God gave them the means by which they can help these adults and they also hire Christians so the members who live there are exposed to the Word of God. Also they have church every Sunday and on major holidays.
3) What needs does the organization have? Resources, volunteer shortages, etc...
Because the organization is volunteer based, they are always in need of helping hands. They are always doing something, from selling pottery that they made, to putting on a production, and need people to help out.
4) What impact does this organization have within our community? This organization has a huge impact on the community of disabled people in and around the Houston area because it offers disabled adults a place where they can be independent. Also they make things, like Christmas cards, pottery and ornaments that are sold at churches and Brookwood stores in and around Houston.
5) If this organization did not exist, how would the community be affected? Without Brookwood, disabled adults in the Houston area would not be able to be independent adults and they would most likely be abused or mistreated, or they would lead lives with out a point because they would have no where to participate in a community because they would not be able to have a job. Also a lot of these adults would not know Christ if Brookwood did not exist.
6) As a class, can we realistically partner with this organization throughout the school year? Yes because the football team, cheer team, and dance team partner with Brookwood every year and help out. They also have really flexible hours and the members there love to see young faces helping out.

Christian Community Service Center
1) What is the goal of this organization? What are they doing to serve the lost, the last, and the least in our community? The mission of CCSC is to serve the poor, hungry, disabled, and otherwise needy while respecting their religious, ethnic or cultural differences. They have a clothes resale shop, a food pantry, and classes to help jobseekers opened to the people in the area that are financially struggling.
2) How do this organization's efforts fit within the mission of God? CCSC was created out of faith, and founded in the belief that we are called to help all God's children heart to heart and hand in hand. The organization fits with the mission of God because in Matthew 25:37-40 Jesus makes it known that serving the poor is a way of serving of Jesus. This organization believes this calling and the volunteers are filled with God’s love. In return they love on the people that come in and give them food, clothes and offer special classes that can help them get a job and start supporting themselves.
3) What needs does the organization have? Resources, volunteer shortages, etc... This organization needs volunteers, food donations, clothes donations, and computers(for computer training classes to help jobseekers).
4) What impact does this organization have within our community? This organization impacts the homeless, and financially struggling individuals in the Houston area by providing food, clothing, and counselors. CCSC has provided many homeless people with food, saving them from starvation. Also the CCSC has loving volunteers and that enjoy talking to the people coming in.
5) If this organization did not exist, how would the community be affected? The community would be affected because the homeless would not have easy access to food nor loving volunteers they could talk to for help. Also CCSC represents Christ, and shows the community how accepting Christ changes your life to focus on others, which can encourage others to be interested in Christianity.
6) As a class, can we realistically partner with this organization throughout the school year? Yes, I volunteer every Saturday morning and they welcome group volunteer groups. There are several options for volunteering: working in the food pantry, working in the clothing store, or being a translator.

Ronald McDonald House
1) What is the goal of this organization? What are they doing to serve the lost, the last, and the least in our community? The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children.
2) How do this organization's efforts fit within the mission of God? Ronald McDonald House fits within the mission of God because they are serving God by serving others. They are serving others by improving the lives of children and their families by providing programs that strengthen families during their most difficult or challenging times.
3) What needs does this organization have within our community? Financial donations, volunteers, toy and food donations.
4) What impact does this organization have within our community? Ronald McDonald House is important to the community because it provides a safe, caring environment for kids and their families as they go through difficult health problems.
5) If this organization did not exist, how would the community be affected? The community would loose an organization that provided families with free housing, food, and essential supplies. The community would loose an organization that has been comforting families and changing lives for 35 years.
6) As a class, can we realistically partner with this organization throughout the school year? It would be realistic to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House because they always have things for volunteers to do and they always have kids that need cheering up. Also the location is helpful because there is one in the medical center in downtown.