Love LINC LINC - Love INC of Otero County

Love LINC
P.O. Box 1551
Alamogordo, NM 88311-1551
A publication of Love INC of Otero County a 501(c)(3) non profit charity
PO BOX 1551
ALAMOGORDO NM 88311-1551
A Message from the
Executive Director
Find out how you can “LINC” up with
us to help provide an outreach for those
with needs in our community.
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Message from the Executive Director
Big Give Project
Community Meeting
“Love” Stories
Summer Fund Raiser Event
Summer Outreach Event
Volunteer Testimony
Financial Partner Advantages
GAP Ministries
Faithful 500
Designated Contributions
This is your
LINC
to find out what is
happening right here
in Otero County
It’s been a busy four months since we last
updated you on the activity here at Love
INC. With the temporary closure of a two
large benevolence programs, we have
been overwhelmed with requests from
those seeking assistance. Our staff has
worked hard to help as many people as
possible who are trying to get back on
their feet.
Some exciting things for you to look for
as you read through this newsletter: Our
Summer events included the annual Christ
Community Men’s Ministry Golf Tournament to benefit Love INC. We also partnered with Linda Gulley for their annual
Kuts for Kids and school supply give-away to benefit the children of Otero
County. Once again we were out at the
Otero County Fair handing out information about our Ministry. We also hosted a “Business After Hours” on August
23rd where we had over 60 business and
community members come out to support
us. Perhaps one of the most exciting
things this summer was our Holloman Big
Give Team, Team 3Pete. They spent
many hours transforming our embarrassing landscape in to something that we are
incredibly proud of. These selfless men
and women went above and beyond anything that we could have imagined and we
are incredibly grateful for their service.
We want to thank each and every one of
you for your prayers, support and partnership with us as we reach out to those less
fortunate In the Name of Christ!
The Big Give
2012
Sept 2012
Our Board of Directors
Executive Director
Susan Payne
Executive Board
Paul Chamberlain—President
Jay Lockwood—Vice President
Mary Lockwood—Treasurer
Laurie Blackmon—Secretary
Board Members
We were incredibly blessed to
be a Holloman Big Give
recipient this year
Pastor Robert Claiborne
Jim Coble
Kim Richardson
Kimi Sato
Bill Watson
You Are Invited!
Team 3Pete came and gave
our landscape a make over
complete with our signature logo!
On Tuesday October 16, 2012
Love INC will be hosting a
community forum on poverty
and homelessness in our
community.
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Poverty knows no boundaries
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Over 20% of Otero County lives
in poverty!
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Solutions to poverty and homelessness in our community.
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What resources are available for
men, women, families, and
Veterans in Otero County?
Winter is approaching and
A building to be
proud of!
together we can
make a difference!
This is a public forum and your
comments are welcomed!
Our mission is to mobilize the Church to transform lives and communities “In the Name of Christ”.
Love INC of Otero County is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible!
Love Stories
We received a card from a client that just wanted to say
thank you for our assistance in her time of need. I am not
even sure what we assisted her with and it really doesn’t
matter. The end result was that we were able to bless
someone when they needed it. I always tell my volunteers
that we need to focus on the person and not the need.
When we focus on the physical need we may lose the
opportunity to reach someone’s spiritual need. When we
take the time to listen to each client we may very well
change a life...all In the Name of Christ!
You can help make a difference in the lives of people in need.
I want to help with a Faithful 500 monthly pledge of ___$5 ___$10 ___$20 ___$100 ___ Other
One time gift of $______
Please send me information about volunteering in the Love INC ministries.
Mail to:
Love INC of
Otero County
P.O. Box 1551
Alamogordo, NM 88311-1551
Phone (575) 439-4812
Fax (575) 439-4815
Name ________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________
City _________________________________________________________
State ________________
Zip _________________________________
Home Phone (
) ___________________________________________
Work Phone (
) ___________________________________________
E-mail ________________________________________________________
Recipient’s Name
This summer we had a client call seeking help through our furniture ministry for a hospital bed
that had the capability to move up and down (the entire bed) with a particular control setting.
Clearly this was a tall order to fill as we don’t often have one to donate and they are fairly
expensive. This particular day however, God knew what we needed and he was faithful to
supply. One of our volunteers knew a family that wanted to donate a hospital bed to us but had
not done so yet. After calling the family and explaining our situation, they were happy for us to
come and get it. We were able to deliver and set up the hospital bed for this client and he was excited to
receive it. He felt he could have never afforded a hospital bed like this. After telling his church what we had
done for him we received a card of thanks from the congregation. This particular church was actually located
in Cloudcroft and had not previously heard of us. It was a blessing for God to allow us to help someone in
need. The card of thanks was simply the icing on the cake!
