SEARCH Welcomes New Board of Directors
SEARCH Introduces Karen Chitty-Boe
Spotlight: South Main Baptist Church
A SEARCH Success Story: Second Annual Water for Life Drive
SEARCH welcomes 2006-2007 Board of Directors. As the agency begins a new year with positive changes and opportunities in store, a dedicated group of new leaders will be joining us to help guide its course. J. Downey Bridgwater, incoming Chairman of the Board, is the CEO of Sterling Bank and an active member of the business and civic community. Mr. Bridgwater offers broad-based experience and strategic guidance as SEARCH continues to position itself as the leader in changing lives and ending homelessness in Houston. Joining SEARCH’s board will be 12 new members from diverse experiences and backgrounds:
Raquel Bone, VP JP Morgan Chase Securities
Bill Boyar, Chairman, Boyar & Miller
Todd Edwards, Real Estate Coordinator Project Manager, Midtown Redevelopment Authority
Steve Jackson, Business Entrepreneur
Cheryl Lawson, Executive Vice President of Implementation, John M. Floyd & Associates
John Leonard, CFO, SUEBA
Nicole Perdue, Community Volunteer
Harry Pringle, Jr., President, Pringle Resources, Inc.
Vince Rachal, Jr., Senior Account Executive, First Health, a Coventry Company
Malika Reed, Attorney, Powers & Frost, L.L.P.
Eric Rhodes, Attorney
Diptabhas Sarkar, Senior Scientist – Chemist, Halliburton
SEARCH Welcomes Karen Chitty-BoeNew to the SEARCH team, Karen will be working with SEARCH's Council of Congergations.
Service to others plus a zeal for life peppered with plenty of humor are the trademarks by which Karen Chitty-Boe is known. With careers in both health care and youth ministry, Karen has a long history of serving others.
As a licensed minister, Karen was a youth director at various congregations around the country, after graduating from college in 1978 and receiving her ministerial diploma. From 1992 to 1995, she directed outreach ministries for youth and children at Advent Episcopal Church in Stafford. While there, she secured funding for camp programs for 500 at-risk (gang) children and coordinated more than 100 volunteers. In addition, she managed a summer food program for 100 at-risk children in Fort Bend and helped initiate the “Breakfast of Champions” through Fellowship of Christian Athletes for all Fort Bend high school students. Her work was recognized with a “Hometown Hero” award in 1995 from Time Warner Cable.
Karen’s work in health care began with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, first as a surgical scheduler and rising to Manager of Provider Relations. In the latter role, Karen and her staff worked with more than 1,500+ physicians and 30 managed care plans to touch over 200,000 lives. She also worked with 31 clinics to educate and train personnel about managed health care. In 2003, Karen brought her skills to Fort Bend County when she joined Methodist Sugar Land Hospital as Director of Medical Staff Services and Marketing.
In the community, Karen has served on the boards of the East Fort Bend Chapter of the American Heart Association, Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels, and Asians Against Domestic Abuse. She sits on the advisory boards for the Fort Bend County Women’s Center (shelter for domestic violence), and the Fort Bend Mental Health Association. In May 2006, she co-chaired the inaugural event for the Go Red for Women Luncheon. Her previous board affiliations where she served are the Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry and the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation. She was recently elected to the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. In 2003, Karen, with her husband Ed, founded the not for profit, ‘Project Byte,’ to help narrow the technology gap experienced by at-risk children and also provide technology services to non-profit organizations that are dedicated to supporting children, youth and their families. The organization also provides refurbished computers and technical support to local and international non-profits. In addition, Karen is excited about being an ‘empty nester’ as the mother of Michael (21) and Melissa (18).
South Main Baptist Church has been a generous supporter of SEARCH and its House of Tiny Treasures for many years. In the past year, South Main has contributed $20,000 in monetary donations, $1,165 in in-kind gifts, and countless hours of service and volunteer time.
