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A Hope and A Future
United Methodist Cooperative Ministries/Suncoast, Inc. |
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Volunteers Receive Exciting Recognition | |
UM Cooperative Ministries program volunteers have been honored in a big way so far in 2012!
Lewis Hill was named a Lightning Community Hero by the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 24. Hill received a $50,000 grant from the Lightning Foundation and Lightning Community Heroes program, which he will donate to Heifer International and United Methodist Cooperative Ministries. 
Lewis is the Volunteer Coordinator of the Pack-A-Sack 4 Kids program. He was instrumental in researching, developing, and starting the program along with Donna Ratzlaff, Executive Director of Cooperative Ministries from 1981-2009.
At this time, the Pack-A-Sack 4 Kids program is approaching 1000 children served after just a few short years in existence. Lewis has been the driving force behind this growth. Thank you, Lewis, for all you do!
To see the Lightning Community Hero video for Lewis, click here.
Ray Miller was honored by Palm Harbor Community School at Oldsmar (part of Palm Harbor University High School) as the Outstanding School Volunteer for 2011-2012. He has also been chosen as one of 13 honorees for the Pinellas County School District out of a pool of 140 nominees.
Ray works with small groups of adult students to improve their literacy skills, reinforcing reading strategies and grammatical structures. He also spends time working with students on reading fluency and vocabulary development.
Joy Brown and Camille Lackey nominated Ray for this honor. In their nomination letter, they wrote, "Ray has been a tremendous asset to our program... The students respect and admire his knowledge and compassion and look forward to their weekly sessions with him."
Ray received a touching tribute from all of his students at the school and will be formally recognized on April 26 at the Feather Sound Country Club.
To see more, including a list of all district volunteers honored, click here. First United Methodist Church of St. Petersburg's Pack-A-Sack 4 Kids partnership was selected to win a St. Petersburg Mayor's Top Apple Award.
This annual award recognizes top performing schools, as well as supporting organizations that contribute to the schools' success. Twenty-two schools and 30 supporting organizations were honored on January 18 at City Hall.
Woodlawn Elementary School, the church's Pack-A-Sack 4 Kids partner school, nominated the church for the award and presented a plaque to the church during services on February 19. The partnership benefits from the strong leadership of the church's unit of United Methodist Women, and is currently providing 190 sacks to the school every week. |
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| Coming Events | |
March 9-10, 8 am to 3 pm
READ Pinellas Rummage Sale
See below for details
March 15
Registrations and Sponsorships due for Walk for the Dream
March 31, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Walk for the Dream
April 5 - May 5, P.A.S.S. Summer Camp Scholarship Drive
June 1, 6:30 pm Threshers Baseball Game
June 19 - July 19 P.A.S.S. Summer Camp |
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Volunteer! | |
English Grammar Tutor:
The Families Learning Together Program seeks
an English teacher to teach the rules of English grammar to a deaf young adult working to obtain her GED. The student has an interpreter. Tutoring will be in the Clearwater area, Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday mornings.
Cub Scout Leader/Aide/Program Provider
The P.A.S.S. Tutorial Program seeks volunteers to work with Cub Scout Pack 13 at the First UMC Dunedin site. Program time is 2 - 3pm on Wednesdays during the school year. One time or weekly volunteers are welcome.
To volunteer for these opportunities or to learn about others, contact Kitty Carpenter, kcarpenter@umcm.info, 727-442-6881, Ext. 5
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Come Walk With Us | |
We're still dreaming!
We are determined to make the dream - that all children might live in peace, have plentiful food and safe shelter, and get a good education - come true. And you can help!
Walk for the Dream
Saturday, March 31, 2012
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Florida Botanical Gardens and Heritage Village
at Pinewood Cultural Park, Largo
Registration and Sponsorships due by March 15 at the main office in Largo!
Come out and enjoy a beautiful stroll in the gardens while raising funds to support the programs and projects of UM Cooperative Ministries.
