WorkSource Midtown's Grand Opening
Spotlight: Shell Lubricants and Edge Petroleum
Karpas Properties Golf Tournament and the Young Ambassadors
Holiday Volunteer Opportunities
WorkSource Midtown's Grand Opening
Houston Mayor Bill White kicked off the official opening of The WorkSource at SEARCH October 23, telling a crowd of nearly 100 people that his goal is to have Houston lead the nation in ending homelessness.
The WorkSource at SEARCH offers job placement, career counseling and financial aid services to SEARCH’s clients.
The mayor spoke for several minutes on the topic of homelessness in Houston, talking about some of the initiatives already underway and outlining his vision for the future. Also on the program were Rodney Bradshaw, president & CEO of The WorkSource, and Laurence J. Payne, president and CEO of SEARCH.
“Gainful employment is one of the two major elements in ending homelessness,” said Payne. “It goes hand-in-hand with housing as essential to getting people off the streets permanently. This partnership with the WorkSource, combined with additional housing units, will go a long way toward solving the problem of homelessness in our city.”
Bradshaw said that The WorkSource “saw an opportunity to serve a sector of the population facing exceptionally harsh circumstances. By placing its services here, The WorkSource can give immediate attention to the critical employment needs of the homeless, as well as other individuals in the neighborhood.”
The WorkSource is a non-profit workforce development organization that provides comprehensive human resource services for businesses and residents in the 13-county Houston-Galveston Gulf Coast region. Its partnership with SEARCH, an organization serving the homeless population, is the only one of its kind in the nation.
During the Call to Commitment, SEARCH CEO Laurence J. Payne announced the formation of a new giving society, the Repairers of the Breach. The following verse from Isaiah is the inspiration for the new giving society to help support the mission and ministry of SEARCH.
And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones,
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.Isaiah 58:11-14
If you would like more information about the Repairers of the Breach, please download a brochure or contact Margot Dimond, Vice President of Development, at mdimond@searchproject.org or 713-739-7752, ext. 165.
Spotlight: Shell Lubricants and Edge Petroleum
Shell Lubricants
On October 18, the Shell Lubricants HSSE Department took a break from the office to help out in the community. Department members volunteered with two organizations--the End Hunger Network Kitchen and the House of Tiny Treasures. Both of these organizations are affiliated with SEARCH, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the homeless get off the streets and into jobs and affordable housing. At the End Hunger Network Kitchen, food was sorted, peeled and chopped, and nearly 5000 pounds of meat was cooked. These meals will be distributed to shelters and hunger-relief organizations throughout Houston. Many projects also took place at the House of Tiny Treasures, Houston's first licensed early childhood development center exclusively serving homeless children 6 weeks to 6 years old. Here, volunteers painted a sea-life mural at the toddler house, spruced up the pre-school house with paint and new cabinetry, and painted an animal mural on the playground fence.
Also, over the past few weeks, the department collected over 500 children's books in support of the "Read to Me Program". These books were donated to the House of Tiny Treasures. Many, many thanks to those who donated books to this cause! Please know that your donation has impacted the life of at least one child!
The day was full of fun projects and we were able to help out so many people. Thanks to all who participated!!
Edge Petroluem
Special thanks to Edge Petroleum Corporation for adopting the House of Tiny Treasures children and providing Halloween costumes for them! The happy costumed princesses, knights, and fairies had so much fun trick-or-treating in our building on Halloween. On behalf of SEARCH and our Tiny Treasures Program, we appreciate you!
Young Ambassadors: Karpas Properties Hosts Golf Tournament
Beautiful weather & great course…what more could we have asked for!
Karpas Properties benefited SEARCH at their 8th Annual Marti Shlenker Memorial Golf Tournament on October 25 at Wild Cat Golf Club. Chair Pete DeLongchamps helped raise over $39,000 for SEARCH.
The humanitarian award was presented to Downey Bridgwater, President & CEO of Sterling Bank.
Special thanks to Hedley Karpas and Dovie Morgan for putting together such a great event!
SEARCH has many events coming up in the next few months. From marathons to galas, there is something for everyone.
Sunday, November 19th
Alternative Giving Market
From 8a.m. – 4p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Avenue in downtown Houston, SEARCH will display our House Pins, cookie houses, and the Company Kitchen's holiday boxes.
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Young Ambassadors Mixer
6:00 – 7:30pm
At Karpas Properties
3355 W. Alabama, Suite 1200
- Hors D’oeuvres & Drinks
- Door prizes
- Photography by Modern Luxury Magazine
RSVP by December 1st to Joni Robertson at jrobertson@searchproject.org or 713-276-3064.