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
Phil 4:19
We recently had one of our home care agencies contact us looking for a shower chair. Our first
thought was that they were not very expensive and we should be able to provide this fairly easy.
As it turns out this was not an ordinary shower chair. This was a bit different as it was designed
to come up over the bathtub so that a person could actually sit on the chair and swing their legs
over rather than having to step over the tub. The chair retailed for around $150.00. When we
received a picture of what we were looking for we immediately got online to see if we could
perhaps find it for less money. Much to our surprise it was a lot easier than we thought. Our furniture ministry
coordinator happened to be in the office so we asked him (half joking) if he had a shower chair in the warehouse. Expecting the answer to be no we were surprised when he told us that he did in fact have one but it was
sort of unusual as it was a little higher and wider than a normal shower chair. Yes folks the look on this Director’s face was no doubt priceless as he was describing exactly what we needed. He went and got the chair out
of our warehouse and I called the gentlemen from the home care agency and told him that we had it and he
could pick it up. When he arrived he was as surprised as we were that we had it in our warehouse the whole
time. The client would now be able to maintain some independence while recovering from his injuries. Isn’t
that how God works though? He knows what we need and He is faithful to supply.
Church Affiliation ________________________________________________
The Faithful 500
Love INC of Otero County has an ongoing
campaign called the Faithful 500. We are
seeking
500 families and individuals who are willing to
commit to a donation of at least $5.00 a month to
help us with our mission. This is a wonderful and
affordable opportunity to partner with us as we
provide assistance to those less fortunate right here
in our community. The needs are great, but with
your help we can make a difference and even transform a life In the Name of Christ.
Designated Contributions
Did you know Love INC is once again a
United Way partner agency and you can
designate Love INC of Otero County as a
recipient of your United Way Contribution.
This is a great way to contribute to this ministry while still fulfilling your commitment
to the United Way.
GAP Ministries
“Check” this out …..
Welcome to our GAP (God Answers Prayer) ministries!
These are the ministries that were established to fill in the “gaps” in services in our community!
PNM
We have a partnership with PNM where we signed on to be the administrator of their Good
Neighbor Fund. The contributions to this fund are made by PNM customers and matched by PNM stock
holders to help those customers that need financial assistance with their electric bill. We only process
and approve applications for this fund so it is a great way to provide a service to the community while not having
to actually manage the financial part of this program. This program also gives us the opportunity to speak one on
one with clients and find out if there are other needs that they may have.
Food
Pantry
Our food pantry is an area
where we supply food to
about 90 families a month.
We also partner with Eternity
Baptist Church to supply
“health kits” to those in need.
These kits contain household
items such as bath tissue,
laundry soap, dish soap, etc.
Clothing
We have many in
our
community
that are looking
for jobs or may
need clothes for
their
children.
This ministry provides everything
from
career wear to children’s
clothing. We want to
provide
business attire (suits, career dresses)
or clothing for those seeking laborer
positions that perhaps need items like
steel toe boots. This is another way
that we are reaching out to those in
our community.
Household and Furniture Ministry
Our household goods and furniture
ministry has been blessed with a
donation of a
warehouse to store
our furniture. Pick ups and deliveries
are made 5 days a week and all
furniture is supplied free of charge to
those in need. Donations of gently
used furniture are always accepted.
Backpacks
Our backpack ministry extends out to
every school in Alamogordo including
the Alamogordo High School, Academy
Del Sol and the two middle schools
requesting back packs for their students.
In addition, we are also supplying back
packs to Tularosa Schools. With the
overwhelming
community food
donations and financial support we have
received, we are filling nearly 90
backpacks every week to help feed
hungry school age children within our
community.
A Summer at the Ministry
On August 4th Christ Community
Men's Ministry held their annual
golf tournament to raise money for
Love INC of Otero County. Twenty
teams (80 people) enjoyed a day of
fellowship on the course and were
treated to lunch afterwards. Through
our business and individual sponsorships they were able to raise over
$6,500.00 (over twice what they
raised last year) to help support our
mission. Thank you Christ Community for all your support and thank
you Otero County for partnering
with us In the Name of Christ!
Thank you Team Holloman!
Through your generous giving
during the Feds Feed Families
Summer Food Drive, Love INC
received over 2,000 lbs of food to
help needy families right here in
our own community. Thank you
Ssgt Sturos and all the military
volunteers that helped to deliver
this much needed food!
“Let us consider how to
stir up one another
to love and good works.”
Hebrews 10:24
Kuts for Kids!
On August 11, Love INC of Otero
County teamed up with Linda Gulley/State Farm to offer the Kuts for
Kids even here at our offices.
School age children were given the
opportunity to receive a free haircut
as well as a backpack filled with
school supplies to help start their
school year off right. In addition,
everyone that came was treated to a
hot dog lunch prepared by our
volunteers.