Top fundraising individuals and groups will have the chance to win some of these prizes:
Tickets/Passes to
Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Improv Comedy Theater
Show Palace
Celebration Station
Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park
Seminole Bowling Lanes
Side Splitters Comedy Club
Star Lite Cruises
Gift Cards to
Publix Super Markets
Astro Auto Care
Anna Maria Oyster Bar
Maggiano's Little Italy
Beachhouse Restaurant
Crabby Bill's
Frenchy's
Palm Pavilion Beachside Bar and Grill
and many more!
Materials to register and participate are available here. We hope to see you there! |
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Suncoast Community Citizenship Project | |
We're about to kick off our newest project!
Called the Suncoast Community Citizenship Project, this new initiative is to assist immigrants and refugees who hold Legal Permanent Residence status in the US to become naturalized citizens. English language tutoring, US Government and History classes, citizenship test preparation, and citizenship interview practice are all offered to students based on their needs. The project is funded through a generous grant from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.
We'll have more details as the project revs up, but if you're interested in volunteering or being part of the project in some way, contact Kitty Carpenter at kcarpenter@umcm.info or (727) 442-6881 x5. |
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Volunteer Spotlight | 
For the past two summers, Shaun Egger, 17, a junior at Palm Harbor University High School, spent five weeks as a camp counselor for the P.A.S.S. Tutorial Summer Learning Camp.
Shaun says that the best part about working with the elementary school children at P.A.S.S. is their overall attitude towards learning new things. "I don't think I've ever seen a time when one of the children showed up unhappy or not ready to learn," said Shaun.
He added that volunteering is important to him because he wants to help the P.A.S.S. children to be academically successful, so their futures can be brighter. "It gives me a good feeling when they get that look on their face, as if they're saying: 'Oh, I get it!'" said Shaun. Click here for more. |
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Welcome New Staff Members | |
Adriana Santos has joined our staff as our Citizenship Services Manager. Adriana immigrated from Brazil on an invitation from St. Petersburg College to play on their volleyball team. She has Bachelors Degrees in Elementary Education from the Universidade de Sao Paulo and Political Science from Ave Maria University in Florida. We're very happy to have her working with us!
Jaclyn Boland is an Americorps VISTA worker assigned to UM Cooperative Ministries. She has a Bachelors Degree from Ohio University with majors in Spanish and Journalism. She spent the 2010-2011 school year in Cuenca, Spain, working with the Spanish Ministry of Education to help create bi-lingual lesson plans for high school students. She'll be working in the Families Learning Together program.
Jaclyn O'Rorke is also joining us as an Americorps VISTA worker in the Families Learning Together program. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences from the University of South Florida and has spent time as a teacher's assistant for the Pinellas County Science Center and the theatre department at John Hopkins Middle School.
As you can see, we're very blessed by these new staff members and the talents and knowledge they bring to the organization! |
| Want to Help? |
Would you like to be a part of one of the programs or projects of Cooperative Ministries? Click on one of the links below to get involved in the way that's best for you!
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Looking For Treasure? |
If so, we have a lead for you!
One of our community partners, READ Pinellas, will be holding a rummage sale on Friday and Saturday, March 9 & 10 from 8am - 3 pm at the READ Pinellas Office, 300 Chestnut St., Oldsmar, FL
Proceeds will help READ to provide GED test fees to low-income adults.
READ Pinellas provides great support to UM Cooperative Ministries' Families Learning Together Literacy Program. We receive curricula, video learning resources, testing materials, and registration fees for staff to attend conferences and trainings.
We hope you'll stop by and support them! |
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All of us send our hearty congratulations to Lewis Hill, Ray Miller, and the members of First UMC St. Petersburg for the wonderful accolades they have received. While the honors are great, the true measure of the work they have done is in the many lives touched and transformed by their love and dedication.
We are blessed to be able to work with them, and with all of the volunteers who give of themselves every day to make this world a better place for those who are struggling or hurting. Thank you all for everything you do! Grace and Peace, Pamela Qualls, Executive Director
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| Info | United Methodist Cooperative Ministries/Suncoast, Inc.
403 1st Avenue SW, Suite 102 Largo, FL 33770 (727) 442-6881
www.umcm.info
contact@umcm.info Please note - We now have mail delivery at our physical address. We will maintain our PO Box until September 30, 2012, but please begin to address all mail to the address listed above. Thank you! |
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