Thanks to everyone who helped with the last "Helping Hands" sandwich making for the Christian Caring Center!  In addition to your donations, this time some of the supplies were donated through a "Thrivent Action Team" project.  Please note that ANY Thrivent member may sponsor an 'action team' (and we have a LONG list of projects to be funded!).  For more information on this please contact 'lifelines@lordlife.us' and we will get you started!   

   Thank you to everyone who participated in our impromptu collection of casseroles for the Christian Caring Center's Code Blue Shelter.  We asked at Bunco on Friday night and Betty M. sent out an email to the Women's ministry email chain.  By Monday morning, our master chefs had cooked up 30 casseroles.  These were not the small pans but large tins full of great dishes.  We took the casseroles along with the Helping Hands folks who made their regular 300 sandwiches (this too is over the top).  We also collected other goodies such as muffins, brownies, bagels, and a bunch of canned goods.  I know there are many others who would have helped if you had known about it, but do not dismay.  We were extremely successful and will be doing it again next month. The shelter will be supporting these folks as long as it is cold.  The need is there and if we can help, it will be appreciated. Lord of Life's generosity continues to be over the top.   

Even *if* the weather warms up sufficiently to call off Code Blue shelter, we hope that our guests will still stay close by and continue to get shelter and sustenance, so that we can help many folks in need to get into more stable situations.

That means your home-cooked meals will continue to be an important part of our work. Please continue to spread the word, and THANK YOU for your help.  When you come to drop off your casseroles, would you please consider leaving your name and contact information so that we can thank you personally? A notification here would be great as well!

Several of you have reached out recently to ask about our current volunteer needs. We have just had to reduce our staff due to funding issues, so we are in need of volunteers with office skills more than ever.

There are two areas where we are hoping to build new teams of volunteers:

1. Case management -- helping guests and clients get connected with needed services. This involves learning how to use a software program called HMIS, which is used by many Burlington County social services agencies to connect people and services. It is not difficult to learn, but does require that you have computer and Internet literacy. The ideal volunteers will be able to commit a minimum of one shift per week.  

2. Telephone receptionists -- I won't lie to you, folks, this can be the toughest job in the house. The people who become our phone team will form the first point of contact with every possible kind of visitor to the center, from clients in crisis, to donors, to vendors, to other agencies..... We will teach you how to serve the Lord in this vital post. You will learn about all the services we offer as well as how to give some on-the-spot referrals to other services. If you are already experienced in phone work, you'll build new skills into your repertoire. If you are learning phone work for the first time, you will build your resume, gain all kinds of professional confidence, and be a blessing to many in the process! The ideal volunteer will be able to commit at least one shift every other week.