Sunday, January 14
Houston Marathon
SEARCH was excited to be selected this year as one of the official charities in the Chevron Houston Marathon’s Run for a Reason program. For our first year of this incredible program, we have set a goal to raise $15,000. If you (or someone you know) are planning to run the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon, or Houston Press/Smart Financial 5K on January 14, 2007, we encourage you to sign up to run for SEARCH. Even if you don’t plan to run, you can still sign up to raise money!
If you are running in the Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon, or Houston Press/Smart Financial 5K please consider running for SEARCH. You may register on-line at www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com
Create an Active Giving account when you register. Designate a Personal Charity – SEARCH. Login to www.activegiving.com and begin to create your webpage.
If you are not running, but would like to make a contribution to SEARCH for the marathon, please visit http://www.active.com/donate/search.
Visit the SEARCH website's Houston Marathon page to learn more about the opportunity to run for houston's homeless.
Friday, January 19
SEARCH's "And Dignity for All" Luncheon
Chair Nicole Perdue invites you to the newly remodeled Hotel ZaZa Houston (formerly the Warwick Hotel) on January 19, 2007. Author and advocate Dr. Robert Fuller will give meaningful insight to the plight of the homeless and creating a dignitarian society. His best-selling books All Rise and Somebodies and Nobodies have brought attention to the ranking system that exists in all cultures and the abuses and discrimination that can result. Robert is changing the way we view not only others, but ourselves as well. With your help, SEARCH can bring dignity back to the lives of the homeless men, women and children in our area.
Saturday, May 5
SEARCH's 10th Annual "Celebrate the Children" Gala
Daynee & Ed Heller and co-chairs Jan & Alan Selbst invite you to join them on Saturday, May 5, 2007, at Hilton Americas for a high-flying evening of acrobatic audacity and limitless imagination, by none other than true Cirque performers! Your support brings self-worth and stability to the lives of Houston’s homeless children through our Tiny Treasures Programs. SEARCH cultivates the skills needed by these children to reach their maximum potential and break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. You don’t want to miss this spine-bending, mind-tingling spectacle!
The "Houston Stand Down" continues to rank as one of the top homeless events in the country.
On Venteran's Day , SEARCH was involved in the Houston Stand Down and served several clients from there, including a gentleman who spoke to Channel Two on Friday. SEARCH staff has gotten him into temporary housing and linked him with case management through Mobile Outreach and SHP'02. With support such as this, our homeless veterans have already won!
Read SEARCH's Client Success Stories
Download a copy of the holiday volunteer opportunities.
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.
Without friends and the traditional support network, the holidays are the most difficult time of year for homeless individuals and their families. Please consider conducting a drive for any item listed below to help ensure that no one is forgotten this holiday season. Please help spread some cheer to those less fortunate than ourselves.
These items may seem basic however they are essential to individuals trying to pull their lives together. We only accept new items to give to our clients during the holidays.
Download a copy of the holiday in-kind needs.
Donations are accepted Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at SEARCH. Please contact Nancy Rocha prior to donation delivery or should you have any questions or concerns. For more ways to help, please visit the Get Involved section of our website.
Warm and Woolly Clothing Drive
SEARCH’s Warm & Woolly Clothing Drive is set to occur this holiday season from December 4 - 29, 2006. This year’s event is sponsored by Flyte Boutique. SEARCH and its Young Ambassadors are asking everyone to help cloth those on the streets this winter season. With the weather about to take a turn for the colder, SEARCH is asking for donations of new or gently-used coats, jackets, hats, blankets, gloves, scarves, socks, long underwear, and umbrellas.
To help get you in the holiday spirit of giving, the owners of Flyte are offering a 10% discount on all purchases made in their store, in exchange for your charitable donation to the Warm & Woolly Clothing Drive.
Flyte Boutique is located at 2815 Westheimer Road, just west of Kirby Drive. Flyte is next door to the Brownstone Gallery and across the street from Rickshaw and Chuy’s. Drop-boxes will be available for your donations during Flyte’s normal business hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information about Flyte, call (713) 426-1200, or visit them on the web at www.FlyteBoutique.com.
If you would like to receive our FANS Newletter, please send
an email to info@searchproject.org or call 713-739-7752.
©2005-2007 SEARCH All Rights Reserved.
SEARCH Homeless Center is a proud member of the United Way.