Four times in the past years, South Main has sponsored “South Main Nights on the Van,” where volunteers from South Main fill the Mobile Outreach Van. Many of the volunteers continue their involvement with SEARCH outside of church related activities.
In an effort coordinated Don Hall, the Director of SEARCH’s Mobile Outreach Unit, 35 South Mainers boarded eight vehicles loaded with goodies and paid a visit to Houston’s homeless on Christmas Eve of last year. The South Main group reached-out to approximately 85 homeless men and woman and gave them blankets, bags of food, stockings filled with toiletries, coats, sleeping bags, New Testaments, maps to shelters with phone numbers, and METRO tokens, homemade tamales, and hot chocolate. Plans are underway for another Christmas Eve visit this year.
South Main’s sandwich making effort has provided more than 1,000 sandwiches and sack lunches for the Mobile Outreach Unit since April 1st, and the effort continues. Individuals and groups are making sandwiches in Sunday School classes, in mission groups, and at parties at church members homes.
In conjunction with First Presbyterian Church and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, South Main raised $3,500 for the purchase of more than 31,000 bottles of water for SEARCH’s second annual Water for Life Drive.
During the week of July 24th, South Main’s Middle School Missions Kids will focus on SEARCH and the House of Tiny Treasures. They will make sack lunches for the Mobile Outreach Unit. They also will spend time at the House of Tiny Treasures providing help where needed and learning more about the services provided by the HTT. The group also plans to visit the Resource Center at SEARCH to use their skills and talents to reach out to clients waiting for appointments.
Earlier this year, South Main’s Boys and Girls on Mission focused on SEARCH during an entire month. SEARCH’s Leonora Friend and Michael, a SEARCH client and spokesperson, came to South Main and talked to the boys and girls about being homeless and the importance of making good choices. The children built an outdoor shanty-town out of cardboard boxes and listened to The Company Kitchen’s Joseph talk about living on the streets in Houston and how SEARCH helped him change his life. The children also made about 75 survival kits and collected diapers and other items for the House of Tiny Treasures.
On learning of the need of the House of Tiny Treasures for a new mini-bus this year, one of South Main’s members influenced his employer to contribute approximately $9,000 to the HTT designated for the mini-bus.
Last November, South Main sponsored the Fall Festival for HTT. South Main volunteers provided activities for children like face painting, crafts, ball toss, cookie decorating, prize walks for children and adults, games and a huge piñata filled with 30 pounds of candy and food provided by James Coney Island.
South Mains’ KidsQuest used their carpentry skills to build furniture greatly needed by the House of Tiny Treasures. As the children assisted in the construction of the furniture, they learned about HTT and the wonderful work the HTT does for homeless children and their parents.
In June, South Main’s Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) visited the House of Tiny Treasures in an effort to learn more about the needs and volunteer opportunities of the H TT.
In the past year, several Sunday School classes sponsored various fund raisers for SEARCH and activities for its clients. One class provided a gourmet dinner at South Main, with tuxedo-clad waiters and professional musicians. The effort raised about $2,600 which was donated to SEARCH for the purchase of bottled water and sun screen. A boys’ missions class sponsored a car wash and raised about $350 for the purchase of bottled water. One class committed to provide enough sandwiches, once a week for several weeks, to enable the Mobile Outreach Unit to make its rounds. When this class gave a report of its effort to the church, a visitor attending one of South Main’s worship services on that particular Sunday was so moved by the effort that he donated $1,000, which the class donated to SEARCH for the purchase of a mini-bus for the House of Tiny Treasures. Another class brought the permanent residents from SEARCH to South Main’s campus and provided a BBQ dinner with all the trimmings, along with games and prizes.
South Main’s College Class provided a Hamburger and Movie night for the permanent residents of SEARCH. A group of 15 college students and their leaders cooked hamburgers with all the trimmings and brought ice cream. After eating, the group watched a movie with the permanent residents. This same group has also sponsored a Spaghetti and Movie Night.