Bethel Baptist Church has
been a supporter of this Ministry almost from the beginning. I asked Senior Pastor
Howell Scott why they chose
to support us. Here is his
response.
Q. Why did your congregation choose to support
Love INC of Otero County?
A. We like the idea that all requests could be centrally located. We want to help those in need but we
want to make sure they are legitimate needs.
Q. Have you been happy with this decision to
support us.
A. Yes! We feel that we are being responsible in our
giving. The clearinghouse provides us with the ability
to be good financial stewards with what God has entrusted us.
We are so blessed by our partnership with our churches and we appreciate the positive feedback we get
from them about this ministry. This is just affirmation
that we are doing what God has called us to do. Reach
out to those less fortunate to transform lives and
communities In the Name of Christ!
The Need . . . Need can’t be stereotyped. Sometimes it’s
a family huddled in their car, home standing vacant in
foreclosure. Sometimes it’s a single mom, embarrassed in
line at the food pantry with her kids because she can’t make
ends meet. Her children sleep on the floor of their apartment
because she can’t afford beds. It might be a husband and
wife forced to work far beyond their retirement years
because their life savings has been depleted just keeping up
with bills. Or it could be a senior citizen on a fixed income,
having to choose between prescription medications or
groceries. Children account for a fourth of those in poverty—and almost one of every two poor children lives in
extreme poverty. But it doesn’t take a poverty-level income
to have unmet needs. The number of people in extended
unemployment continues. Jobs and food are just two issues
facing millions of hard-working people in America. But the
needs run deep. And the consequences of living in need can
last for years. Poverty is experienced not just as lack of
money, jobs, or material things, but the lack of choices,
mobility, improvement, participation, and self-esteem. For
too many, poverty is shaping their lives in distorted ways,
and moving out of poverty becomes not just finding a job or
an apartment, but restoring a spirit, developing a healthy
body, and renewing a mind. We invite you to come and be
a
part
of
this
opportunity
for
outreach.
The “need” is great and we need your help.
Calling All Congregations ……
12 advantages of Love INC to your church
1. Helps generate untapped volunteer resources that already exist in local churches to meet needs
both within and outside the church.
2. Screens requests for help as to nature, extent, and legitimacy.
3. Helps prevent church duplication of existing services already available in the community.
4. Discovers if those requesting assistance are already receiving help from other churches or
agencies. The Love INC screening process ensures that legitimate needs are met.
5. Provides long-term, self-help solutions for those who are chronically in need or have multiple
needs.
6. Enables churches to assist those outside of their own congregation and be good stewards of
church resources.
7. Helps prevent churches from building dependency in those they assist by discovering and
solving problems at the root level.
8. Helps the church to “own” its ministry to those in need, since Love INC is a Clearinghouse to
assist churches to reach out.
9. Helps provide specific, manageable opportunities for churches to reach out with God’s love to
people in need.
10. Lessens the burden of any one church by increasing the use of volunteers to meet legitimate
needs and rotating assistance among network churches. Love INC is very cost-effective.
11. Offers a unified witness of God’s love to the community as Christian churches work together in
the name of Christ.
12. Offers a proven, replicable model that can be easily translated in new communities. Love INC
has an established track record in cities of all sizes.
Our Church
Financial Partners
Bethel Baptist Church
Calvary Baptist Church
Christ Community Church
Cornerstone Church
Cottonwood Christian Fellowship
First Baptist Church
The Worship Center
Trinity Baptist Church-High Rolls
Trinity Lutheran Church
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Meet Our
Office Assistant
Many of you already know Pat
O’Connor who is a long time
resident of Otero County.
Pat began volunteering for the
ministry in November of 2010 as an intake worker. Pat
quickly realized that she could also use her skills to assist
the Director with setting up files and other administrative
needs.
In January of this year Pat was hired as our much needed
office assistant. Her primary role is to handle accounts
payable and accounts receivable as well as keeping this
Director on task. She sure has her work cut out for her!
Consider joining the
One of Pat’s greatest gifts is her ability to boldly proclaim
the name of Jesus. It is not uncommon for someone to
walk in to her office and find her sitting there with a client
and telling them about Jesus. Her unconditional love for
our Savior is truly a blessing.
LINC
Your
donations of time,
items, or funds are
greatly appreciated.
Our volunteers find value in volunteering their time to help those in need. If you would like to be a
part of the work that we are doing through this ministry, please contact our offices at (575) 439-4812.
Stats for May—August 2012
Calls to Clearinghouse ——————————————
681
Needs Met———————————————————
696
(This number may represent more then on service provided per family)
Needs Unmet——————————————————
80
(There are many factors that make up this number including a “no-show” by the client)
We are blessed to have been able to help so many in our community. None of this would be
possible without the generosity of so many working together and giving
of their time, talent and/or finances for this ministry.