Community+Service+Ministry

​​​ = __Community Service Ministry__  = == Our Mission: Community Service Ministry (CSM) is a long-standing committee of the Community Church that encourages, coordinates, and delivers services and financial support to the local community with a strong emphasis on hands on activities that improve the lives of those less fortunate in **our** community. The CSM provides opportunities for church members to volunteer and helps them learn ways to serve the community and live out their inward and outward spiritual journeys. ==

__**Crop Walk**__
= **//We walk because they walk//** =

== **The next Chapel Hill/Carrboro Crop Walk, benefitting Church World Service (** //[|www.churchworldservice.org]// **) and the IFC, will be held on March 25, 2012. The walk will be a four mile stroll along the streets of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and through the UNC campus. There will be a shorter route available as well. Registration will begin at 1:30pm and the walk will kick off from the Carrboro Town Commons at 2:30pm. Entertainment, activities, and a silent auction will begin during registration and continue throughout the afternoon. Come join the fun and support Crop Walk.** **[]** ==

= __Bountiful Bags! Shop til you drop to support the IFC Pantry!__ = = =

= __**IFC Share-the-Plate is in conjunction with Bountiful Bags on April 15, 2012 **__ = ===**​ What is IFC? For over 45 y​ears, Inter-Faith Council for Social Services (IFC) has provided concrete help to local people struggling to feed their families, hang on to their jobs, and meet their basic needs. The Community Church was a founding congregation of the IFC and continues to contribute the money, groceries, leadership and volunteers need​ed to **=== ===** h​elp IFC help families. IFC provides year-round services to individuals in need in our community. Meals are served at the IFC Community Kitchen 365 days a year. The Community House offers shelter and other services to homeless men. Project Home Start provides services and transitional housing in a homelike atmosphere for women and children. Low-income families receive nutritious groceries at the Food Pantry and specific help with needs such as clothing, utilities and referrals for other services at the Main Street office. **===

===** You can help... Join a volunteer team that cooks and serves meals every month. Bring canned goods to church for the Food Pantry. Volunteer at Community House, Project Home Start, or Main Street. Community Church contributions from Share the Plate help to make all this remarkable work possible. Read more about these and other innovative services such as Food First and Community House at [|www.ifcweb.org].**===

** Through Community Service Ministry efforts UU church members have the opportunity to prepare and serve meals at the homeless shelter once a month. **

 * ===** Lunch - 3rd Wednesday of the month **===
 * ===** Dinner - 1st Friday of the month **===

** Throughout the year, church members will find a shopping cart just outside the sanctuary for collection of canned goods. Community Service Ministry delivers these donations to the IFC Pantry. **
=== **In autumn and winter, Community Service Ministry collects donations from church members to support the IFC holiday meals program which provides special meals for low income families. Meals are served at the IFC Community house located at 100 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516 ([|map it] ). Meal times are [|posted here], but you should arrive early depending on your task.** ===

=**__ The 13th annual School Supplies Project is coming... __**= ==

==The 2011 School Supplies Project was a great success. Once again the overwhelming generosity of the Community Church was evident! We are already gearing up for the 2012. Stay tuned for the summer Share-the-Plate date! Contact Eleanor Armstrong if you would like to lend a hand. ==

= = = __Charles House Association - Helping People Age the Way They Have Lived __ = =Joint Share-the-Plate for Charles House and OKAY- May 6, 2012 = = = ===** Charles House Association operates the Charles House Daytime Eldercare Center in Carrboro and the new Charles House Eldercare Home in Chapel Hill to provide quality personalized care to elders and respite for their caregiving families.The mission of Charles House Association: ** ===

** [|www.CharlesHouse.org] **
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 * ===** Enriching the lives of seniors ** ===
 * ===** Supporting families caring for aging family members ** ===
 * ===** Representing the community’s commitment to its elders ** ===

=__OKAY (Opportunities for Kids and Youth)__ Joint Share-the-Plate for OKAY and Charles House - May 6, 2012 = = OKAY has worked diligently for several years to compile a list of summer programs for the children of low-resource families. OKAY partners with social workers, IFC, churches, NAACP and El Centro Hispano to keep kids occupied and out of trouble during the summer school break. This year OKAY will be working with a new community center near Rogers Rd. to provide supplies, volunteers and monetary assistance as needed. Anyone interested in helping should contact Connie Gates at conniegates@juno.com. =

=** __Habitat For Humanity__ **=

[[image:HFHILogo_Primary.png width="176" height="63"]]
===Habitat for Humanity of Orange County (HHOC) offers homeownership to local families who otherwise may not have the opportunity for a safe, affordable home. Churches and organizations partner to contribute part of the construction costs and their labor and they build homes alongside future homeowners, who invest 325 hours of labor. This helps keep costs low for Habitat families, who pay closing costs and monthly mortgage payments to Habitat. ===

===Since 1984, HHOC has built more than 216 homes locally. In cooperation with other churches and community groups, Community Church of Chapel Hill has built 16 of these homes. We are raising funds for our 17th Habitat home, which will be the 4th home we will build in Habitat’s 50-home Phoenix Place neighborhood in Chapel Hill. Our share is $4,000. We need to raise enough funds to partner with other area churches in this important mission of providing affordable homes for qualified families. Our most recent Share the Plate collection was March 18, 2012. If you would like to donate, please make checks payable to Community Church of Chapel Hill UU and put Habitat for Humanity STP in the memo line. Thank you. ===

2011 Fall Build
===**<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This fall we partnered with St.Thomas More, Newman Center, Holy Trinity, Hillsong, and United Church.to build a home at 118 Phoenix Drive in Habitat’s green-built neighborhood, Phoenix Place, off of Rogers Road and Purefoy __Drive__in Chapel Hill. ([|Directions to Phoenix Place]) **===

===**<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The new owners, Emma and Melvin Council, moved in March 17, 2012 and a home dedication was held the next day. Emma works part time as a self-employed housekeeper/childcare provider. Emma and Melvin have two children currently living with them: Emily (25) and Melvin Jr. (18). Their children have helped a great deal with the family’s required sweat equity hours. The Council’s have seven grandchildren who periodically visit from out of state. They enjoy having their grandchildren visit overnight and with their new home will be able to do this as often as they want. **===

[[image:IMG_1484.JPG width="320" height="240"]][[image:IMG_1470.JPG width="294" height="241"]][[image:IMG_1456.JPG width="320" height="240"]]
===<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">For more information, contact our volunteer construction coordinator, Dave Morgan at morgandb@gmail.com ===

=** For more information about Community Service Ministry or to volunteer for service contact us at **=

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">csm@c3huu.org **
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