Outreach
The love of Christ compels us to serve the poor in Charlotte’s inner city and around the world. Specifically, Forest Hill feels driven to serve homeless children and families in inner city Charlotte and to transform nations for Christ in Central Africa. We’ve created local and global service opportunities that will challenge you, stretch your faith, and allow you to experience the joy of reaching another person in the name of Jesus Christ. We serve the way Jesus served by interceding, investing and inviting.
Outreach Opportunities
Falcon Fun Night:
Falcon Fun Night is a family event at Quail Hollow Middle School where Forest Hill volunteers greet, serve a meal, work with kids clubs, provide childcare for elementary children and babies, while parents attend programming designed to help them empower their children. Volunteering at Falcon Fun Night is a great way be the hands and feet of Jesus in our local community so that we can grow stronger together. All Forest Hill LifeGroups and attendees are invited to serve on the 2nd or 4th Thursday’s of each month.
Falcon Fun Night Dates & Details:
2/9
2/23
3/8
3/22
Contact Elyse Whitlock (elyse.whitlock@foresthill.org) if you would like more information on how to connect.
Hawthorne Place:
Groups can serve at Hawthorne Place during the week of 2/12 - 2/18/12.
Volunteers are needed to provide meals and fellowship in the following ways:
- Volunteer groups are needed to provide meals for 6 families on Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s during the second “full” week of each month.
- Dinner should be delivered at 5:45 pm to St. John’s Baptist at 300 Hawthorne Street (near Presbyterian Hospital). Volunteers are invited to join the families for dinner, stay and fellowship with the families after the meal, tutor the children and play games.
- Sunday lunch: delivery at 12:30 p.m.
Contact: Marilyn Wright at blessedindeed.wright526@gmail.com
Seeds of Hope:
In 2012 Seeds of Hope is launching a new Christian mentoring program to help middle and high school students develop core life skills and leadership capabilities. Students who complete the program may compete for a Seeds of Hope Scholarships, which provides funds to assist with the student’s educational goals.
We need your help! We need to find creative, talented volunteers to help build our program! Below please find a list of our ongoing volunteer needs. In addition to these needs, we have a special, immediate need to find and assign mentors to two young men who have been grandfathered into the program and who are currently attending Christian Schools outside of Charlotte, NC. For these two students, we would prefer to have male mentors or mentor couples from our LifeGroups.
We look forward to sharing more with those who may be interested. Interested parties should contact either: Kristi Ervin at kervin@carolina.rr.com or Raina Avalon at rthorsen@familydollar.com. We know that you will enjoy serving in this program as much as we have, and we need your talent! Thanks for your consideration!
Ongoing Volunteer Needs:
Individuals and Life Groups can serve as:
- Mentors - Provide guidance, support, and advice to dreamers. Time Commitment: Meet 2 times a month for 12 months.
- Advisors - Provide specialized expertise to assist dreamers with building core life skills (financial planning, tutoring, computer skills, & job preparation). Time Commitment: 1-2 hours, as needed
- Teachers & Designers - Help build training curriculum for mentors, mentees and leadership workshops. Time Commitment: 1-2 hours per week to work with our learning team
Business & Community Leaders can serve by providing:
- Internships & Exposure - Provide paid or unpaid internship opportunities, corporate tours, or job shadowing inside your organization for dreamers to develop job skills and experience.
- Guest Speakers - Share your expertise and experiences with our dreamers! Time Commitment: 1-2 hours.
Charlotte Family Housing:
Hope Teams: For volunteers interested in long-term engagement with a family moving from homelessness to housing, Hope Teams provide that opportunity.
- Hope Teams are comprised of a group of individuals generally from the same faith community or organization.
- Each team is matched with one family to provide support and encouragement by building relationships as guided by the CFH Social Worker and the Hope Team Manager.
- Volunteers are required to attend a Bridges out of Poverty training session.
For more information on these opportunities, please contact Forest Hill Impact Guide, Karen Ligon, at kmligon@earthlink.net
A Child’s Place (2 opportunities)
Did you know that there are approximately 4,500 homeless children in CMS? Do you feel God nudging you to help change a life? If your answer is ‘yes’, consider building a relationship with a homeless child in their school environment. Let them know that they are special by giving them the gift of your time. One hour a week can make a difference - now and for eternity.
