2016 SPRING Newsletter - Greensboro

2016 S P R I N G Newsletter
CELEBRATING VOLUNTEERS
This week at Greensboro Urban Ministry, we are celebrating our
volunteers and their vital work. It’s National Volunteer Week, and
these folks are definitely worthy of all the shout-outs we can share!
Every day, we are grateful to the men and women who give their time
and talent to us. In a year, some 2,000 volunteers will work with us.
The value of an hour of volunteer time is about $23, according to
the Corporation of National and Community Service. This means our
volunteers’ time amounts to a contribution of nearly $1.5 million!
We simply could not do all that we do without this dedicated service.
The first volunteers arrive in Potter’s House Community Kitchen
before the sun is up, cooking and serving breakfast for our shelter
guests. The last ones leave late in the evening, after serving dinner,
sharing support or leading recovery meetings.
Many of these folks have served with us for years. Bernard McCoy
is a great example. For 14 years, he has led a weeknight support
meeting at our West Gate City Boulevard campus. Bernard, who is
a professional cook for Guilford County Schools, also prepares and
provides a much-appreciated meal for the meeting participants.
Gin Reid Hall, director of Pathways Center for families, describes
the many groups and individuals who serve there as the shelter’s
“backbone.” To touch on just a few things these folks do, they
prepare meals for families, deliver baskets to the children for
holidays, tutor, and provide childcare and nutrition workshops.
Around the corner, at Partnership Village, faithful groups offer these
same supports to the previously homeless men, women and families
who live in the complex. Ruth Anderson, director of The Servant
Leadership School, has coordinated after-school tutors for a decade
now. This year, these same folks are also building a club program
at the school where Partnership Village children attend. Debate,
knitting and other enrichment are opening more windows to the
world for these elementary students.
CHECK OUT MORE ONLINE:
At Greensboro Urban Ministry, we serve our guests – and we also
sincerely seek to serve those who are called to fight the scourge of
poverty in our community. We appreciate each of you and your call
to build a community where all are fed, housed and whole. And
through our collective efforts, we share and grow together, with
our guests, to make this vision a reality in Greensboro.
•More volunteer stories from the front lines
•Results from the Leadership Semi-Annual Food Drive
•As winter ends, the White Flag and WE shelter wrap-up
•Like our page on Facebook and follow us @GSOUrbanMin
on Twitter
EXPRESSING THE LOVE
Rev. Myron Wilkins, Executive Director
of GOD TO PEOPLE IN NEED THROUGH PRACTICAL ACTION
COLLECTIVE IMPACT
SERVING GREENSBORO TOGETHER
“Collective impact”… words a friend
used to explain to me about some
committee work she was doing through
her place of employment. It is the
idea of a committed group from
different sectors coming together with
a common agenda for solving a specific
social problem.
Collective impact is the term that I
would use to best describe our work
and ministry together in caring for
those outside in frigid weather. Back last fall, we met (GUM,
Interactive Resource Center, YWCA, First Baptist Church, and city
representatives) to begin work on assessing needs for the winter of
those in housing transition; thus began the work of the White Flag
Emergency Plan team. The plan we designed was to make sure that
nobody would suffer from freezing weather -- especially overnight. It
was exciting to work with different agencies for the good of those
who can be easily overlooked.
I was grateful to be invited to the table to represent the voice and
resources of the faith community. We are a part of the landscape
of Greensboro and want to be a part of the work and ministry for
helping those in need.
Through our partnership with GUM, we have come to learn
more about the needs of our community. FBC was invited into a
relationship to help and love on our most vulnerable neighbors.
Our partnership includes providing canned goods for the food pantry,
serving dinner at Pathways, walking in the CROP Walk, working with
the White Flag team, hosting the annual Feast of Caring, and so
many other ways.
For real change to take place in our community it requires the work
and ministry of all of us. Collective impact is an encouraging and
efficient way for us to tackle some of our greatest community needs.
Rev. Kim Priddy, Minister to Missions and Community Outreach at
First Baptist Church, describes herself “as a huge fan of the work
and ministry of GUM.”
