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| Vol 20 · No 12 | December 2011
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We took one our residents who is leaving for another cottage out for ice cream this evening. We went to his favorite place, McDonald'sŪ of course. There were eight of us waiting in line and a lady came over and asked what group we were. Not knowing what one of the guys had done or said I was a little hesitant but said FUMCH. She smiled and stood waiting for her order. All of us ordered and the cashier told me the total, just as I began to pay this lady handed the cashier the money to cover our treats. You should have seen the faces on the boys, just unbelief. One of them said, "Why would she do that?" We all said, "thank you" and she left, but the last thing she said was we were one of the best groups she had ever seen. Not sure what that meant but the boys learned a giant lesson in giving, and we pray they will pass it on. |
Christmas meals are being served in each home this year, rather than as a large meal in the gymnasium. This preserves a more family-style feeling for the meal, and allows each home to decide when and how to serve it, based on their holiday schedule. A meal for each of our 13 homes costs $100. We are purchasing pre-cooked meals from Publix for each home, to be delivered the day before Christmas. This is a wonderful opportunity for a group or individual to donate directly to the children, by knowing you personally have provided the Holiday Meal for an entire home. For more information, please contact Zoe Peterson at zoe.peterson@fumch.org, or 386-668-4774.
Keystone United Methodist Church of Odessa, Florida recently held their 4th Annual Wayne Odell Keystone Classic Golf Tournament. Half of the proceeds benefited the Children's Home. Thank you for your support.
Women of the First United Methodist Church of Monticello volunteered and contributed their time to crocheting caps for the young people at the Children's Home. Thank you so much! We know these were made with God's blessing and the loving hands of these gracious ladies.
Each year at the Volusia County Fair a livestock auction is held to benefit the young people who raise lambs, steers or hogs as a part of the Future Farmers of America chapters in the local schools. Many people who bid on the animals simply want to support the youth and cannot use or store the meat from the animals. Therefore, a number of animals are donated to the Children's Home. After the Fair the animals are processed and the meat comes to the Children's Home. We receive a great deal of high quality meat each year. We deeply appreciate all those who donated an animal. This year we received 1 lamb, 2 steer and 9 hogs.
The 4th Annual Hope Bike Run was held on November 12, 2011. This annual motorcycle run is organized by the United Methodist Men of DeLeon Springs and the East Central District to benefit the ministry of the Children's Home. It is a great time of fun, food, contests, a silent auction and fellowship. The residents always enjoy seeing all the motorcycles. |
Don't Forget Fifth Sunday
Offerings
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Remember to promote and collect the Fifth Sunday Offering. It is vital to the success of this ministry
Christmas 2011
January 29, 2012
April 29, 2012
July 29, 2012
September 30, 2012
December 30, 2012
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SAVE THE DATE |
2012Day On Campus
March 17, 2012
We cordially invite all those in the East Central District and South West District to come and enjoy this day of celebration. |
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Christmas Offering
Please make every effort to have your church receive a Christmas Offering. Bulletin inserts and envelopes are available if you do not already have them. Some churches receive an offering on Christmas Eve. Others churches take up an offering on Christmas Sunday. A few also take up an offering on the last Sunday of the year. You know your church and what would work best in your situation.
Christmas Catalog
The 2011 Christmas Catalog has been mailed. If you would like additional copies of the catalog, please contact our Development Office at (386) 668-5088. The Christmas Catalog has proven to be a meaningful and successful way to give to loved ones and at the same time help to make Christmas brighter and more joyous for our boys and girls.
Year End Giving
We know that many of you are working hard to have your church reach its goal of giving for 2011. Please remember that your gift needs to be postmarked by December 31, 2011 in order to be counted towards your 2011 goal of giving. Our financial books will remain open until the Florida Annual Conference closes their books. Therefore, if you should send your giving through the conference office, instead of directly to the Children's Home, it will be counted toward your goal. We will just have to wait a couple of weeks to receive the funds.
Help Us Finish Strong
The foundation of all we do is the children, youth and families we serve in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ. It can seem at times that we focus too much on money and offerings and supporting the Children's Home financially. Unfortunately, we live in a world where it takes money and resources to care for those who turn to us for help in time of need. Your gifts, both individually and as a church, provide all the ingredients that make this ministry possible. Your gifts provide loving houseparents, caring therapists, chapel and music ministry, a comprehensive education program, recreation therapy and a beautiful campus to call home. We deeply appreciate all you do as Local Church Representatives to help support us. We could not do it without you.
Thank You Retiring LCR's-Welcome New LCRs
For some of you, December 31, 2011 will mark the end of your tenure as a Local Church Representative (LCR). We deeply thank you for all your hard work and effort on behalf of the Children's Home. For others, you will begin your journey with the Children's Home on January 1, 2012 as a new LCRs. We welcome you and hope you find fulfillment and meaning lifting up the Home in your local church. LCRs are a vital component to our ministry and development efforts. With some 700 churches in the Florida Annual Conference, it would be nearly impossible for us to have a meaningful connection in all those local churches without the LCRs serving as goodwill ambassadors. Thank you for all you do! |
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Children's Home Meets Challenge Grant!
