Resourcefulness

Longtime volunteer Wanda Yerby sorts through clothing at the Benevolence Center

One of our buzzwords for the recession is "resourcefulness." South Side Mission Associate Executive Director, Benevolence, Steve Dunn oversees our Benevolence Center warehouse that serves the poor. Steve has been operating short-staffed since October. Monies are just not there to hire additional staff now, so Steve is showing resourcefulness. He has been able to cobble together an additional 55 hours per week using the following sources:

• Volunteers
• Court-ordered community service workers
• Experience Works volunteers (these are retirees who are paid by the Experience Works people)
• Welfare moms that are asked to volunteer in the community in exchange for their benefits

These folks sort clothing, food, and hard goods for the Benevolence Center, which helps 1,000 people per month with free food, clothing, furniture, housewares, and appliances.

Way to be resourceful, Steve!

Anatomy of a Gospel presentation

One of our ethics around here is "if you can show someone that they have value, then the Gospel becomes the next logical progression."

In our Lighthouse Diner soup kitchen, people who come for a meal are treated to one of the only gourmet soup kitchens you'll ever see.

Today's menu:

Broiled Chateaubriand
Potato Croquettes
Ratatouille
Made from scratch cheesecake or chocolate cheesecake with strawberries

All of the food was donated, by the way. Meals are prepared by students in our Culinary Arts Training School.

You see, when you serve a poor person a meal fit for a king, it becomes very easy to tell them about the King of Kings--our Lord Jesus Christ. As part of the Lighthouse Diner, we have a short, 5-minute Gospel presentation, given by a variety of local pastors and laity.

As you might imagine, many people come for lunch, but leave with Jesus.

The Lighthouse Diner is open Monday through Friday. Doors open at 11:45 a.m. and close at Noon sharp. Lunch and the Gospel are free.

South Side Mission in the News - Culinary Arts Training School

South Side Mission's Culinary Arts Training School is getting some great ink these days.

Under the direction of Chef Chris Franzoni, the program is a 13 week, five-days-a-week, six-hours-a-day school that takes unemployed and underemployed people and trains them to be sous-chefs and kitchen managers. This is not a minimum-wage job training program. Graduates can qualify for living wage jobs, paying $10 and hour or more.

As of April 2009, our graduates can be found working in prestigious kitchens throughout central Illinois. The Saucier at Embassy Suites is one of our grads, as is the Head Chef at Basta in Morton. The Executive Chef (third shift) in the executive dining room at the Morton Caterpillar plant is one of our grads. Culinary Arts Training School graduates fill roles in the nursing home industry, hotel industry, and restaurants in the area.

Thanks be to God for blessing this exciting ministry and those it serves.

Ministry by the numbers - March 2009

Mike Parks, one of our staff at our Benevolence Center, readies food baskets to be given away to the poor.

Here's what the Lord did last month at South Side Mission. Let's rejoice and pray together about these things...

HIGHLIGHTS FROM MARCH 2009

Indicated decisions to follow Christ for the month
476

Average number of homeless women & children housed nightly
46

Families served with free clothing, furniture, appliances & housewares
591

Attendance in our Sunday School, weekly
32

Attendance at our RiverWest Bible Study
15

Elderly Services home, hospital or nursing home visits
63

Formerly homeless women moving out successfully
2

Food baskets given away at our RiverWest Satellite Office
12

Average attendance at the Lighthouse Diner
19

Food baskets given away through our Garden Street Benevolence Center
475

College Club kids enrolled at ICC
14

Food baskets given away at our Harrison Homes Satellite Office
25

Attendance at our Harrison Homes Bible Study
15

Attendance in our Chapel services, Laramie Street, weekly
44

Attendance in our Chapel services, Garden Street, weekly
266

Number of churches involved with our Adoptablock program
15

Pastoral care visits & counsels (non-elderly)
22

Kids enrolled in after-school tutoring
75

Hot meals to the poor
6,410

FINANCIALS FROM MARCH 2009

Monthly revenue vs. budgeted
$324,037/$253,851

Monthly expenses vs. budgeted
$221,100/$233,552

Positive or Negative on the Month
+ $102,937

Yearly revenue vs. budgeted
$585,062/$606,553

Yearly expenses vs. budgeted
$646,725/$694,810

Positive or Negative on the Year
- $61,662

The Lord smiled upon us, financially, in March 2009. In March, expenses were under budget, contributions were over budget, praise God. Mission Mart sales exceeded budget. We are using a three-pronged approach to getting through this year…
1. Pray more. And we finish, pray even more.
2. Be resourceful about revenue.
3. Be resourceful about expenses. Barter. Go without.