South Main Baptist Church’s great community-building efforts have increased awareness of and interest in SEARCH, providing us with much needs funds, supplies, and volunteers.
On September 21st, South Main will host a city-wide ecumenical worship service to remind all of Houston that SEARCH is a faith-based organization. The worship service is being sponsored by the member congregations of SEARCH’s Council of Congregations. The focus of the worship service will be “Our Call to Care.” Prior to the service, South Main’s Pastor, Dr. Steve Wells, will host a dinner for senior clergy from the member congregations, to provide a forum for clergy to discuss how their representative congregations can work together to meet the needs of Houston’s homeless.
Spotlight: Shell Oil Products On July 26, Austin Briscoe, Brenda Schroeder and Juan Jimenez of the Shell Oil Products Purchase to Pay Division presented a check to SEARCH – the proceeds of a taco breakfast fundraiser that they host every few months for charity. The three had never been to SEARCH before, so Development Director Margot Dimond and Volunteer Coordinator Nancy Rocha gave them a tour. The three plan to promote SEARCH to other employees as a great place to volunteer and donate supplies.
Young Ambassadors Mixer We held our first mixer at the home of Co-chairs Leslie and Hedley Karpas on Thursday, June 8, 2006. Fifty young professionals joined us to socialize, talk about the issues, and meet the Executive Committee. Ambassador Arthur Schechter stopped by to inform every one of SEARCH’s mission and focus for Houston homeless. Learn more.
Our next mixer is planned for August 24th!
For further information contact Joni Robertson at jrobertson@searchproject.org or 713-276-3064.
Hurricane season is upon us – time to remember that every day is a disaster for the 14,000 homeless men, women and children in Harris County who are struggling to survive. Join SEARCH and its founding body, the Council of Congregations, for The Call to Commitment. On September 21st, South Main Baptist Church will host an interfaith service with congregations from all over Houston and Harris County. Please check back for more details or for more information on attending this ecumenical service, contact Karen Chitty-Boe, 713-739-7752, at SEARCH.
SEARCH ‘s 2006 Water for Life has ended, and for the second year in a row, Houstonians showed their caring and concern for homeless men, women and children stranded on our streets during the peak of our summer heat and humidity.
The drive brought in hundreds of cases of water, insect repellent and sunscreen and nearly $9,500 in donations. First among the donors was AIG American General, with a generous $4,000 donation. In addition, South Main Baptist Church joined with First Presbyterian and St. Paul’s United Methodist churches to donate $3,700, and DHL donated $1,500.
Many thanks also go to Sterling Bank, whose employees collected water at their 26 Houston area locations; KTRH Radio for producing and donating $31,500 worth of advertising; the Houston Chronicle for donating ad space worth $4,956; and the Astros baseball team for running public service video ads (produced by KTRH and Channel 11 with Deborah Duncan) between innings at their games.
The drive was also covered by KUHF and KSBJ radio stations, as well as television channels 2, 11 and 26.
SEARCH thanks all of the participants for making this summer a little more bearable for the homeless of Houston.
SEARCH is pleased to announce its need for volunteer recruitment to assist the Company Kitchen at its new location, 2445 North Freeway, and in the Resource Center Kitchen at SEARCH! Both programs serve the same purpose of helping change lives and ending homelessness. With the recent collaboration with The End Hunger Network, the Company Kitchen has the opportunity to prepare more than 1000 orders a day, rather than its normal 80-90 orders per day and help provide 1.7 million individual meals for Houston’s hungry in the first year. The Company Kitchen is SEARCH’s full-service catering enterprise operated by trained culinary professionals, as well as men and women who have graduated from SEARCH’s culinary arts job training program. The Resource Center Kitchen is responsible for feeding more than 100 homeless men, women and families daily.
We are recruiting committed, passionate volunteers to join our team! Volunteer opportunities are available Monday-Friday. Information about the volunteer opportunities are listed below. A mandatory volunteer training is required for interested Company Kitchen volunteers. Lunch will be provided.
