Spotlight: Bering Memorial United Methodist Church
July 10-16, 2006
SEARCH is sponsoring a city-wide Water for Life drive July 10-14 to collect bottled water, insect repellent and sunscreen for homeless people on the streets. Items may be dropped off during that week from 9am to 5:00pm at any of the 26 Houston-area Sterling Bank locations, or at SEARCH headquarters, 2505 Fannin (at McGowen).
Currently, there are an estimated 14,000 homeless men, women and children living in Houston. More than 6,200 are without shelter on any given night, due to a shortage of shelter beds, and Houston’s brutal summers can have serious health consequences for them.
SEARCH provides food, water and other necessary items to homeless people through its Mobile Outreach program, but supplies must be constantly replenished, especially during the summer months.
Help protect them by donating the following items to SEARCH.
Drop-off locations at all 26 Sterling Bank Locations, or bring your donations to SEARCH.
Water for Life Sponsors:
AIG American General
Houston Astros
Houston Chronicle
KTRH Radio
Sterling Bank
For more information call Joni Robertson at 713-276-3064.
Bering Memorial United Methodist Church is an involved member of SEARCH's Council of Congregations. Every Sunday, the congregation collects non-perishable food and toiletry items. Each month, members of the congregation make sandwiches for the Mobile Outreach program. They have made commitments to be involved in both the Water for Life Drive July 10-14 and in helping make the Call to Committment a possibility.
The head of the Ministry that covers SEARCH has gotten very interested in the project. The new Pastor Reverend, Andy Noel, also wants to support the efforts of congregation members dedicated to SEARCH. He has agreed to do the Litany on the 21st of September and he has agreed to commit a Sunday in July to highlight SEARCH. During this spotlight on SEARCH, he will formally accept the Certificate of Appreciation given to Bering Memorial United Methodist Church at the last meeting of the Council of Congregations.
If you would like more infomation on Bering Memorial United Methodist Chruch, please visit their website.
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 the first of August …check back for details, coming soon.
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. Later this summer, 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 Leonora Friend, 713-276-3066, at SEARCH.
“I’m sick and tired of living on the streets. I’ve been out here for five years, pushing a cart for four.” Those were the first words Mitch uttered to the Mobile Outreach staff when they approached him under the bridge near the bayou he called home.
Mitch was now living outdoors in the neighborhood where he grew up. People knew him from the past. They saw him pushing a cart. They saw him as a down-and-out homeless person, and he was ashamed. The timing of the Mobile Outreach visit couldn’t have been better. Mitch was ready to hear about what SEARCH had to offer him; he was ready to move forward.
At 46, Mitch’s life had run the gamut. He admitted to having been an abusive father, getting into a severe auto accident as a teenager where he almost lost his leg, had trouble with the law, and was battling a crack addiction. He had been able to hold down odd jobs, many of which were in restaurant kitchens. Like many others, he soon thought only about getting high. He had spent five years in jail for possession.
The Mobile Outreach team referred him to the Salvation Army men’s home, Harbor Lights. He entered a drug treatment program, joined the Salvation Army choir, then came to SEARCH’s Resource Center. When he visited with the Job Bank staff, he learned about job training programs and was excited at the prospect of entering the culinary arts program. Not only did he have experience in kitchen work, but when the Salvation Army choir had given a concert at SEARCH, he had seen our chefs “walking around in their uniforms and hats.” He knew he wanted to wear that uniform, too.
Mitch has been clean and sober for more than two years now. He earned his Food Managers Certificate in six months and immediate got two part-time jobs using his new skills. With these earnings, he learned to drive and bought his first-ever used car plus car insurance. Currently, he is employed full-time as the Head Chef at the Salvation Army where he earns $10.50 an hour plus full benefits. He has his own chef’s hat now and wears it proudly.
Read SEARCH's Client Success Stories
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 and is scheduled for Friday, July 7th at 9am -12:30pm at the End Hunger Building. 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.
As the fall season quickly approaches, school bells will be ringing for students to go back to school. SEARCH invites you to help a child reach their full potential by supplying the basic necessities for a new, prosperous school year! We are now collecting school supplies and uniforms for all ages 5-18, kindergarten - 12th grade.
The school supplies will be distributed to the children of those parents who are in our Scattered Site Housing Program and the House of Tiny Treasures. SEARCH’s housing program provides housing assistance and case management to homeless individuals and families. The goal of the program is for a parent or parents to become free from the immediate burdens of homelessness so they will have the opportunity to become independent and provide for their children on their own.
The award-winning House of Tiny Treasures is Houston’s first and one of only 3 licensed child development center that focuses exclusively on the needs of homeless children, parents and the family as a unit. Please share our vision of ending homelessness by assisting students with the proper needs for an education!
Back to School Drive items:
CyrusOne, a Houston-based technology company, has kicked off this year's drive by pledging to sponsor 10 children! Thank you for ensuring that every child begins the school year school right with the tools and confidence they need to succeed.
To learn more information on how you can conduct a school drive or sponsor a child, please contact Nancy Rocha at 713-739-7752, ext. 160 or nrocha@searchproject.org.
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 webmaster@searchproject.org or call 713-739-7752.
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SEARCH Homeless Center is a proud member of the United Way.