Thanks to the help of our generous donors, FUMCH was able to raise over $165,500, meeting the requirements of the Dr. Phillips Challenge Grant!
The grant now allows FUMCH to (1) support foster care in Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties and (2) initiate parent coaching sessions with the goal of reuniting families.
The requirements of the grant were that FUMCH both contribute $165,500, as well as raise $165,000, in order to receive a grant of $165,500 from Dr. Phillips Charities. That created a unique situation in which every dollar donated was in effect tripled.
One portion of the grant money will be used to support the necessary staffing and programming for the Florida United Methodist Children's Home to use our pioneering and highly successful model to train and license more foster care parents who can help abused children.
The second portion of the grant will be used to begin parent coaching sessions, which will include group parenting classes, supervised visits with constructive feedback, court required progress reports, substance abuse testing, and help transporting children to the site for visits. It is always our goal to reunite families, and with proper training, this is often a very real possibility.
Thank you to every one of our faithful donors who helped give FUMCH this opportunity to create more loving foster care families, and help teach parents better life and parenting skills, so every child can get the love they deserve, and every family can achieve their full potential! |
2011 LCR Training Events
Please make note of the dates and times of the upcoming LCR training events. Please plan to attend one of these events so that you will receive the latest news about the Children's Home and meet and fellowship with other Local Church Representatives. If you have any questions, you can contact Stephen Hartsfield or Bess Bussey. We will update the list as information becomes available.
Atlantic Central
Choose the location most convenient for you.
February 4, 2012
Trinity United Methodist Church
9265 N. Military Trail
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420
561-622-5278
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
3 different class times will be available
March 3, 2012
Grace United Methodist Church
65 Needle Boulevard
Merritt Island, FL 32953
321-452-2420
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
3 different class times will be available
East Central
January 14, 2012
Florida United Methodist Children's Home
51 Children's Way
Enterprise, FL 32725
11:30 am to 1:30 pm
Lunch Provided
Gulf Central District
Choose the location most convenient for you.
February 6, 2012
First United Methodist Church
9344 Spring Hill Drive
Spring Hill, FL 34608
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
February 7, 2012
Heritage United Methodist Church
2680 Landmark Drive
Clearwater, FL 33761
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
February 9, 2012
First United Methodist Church
603 11th Street W.
Bradenton, FL 34205
North Central
January 7, 2012
First United Methodist Church
1126 E. Silver Springs Blvd.
Ocala, FL 34470
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
North East
February 18, 2012 (Tentative)
Mandarin United Methodist Church
11270 San Jose Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32223
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
North West
January 21, 2012
First United Methodist Church
302 North Jefferson Street
Perry, FL 32348
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
South Central
January 28, 2011
First United Methodist Church
120 N. Knights Avenue
Brandon, FL 33510
8:00 am to 1:00 pm
South East
January 21, 2012
Hollywood Hill United Methodist Church
400 North 35th Avenue
Hollywood, FL 33021
South West
As an invited district to Day On Campus we are planning to
hold our own event for LCRs. Information will be coming soon. |
November Begins
Teen Mother/Baby Program
A new program serving young teenage girls primarily between the ages of 14-17 that are pregnant or new mothers began in November. We will offer a holistic approach to care that will help them grow into a responsible parent and develop the skills to be a contributing member of the community.
The teens will learn the basics of parenting, nurturing, bonding and general care, as well as learning how to develop coping skills for the inevitable challenges of everyday life. The program will use a house mother model, have a fenced play area and provide on-site day care facilities once the teen mothers return to school. Fox Wright Home has been renovated to accommodate these young families. |
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Proud of Our Connection
The Children's Home is a member of the United Methodist Association of Health and Welfare Ministires (UMA). UMA is a national association of United Methodist related, and other faith-based ministires and professionals involved in promoting quality care in a faith-based setting.
Headquartered near Tupelo, Mississippi, UMA serves more than 380 health and human services organization and professionals nationwide. These ministries:
Provide more than two billion dollars in charity care annually
Serve more than 32 million people each year in 1,555 locations across the U.S.
Employ 354,000 individuals providing loving care in the name of the United Methodist Church.
Additionally, UMA has the only national faith-based accreditation program, EAGLE, which promotes excellence in all member organizations. We are proud to be a part of the United Methodist Association. For more information about UMA visit www.umassociation.org. |
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Florida United Methodist Children's Home
51 Children's Way, Enterprise, Florida 32725
Main Office (386) 668-4774 · Development Department (386) 668-5088
www.allchildrenfirst.org
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| MISSION
To empower children and families to experience God's love
and care as revealed in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
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