Please contact Nancy Rocha, 713-739-7752, ext. 160 to learn more about this great opportunity or to RSVP. Special thanks to all those volunteers working in the Resource Center Kitchen and to those who have agreed to volunteer in the new kitchen facility. We would not be able to do this without you!
Volunteer Positions
Company Kitchen
2445 North Freeway
Resource Center KitchenFood Packager
Responsible for packaging food, after being cooked, storing it in the proper container and labeling each container.
Monday -Friday, 8am -12:30pm
Monday -Friday, 12:30pm -5pmVegetable Preparation
Responsible for preparing vegetables to be cooked and store for future use.
Monday -Friday, 8am -12:30pm
Monday -Friday, 12:30pm -5pmStewart Assistant
Responsible for keeping the kitchen area clean and safe from hazards.
Monday -Friday, 8am-12:30pm
Monday -Friday, 12:30pm-5pmOffice Clerk
Responsible for clerical work, filing and light computer work.
Monday-Friday, 8am. - 11:30pm
Monday-Friday, 11:30pm - 3pm
Kitchen Assistant
Responsible for preparing and serving meals to SEARCH’s day shelter clients while maintaining a clean, safe kitchen.
Monday-Thursday, 8am-12pm
For more information about volunteer opportunities, please visit the Volunteer section of our website or contact Nancy Rocha, 713-739-7752 ext. 160 or nrocha@searchproject.org.
In-kind donations are essential to each of our programs. Thank you to all those who support us by giving in-kind donations. We know we would not be able to feed, clothe, and provide the basic necessities to the homeless men, women and children we serve. With summer here, we are in need of more than usual in-kind needs because children are home with their families. Listed below our SEARCH’s immediate needs. These needs are great to coordinate for large group drives or for individuals! We have worked with corporations, organizations, Boy/Girl Scouts, Charity Leagues, youth groups, universities, sororities, schools, and individuals.
IMMEDIATE NEEDS
Non-perishable food
Non-perishable food is very essential to all of clients; especially those in our housing and education programs. We try our best to provide them with enough food to take home for themselves and their family. With summer here children will now be at home with their families and will need food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We collect canned meats, juices, canned vegetables, rice, cereal, applesauce, crackers, beef jerky, granola bars; any food that may be stored in a food pantry.
Summer Clothing
With the hot summer here, we are in need of gently worn summer clothing for both men and women. This includes shorts, pants, dresses, t-shirts, blouses and / or men’s casual shirts. We also collect hangers! This benefits all of our clients when they are allowed to visit the clothing room once a week to collect their clothing for the week.
Work-ready clothing
Our collaboration with the Work Source has helped so many of our clients help find jobs! Therefore, we are in need of collecting gently worn work ready professional clothing for both men and women. Khaki pants are very much needed. Clients meet with their case manager and together they gather their clothing for their interview.
Sandwiches for the Mobile Outreach Program
Sandwiches are distributed through our Mobile Outreach Program to individuals who live on the streets Monday – Friday afternoons and on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. If you or a group would like to help, SEARCH is always in need of at least 75 – 100 sandwich sacks each day. Sandwiches are very essential to the program and without enough sandwiches the program is unable to feed the homeless. We ask to please put the sandwiches in a small zip lock bag and include both sandwiches in a brown paper sack so we have 2 sandwiches per sack. Sandwiches should be dry/no condiments, just the bread and meat, turkey or ham or peanut butter & jelly, and may be delivered to SEARCH Monday through Thursday by 12 p.m. If you would like to make a complete sack lunch, include chips, a piece of fruit, a granola bar and water or juice box.
Donations are accepted Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at SEARCH. Please contact Nancy Rocha prior to donation delivery and/or for any questions or concerns.
Thank you for helping us meet our ongoing needs! For more ways to help, please visit the Get Involved section of our website.
If you would like to receive our FANS Newletter, please send
an email to info@searchproject.org or call 713-739-7752.
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SEARCH Homeless Center is a proud member of the United Way.