GETTING CONNECTED
1618 Wine Lounge
*1618 Downtown
Arigato Japanese Steakhouse
Bender’s Tavern
*Big Burger Spot (both locations)
Bill’s Pizza Pub (both locations)
Binh Minh
*Blue Agave Mexican Bar & Grill
Brixx Wood Fired Pizza
Burger King (All Greensboro Locations)
*Café Pasta & Grille
Captain Bill’s Seafood Restaurant
Center Grove Grill & Soda Shop
(Summerfield)
Ciao Pizza Italian Restaurant (Whitsett)
Cincy’s Downtown
Country Kitchen
Crafted, The Art of the Taco
*Crafted, The Art of Street Food
Dining Dash (food delivery svc.)
Elizabeth’s Pizza Locations:
Battleground Ave.
Bridford Parkway
Groometown Rd.
Lawndale Dr.
Quaker Village
Summit
Elizabeth’s Italian Restaurant
(Oak Ridge)
@Elm Street Grill
Fishbones
Fishers Grille
Ghassan’s (all Greensboro locations)
Gia – Drink, Eat, Listen
Green Valley Grill
Herbie’s Place
Hinshaw UMC Hot Dog Tuesday
Jack’s Corner Mediterranean
Jams Deli (both locations)
Juice Shop Smoothies (both locations)
Kabuto Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar
Koshary Southern Mediterranean Eatery
Kyoto Fantasy Express
(Westridge/Battleground)
*La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant
Lox, Stock, & Bagel
Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen
*Luigi’s Restaurant & Bar
(Summerfield)
Mad Hatter Bar & Grill
Marisol Restaurant
Maxie B’s
Mayflower Seafood (Randleman Rd.)
M’Coul’s Public House
*Mexico Restaurant (W.Market St.)
Midori Japanese Restaurant
Mythos Grill (both locations)
Oakcrest Family Restaurant
Papa John’s Pizza (all Greensboro
& Summerfield locations)
*Papa Murphy’s Pizza
Pastabilities
Pavilion
Positano Italian Restaurant
Print Works Bistro
Reel Seafood Grill
Rio Grande (Downwind Rd. &
New Garden locations)
*Rody’s Tavern
Sakura Ichiban Japanese & Thai
*Salvino Cucina Italiana
Sarah’s Kabob Shop
Spring Garden Bakery & Coffee House
Sticks and Stones
Sushi Republic
Tex & Shirley’s (Friendly Ctr.
location only)
The Corner Slice
*The Marshall Free House
The Porterhouse Bar & Grill
Yum Yum Better Ice Cream
*New Restaurants participating
for 2016
Participating restaurant list will
continue to update as restaurants
sign up. Visit our website at
GreensboroUrbanMinistry.org/events/
serving-greensboro-together/
for the most current list.
Excerpt from a Volunteer Reflection by Judy Newlin
I became involved 18 years ago with Greensboro Urban Ministry
(GUM) when the Girl Scout troop I led provided weekly babysitting
for a young mother who was a GUM client and a student in nursing
school. Our help gave her time to study and ultimately helped her
graduate. Seeing the seeds of giving back grow in such an important
way for this young woman was so exciting!
As a school teacher for 29 years, I sowed many seeds and tended
the seeds of volunteers that grew into great opportunities for my
students. Especially where children are concerned, everyone wants
to help. Sometimes, however, people don’t know how to help and
be effective.
That’s why an organization like GUM is so valuable. GUM has a
longtime trusted relationship with the community. GUM provides the
WWW.GREENSBOROURBANMINISTRY.ORG
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structure and flexibility for people to turn passion into practical
action. In some way, small or large, we can all help.
We just have to help people get connected, and there’s such power
in numbers. At Partnership Village, our successes come through the
combined efforts of many congregations, volunteers and staff. If
there’s a challenge, it’s met – we don’t always know how or why, but
it’s met. Someone finds a church bus; a couple finds, cleans and
mends yard-sale sleeping bags. Someone else raises money for
swimsuits and tennis shoes. Before you know it, we’ve got a whole
group of kids going to a sleep-away camp for the first time.
Read the rest of Judy’s story on our website,
www.greensborourbanministry.org/volunteer/stories.
336.271.5959