Christians United Outreach Center of Lee County

Wish List

Opportunities to Make Wishes Come True

CUOCLC wishes to serve needy Lee County residents as we meet them at their points of emergency need. You can help us fulfill these prayerful wishes as you prayerfully become an answer to one or more of our wishes. Opportunities to make wishes come true are among the following:

· Financial Contributions: Participating churches and organizations often support CUOCLC through regular, generous financial support. Such financial support can be used, for example, to purchase large amounts of food at low prices (e.g., Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina @ eighteen cents per pound). Yes, your dollars can stretch further when you graciously allow us to purchase some of the food for our clients.

· Food Donations: Of course, not all food needs can be met through purchases such as via the Food Bank. Participating churches and organizations often support CUOCLC through regular, generous donations of food. Our ultimate goal is to realize a hunger-free Lee County. Let us all hear the clarion call of Scripture: “I was hungry, and you gave me food.”

· Food Drives: Another way to “get people involved in helping their neighbors” is through food drives. Local schools, churches, businesses, etc. receive great satisfaction in “doing something positive for those less fortunate” as they sacrifice their time and effort during food drives. One need only look at the stacks of food collected to literally see how one is helping others with basic human needs.

· Food-Pantry-Area Sorting/Packing Volunteers: Once the food is on site at CUOCLC, there is the ongoing, daily need for volunteers to sort/pack the food for later distribution to clients. Food is sorted and packed, as much as possible in advance, for households ranging from one occupant per residence up to as many as five, six, seven or more persons per household. Such advance preparation is vital to the efficient operation of the Food Pantry during client hours.

· Food-Pantry-Area Volunteers: Once the food is sorted and packed, there is the ongoing need for Pantry-Area Volunteers to fulfill client food orders (Client Hours: Mondays, 4:30 PM—6 PM; Wednesdays & Fridays, 12:30 PM—2 PM). These volunteers follow prepared, posted sheets which delineate the items indicated to fill the orders of various-size client households. Some of these volunteers also load client vehicles with the completed food orders.

· Interviewers of Clients: So how does the Food Pantry know which clients need food and how much food each household is to receive? Interviewers of clients do just that—interview clients, both new and repeat—to ascertain their needs. Each interviewer is trained to follow a standard set of guidelines as they meet face-to-face with clients and welcome them to the services offered through CUOCLC. Excellent “people skills” are welcomed to this invaluable position of service.

· Greeters of Clients: Okay, now that we know clients are interviewed to determine their points of need, whom do they first encounter to learn how CUOCLC can assist them? The first person clients meet is the greeter. The greeter does that, indeed, and assists clients in filling out information that will be used to make new files for first-time clients or to pull existing-client files for interviewer use. Excellent people skills welcomed here, too.

· Computer/Data Entry Volunteers: Well, we know how the process begins for clients and how it concludes for clients. So who keeps the records of what took place? Computer/Data-Entry Volunteers record all of this information after the clients have been interviewed and are sent on their way to get their food. A very simple Microsoft Excel program receives the data as the computer volunteer enters the information.

· File Volunteers: In addition to the Computer Volunteers, persons are needed to pull files of existing clients so that Interviewers can summon clients for interviews. New files must also be prepared for new clients.

· Telephone Volunteer, Especially During Client Hours: During the hours clients are being served, a most helpful position would be that of someone to simply answer the phone. All personnel are extremely busy during client hours (Mondays, 4:30 PM—6 PM; Wednesdays & Fridays, 12:30 PM—2 PM); having someone to answer the phone would be an answer to prayer that would free other volunteers to concentrate on their tasks. Beyond client hours, CUOCLC could use volunteers to answer the phone Mondays through Fridays.

· Coordinators for All Departments at CUOCLC: Each area of ministry at CUOCLC has coordinators that are responsible for the efficient operation of that particular area. Coordinators and backups for each position of coordination is an ideal for which CUOCLC must strive.

· Thrift-Store Volunteers: The Thrift Store serves as one source of income for CUOCLC. Individuals, churches, organizations, etc. generously donate a cornucopia of items. The staff stocks the Thrift Store with quality items that are bargains, indeed. Thrift Store hours: Wednesdays, 11 AM—2 PM & Saturdays 9 AM—1 PM (our goal is to also be open Mondays & Fridays when sufficient numbers of volunteers become available to staff the Thrift Store).

· Local-Food Pick-Up Drivers: Food, of course, is the basic staple of CUOCLC’s ministry of meeting clients at their points of emergency need. Hence, some of our greatest heroes are our local, volunteer drivers, those women and men that own their own pick-up trucks and volunteer to pick up food from local establishments that donate food to CUOCLC and its ministry.

· Raleigh-Food-Bank Pick-Up Drivers: We do not receive sufficient amounts of local food to meet our ever-growing client base; thus we must also obtain food from the Raleigh Food Bank. Drivers, as aforementioned, own their own trucks and, in this case, volunteer to drive to Raleigh so that our Shoppers can purchase supplementary food to complement our donated foodstuffs. Trips to Raleigh usually take place twice per month and, with sufficient volunteer drivers, could mean that individual drivers would drive to Raleigh once every other month or even less frequently.

· Shopper for Raleigh Food Bank: In order to “shop” in Raleigh, one must become a trained shopper. Training takes a short portion of one day in Raleigh. Shoppers do just that in Raleigh—shop—making purchases of needed food for CUOCLC at very low prices.

· Sweep, Clean & Mop Volunteers: CUOCLC needs volunteers to sweep, clean and mop the facilities on an ongoing basis. If each participating church, organization, business, etc. would volunteer a group of persons on a regular basis, the task of sweeping, cleaning and mopping would be infrequent for any particular volunteer group. CUOCLC always wishes to be a good steward of its resources and does not wish to expend valuable resources for this maintenance. Volunteers for sweeping, cleaning and mopping would be answers to prayer.

· Drivers of Pick-Up Trucks to Haul Away Items: CUOCLC has some items that simply need hauling away from its location. Metal needs to be recycled. Expired equipment needs to be removed from the Center. Various other items could be removed as well.

· Thrift-Store Items Donations: As aforementioned, the Thrift Store serves as one source of income for CUOCLC’s ministry. Donations of items in good condition are always welcome.

· PowerPoint Presentation Equipment: The “power” of PowerPoint equipment for presentations to groups cannot be overstated. Our Executive Director and members of our Speakers Bureau are responsible for presenting CUOCLC in the best possible manner. CUOCLC is in need of such equipment (PowerPoint projector, screen, etc.—all of the equipment necessary for professional PowerPoint Presentations). PowerPoint presentations combine visual learning with oral presentation—study after study shows how multiple sources of learning enhance learning. Hence, one learns more comprehensively and is better persuaded toward participatory service when one both hears and sees what is needed to help. If “seeing is believing,” then hearing alone is insufficient.

· Chest Freezer for Pantry Area: Everything mechanical eventually stops working. One of our large, chest freezers in the Pantry Area is near the end of its usefulness. Thus a large, chest freezer is needed to replace the one in decline.

· TV/DVD Combination: The children of our clients could really use a TV/DVD combination for watching during client hours. With such a unit, children could enjoy “Veggie Tales” or other appropriate shows during client hours.

· School Supplies for Needy Children: Needy children are needy year-round. Please keep those school supplies coming throughout the year.

· Creative Fundraising Efforts: Create your own fundraising ideas on behalf of CUOCLC: Golf tournaments, friendly competition between churches or businesses, food drives, etc.—let the creative juices flow.

· Transfer of Paper Files to Computerized Files: A long-term project, indeed. However, as we approach 3,500 separate files, the need is already there.