In the month of March the school ministry had over 100 children in our four before-school chapel services in District 150 public schools in 61605 during a week! Almost half of them (48) were at our brand new and red-hot Harrison Primary School ministry!

Three (3) more churches signed on for Adopt–A-Block in March.
1. El Vista Baptist Church,
2. Morning Glory Ministries
3. Woodland Baptist Church.

Director of Elderly Services Robin Winfrey RN reports that she has begun a Bible study at the primarily senior citizen apartment house called South Side Manor. It is her goal to get a Bible study going in each apartment complex in 61605 that caters primarily to senior citizens.

Associate Executive Director, Youth Ministries Sheree Lyles reports that all 14 College Club students at ICC that started this fall are still enrolled! We are encouraged that they continue to come back to the Mission to use the computer lab or encourage our high school age College Club members. Two of the high school club members are planning on enrolling at ICC this fall so far. Our very own Ben Brodt came down to the college club to share financial aid info with the students.

[from Director of Elderly Services Robin Winfrey, RN’s monthly report]
Elmira had an ER visit and was taken immediately for a lung biopsy. God sent Frank and I to minister to her the very next day. She is now set up for Meals on Wheels and I took a food basket the next day. Her fridge was empty. God loves Elmira and she needs all our love and prayers at this time.

More ropes course photos

These are photos from our new High Elements Ropes Course at Camp Kearney. A ropes course is a neat ministry tool that helps accomplish some specific goals, including building confidence, self-esteem, and trust in kids (and adults!) within a group environment.

We aim to use the course for a variety of purposes:

• To enrich the lives of the inner-city and rural poor kids we welcome at Camp Kearney each summer.
• To build into the after-school kids we serve all year long.
  
• To build the camaraderie and trust in our own staff and volunteer teams at South Side Mission and its ministries.
• To rent out the course and facilitators to corporate groups, churches, and other teams looking to build trust and teamwork.
  

With our lodging facilities at Camp, we can now host a full-service retreat at Camp over a weekend or overnight that features, spiritual renewal at our chapel, delicious food in our dining hall, a challenging ropes course, miles of hiking trails, and comfortable accommodations.

Thank you Lord for our new ropes course!

At the end of their rope

"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. "

- Matthew 5:3 from the Message translation

This is Seth. Actually, Seth is the guy in the harness. The other guy is Tim from Experiential systems. Seth and his school, Mountain Lake Christian School of Mountain Lake MN, came down over spring break and helped build a brand new High Elements Ropes Course at
South Side Mission's Camp Kearney for inner city and rural poor kids. And Tim is one of the mad scientists at Experiential Systems, a ropes course contractor out of Lansing, IL, who supervised our construction and handled the really complicated pieces.

Seth is our very first participant on the ropes course. He's also the answer to the trivia question, "who was the first person ever talked about in the South Side Mission blog?"

Why this is important...

Camp Kearney accommodates around 400 kids who are at the end of their rope annually at our 155-acres of timber and prairie in Glasford. These children from the most troubled of backgrounds come to Camp Kearney over the course of 10 weeks this summer for a free week of summer camp. Camp Kearney is a place where inner-city and rural poor children can enjoy a traditional Summer Camp experience like we all remember. Fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing, wall-climbing, swimming, as well as challenging Bible teaching await kids who come to Camp Kearney.

Inner-city and rural poor kids need a bright spot in their lives. They need to get out of their difficult living environment and enjoy the wonders of nature while hearing that God loves them. In an atmosphere like Camp Kearney, kids from troubled backgrounds discover that there’s hope for a better life while having fun. The ropes course we just installed supports this discovery process as participants learn team-building and self-reliance while having an absolute blast.

As fun as a ropes course is, however, it also helps accomplish some specific goals, including building confidence, self-esteem, and trust in kids within a group environment. As you might expect, inner-city and rural poor kids often lack self-esteem and confidence. Their lives are characterized by absent fathers, moving from place to place, never enough food on the table, and gangs and drugs never far away. A ropes course cannot change their circumstances, but it can change how they cope with their plight and how they approach the challenges in their lives.

Thank you to the great people who underwrote this exciting new addition to South Side Mission's Camp Kearney:

Ronald McDonald House Charities of central Illinois
Community Foundation of central Illinois
Ruby K. Worner Charitable Trust
G&D Integrated
Gamma Phi Beta at Valparaiso University
Jimmy and Marty Carr