- Breakfast/Lunch Buddies: Join other Forest Hill members as we pour our time and energy into the lives of children who are homeless at some of the most at-risk schools in our city. Provide a mentoring friendship for a child and God will use you to transform a life. Each volunteer is assigned a student to be their “buddy” for the school year. Volunteers visit their buddy once a week to have lunch, talk or read.
- Tutors: Assist students with homework, help them prepare for tests, or help with their reading and/or math skills. Each tutor makes a weekly visit to their assigned student and sees directly the effect their participation has on the child’s educational progress.
For more information about being a lunch buddy or tutoring, contact Forest Hill’s ACP Impact Guide, Bryan High at bryan.high@hotmail.com
If you are ready to sign up, contact ACP Volunteer Coordinator, Jen Yoger at jyoger@achildsplace.org. If you are able to serve at Sterling Elementary (near South Blvd. and Westinghouse), we are forming a special partnership to empower this community. If you would like another location that is more convenient to your work then please ask Jen Yoger for suggestions.
Charlotte Rescue Mission's Dove's Nest Program
Dove’s Nest, Charlotte Rescue Mission’s women’s recovery program, has broken ground on their new facility. The program will allow homeless women with addictions to seek healing without losing custody of their children. Keeping families in tact during recovery, and moving them into stable housing with Christian support systems, will go a long way toward ending the cycle of homelessness and poverty for thousands of children. When the new Dove’s Nest opens in the spring of 2012, Forest Hill volunteers will be encouraged to mentor and tutor Dove’s Nest children. If you would like to know more about this amazing Christian recovery program visit www.charlotterescuemission.org.
Get involved NOW! If you would like to start volunteering with Dove’s Nest today, serve a meal, lead a Bible study, donate items or offer a fun activity, please contact Shante Ceaser at shante.ceaser@charlotterescuemission.org or call Dove’s Nest at 704-332-4706.
Beds for Kids
Saturday Morning Warehouse Help: Volunteers of all ages and abilities are needed to help most every Saturday morning at the Beds for Kids warehouse. Projects including, moving furniture, preparing furniture for recipients, organizing and cleaning the warehouse are available as well as other up-fitting jobs to make the work more efficient.
Please email Brandon at bholmes@bedsforkids.org to RSVP or if you have any questions about this specific service opportunity. Brandon is also willing to visit LifeGroups.
For more information visit the website at www.bedsforkids.org
2012 Global Mission Trips
2012 Short-term global mission trips include the Dominican Republic, Senegal, Haiti, Burundi, and Cuba. Click here to view the Outreach Downloads to find out more information and to register.
Other Serve Resources
The Hole in Our Gospel
It's 1998 and Richard Stearns' heart is breaking as he sits in a mud hut and listens to the story of an orphaned child in Rakai, Uganda. His journey to this place took more than a long flight from the United States to Africa. It took answering God's call on his life, a call that hurtled him out of his presidential corner office at Lenox-America's finest tableware company-to this humble corner of Uganda. This is a story of how a corporate CEO faced his own struggle to obey God whatever the cost, and his passionate call for Christians to change the world by actively living out their faith. Using his own journey as an example, Stearns explores the hole that exists in our understanding of the Gospel.
Two thousand years ago, twelve people changed the world. Stearns believes it can happen again.
The Poor Will Be Glad
This eminently practical book shows how ordinary people can help fight poverty around the world. Focusing on proven initiatives such as microfinance and employment-based solutions, the authors outline specific steps we can take in leading the charge against spiritual and physical poverty. Also includes photographs by award-winning photographer Jeremy Cowart
Bridges Out of Poverty
Bridges Out of Poverty is a unique and powerful tool designed specifically for social, health, and legal services professionals. Based in part on Dr. Ruby K. Payne's myth shattering A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Bridges reaches out to the millions of service providers and businesses whose daily work connects them with the lives of people in poverty. In a highly readable format you'll find case studies, detailed analysis, helpful charts and exercises, and specific solutions you and your organization can implement right now to: Redesign programs to better serve people you work with; Build skill sets for management to help guide employees; Upgrade training for front-line staff like receptionists, case workers, and managers; Improve treatment outcomes in health care and behavioral health care; Increase the liklihood of moving from welfare to work. If your business, agency, or organization works with people from poverty, only a deeper understanding of their challenges-and strengths-will help you partner with them to create opportunities for success.