Ed Holland is a grandfather, a volunteer, and an all around good guy. He’s seen plenty of struggle as he connects with people in the community, but he also sees hope.
Celebrating Volunteers
Nearly every day, volunteers share their time and their energy to support of Crisis Assistance Ministry’s critical mission: to provide assistance and advocacy for people in financial crisis, helping them move toward self-sufficiency. During National Volunteer Appreciation Week, and every week, we salute every neighbor who pitches in to strengthen this community in priceless ways.
Overcoming Challenges, Reclaiming Purpose
After watching dementia slowly take her mother, battling her own depression, and ultimately retiring due to health difficulties, things got hard for Deborah. Loss of income and grief overtook her, and before long she was, in her own words, “sitting alone in the dark, with no lights, no food, and too much pride to ask anyone for help.”
That’s when the master’s prepared social worker found herself somewhere she never imagined: sitting across the desk from another social worker, seeking help to dig herself out. There, she remembers being met with kindness, concern, and hope.
Four Ways to Help Families This Spring
As seasons change, many families discover the need to refresh their wardrobes: children have grown, last summer’s shoes are worn out, and there’s not a matching set of socks to be found. For low-wage earners, these needs can wreck a carefully balanced budget. Here are four ways you can help these neighbors meet their basic needs this season.
When Need Is Great, Numbers Are Subjective
Walter and his furniture-construction partner, Nick, have lost count. They’ve been deep into Ikea instructions, constructing drawers, adding liner paper, and hauling dressers to sit with the others that volunteers from True Homes have made.
Was it five dressers they constructed? Six? They can’t recall. But 22 newly constructed dressers and 24 tables were added to Crisis Assistance Ministry’s Furniture & Appliance inventory.
Covenant Impacts Charlotte
An intergenerational group of volunteers spent a Saturday morning getting things ready for Free Store shoppers who will shop free-of-charge in the coming weeks. Although a surprising chill – even for November – settled over Charlotte Saturday, the cheerful folks from Covenant Presbyterian Church …
My Summer with Dignity, Integrity, Respect, Empathy, Compassion, and Trust
Crisis Assistance Ministry prides itself on its core values of Dignity, Integrity, Respect, Empathy, Compassion, and Trust (D.I.R.E.C.T,). I experienced all these aspects firsthand throughout my internship, both with employees and those the organization helps.
There is No “Them” or “Us”
When I wake up in the morning, I am not worried about whether I am going to struggle to pay my rent this month. I am not worried about whether my lights are going to get turned off or if I won’t have water in the next couple of days. When I wake up in the morning, my first worry is if I am late for work or class, and that is a privilege I didn’t even know I had until I began working at Crisis Assistance Ministry this summer.