Volume 34 No. 1
Sharing and Caring Hands
Spring / Summer 2018
FROM MY HEART My dear friends, I am very happy to write this letter to all of you because I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving a beautiful Christmas to thousands in need! You brought happiness and joy to so many and the spirit of hope and peace that you left with thousands of people deeply touched my heart! Most of the people that come to Sharing and Caring Hands and Mary’s Place for help are lost and living in darkness. They have no one to help and support them – they have no one to light the way for them. But you donors and volunteers are bright, shining lights for these people in need. Your actions show them compassion and love and give them the hope and peace they need to start healing their broken lives. I also want to share with you how proud I am of our Mary’s Place Minute Clinic, Tutoring and Reading Programs, and Job Seeker Program. Our Minute Clinic continues to be open 3 mornings a week and is staffed by 18 volunteer physicians and nurses. I am hoping and praying that we can find additional volunteer physicians and nurses willing to help us open a 4th shift during evening hours. If you are interested in helping us meet this need, please call me at 612-328-4290. Our Tutoring and Reading Programs are open 12 months a year and I am so impressed by the high numbers of children and volunteer tutors. Last year, we had 300 volunteer tutors that mentored and tutored 1,000 children. We will soon be in need of volunteer tutors for our Summer Reading Program that starts in June. Please reach out to us if you would like to help the children this summer. I would also like to give a big hooray for the Job Seeker Program volunteers. These volunteers patiently work with the Mary’s Place parents and teach them how to write a resume and look for a job on the computer. Their support makes it possible for many parents to secure a much needed job. Finally, we need more volunteers to help serve the breakfast, lunch, and evening meals. Please spread the word to your family, friends, church, and neighbors. I pray some of you can find time to help us meet this need – for “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed.” (Proverbs 19:17) Please call/email 612-338-4640 or info@sharingandcarwith incredible and inspiring volunteers who truly give from inghands.org if available and interested. We are blessed their heart. And everyone’s support – whether by donation, prayer, or volunteerism – truly makes Sharing and “ I used to pray Caring Hands and Mary’s Place shine like a bright, that God would feed beautiful star in the sky. Please continue the hungry, or do to support us – spring is in the air and it is this or that, but now I a time of hopefulness and new life – I pray that he will guide encourage all of you to share your bright light of hope to the world. me to do whatever I’m supposed to
do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, but now I’m praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that
prayer changes us and we change things.” Mother Teresa
For hope is not a wish but a promise that nobody walks alone.
I thank each and every one of you and pray for you every day. May God bless you all today, tomorrow, and always. Yours in Christ, Mary Jo Copeland Founder & Director of Sharing and Caring Hands
HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS
Thank you to everyone who donated monetary gifts, toys, organized donation drives, volunteered, and remembered the poor and less fortunate this past Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holiday season. A special thank you to DAMIAN MORAN of Twin Cities Wedding DJs for providing holiday music at both Sharing and Caring Hands and Mary’s Place; ROCK BOTTOM BREWERY for sponsoring a special Christmas meal, a meet and greet with Santa Claus, and presents for the families living at Mary’s Place; ALL CHURCHES, BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, AND INDIVIDUALS that help us prepare and serve over 4600 meals per week. Because of you and your generosity we were able to brighten thousands of lives in need!
Thousands of people enjoyed several different warm holiday meals.
Thousands of brand new toys were donated for the children.
THANK YOU TO MICHAEL LYNNE’S TENNIS SHOP
For over a decade, every Christmas, Michael Lynne from Michael Lynne’s Tennis Shop (St. Louis Park, MN) has generously donated brand-new, name-brand sneakers. These sneakers have kept homeless men and women’s feet warm and dry when walking, have helped complete a work uniform for someone to start a new job, and have brought countless ear-to-ear smiles on children’s faces who have never owned a new pair of shoes in their life. It is amazing to see how profound an impact the gift of a simple pair of shoes can have in someone’s spirit and in someone’s life. Over the years, Michael Lynne has touched so many lives for the better. We are so grateful for the faithful support of this local business! “Way to go, Michael, for helping so many! All my love, Mary Jo.”
Over 600 children received a brand-new winter coat.
“Your smile and an outstretched hand is the beginning of a miracle in the unspoken need of another’s heart.”
LETTERS OF GRATITUDE FROM THE CASTILLO FAMILY Jose Castillo Jr. is a single father to Ava (age 10), Jose (age 6), and Emilio (age 4). They live at Mary’s Place and are extremely grateful for the gift of Mary’s Place. We would like to share with you the beautiful Christmas letters that Jose and his daughter, Ava, wrote : “Hello, Mary Jo. This is Jose Castillo Jr. I wanted to say thank you so much for your grace, compassion, and mercy from God [through our Lord, Jesus Christ] for letting us stay here at Mary’s Place. Living here at Mary’s Place has encouraged me and my children to not give up in life and to trust that God will take care of us. I am a single father of 3 children. My wife abandoned us for her drug addiction. But my children and I have never felt so much happiness and peace living here at Mary’s Place. I was never taught stability when I was a child or young adult but living here at Mary’s Place has given us that. I am learning how to balance life, priorities, health, faith, sacrifice, suffering, entertainment, working, loving others, and so much more… Also, how to save money, be a loving father to my children, how to keep an apartment clean, washing dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor, making the beds, going to bed and waking up early, doing laundry, and having the kids taking their showers. I make sure that my children get proper rest for school, I buy their clothes, I make breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I go to work. I make sure we eat healthy and get exercise. We pray, sing worship songs together to God, and go to Church and bible study. We have learned to enjoy life while we experience homelessness. My goal is to continue seeking and learning stability – so one day I can find a place for me and my children and bring with us the stability that we are learning here at Mary’s Place. I am learning that it does take patience and hard work. And I am learning to be humble and teachable. Thanks to our Lord that Mary’s Place exists – Mary’s Place offers us hope and is a blessing. We had the best Christmas ever. We, the Castillo family, acknowledge to take care of this blessing and to also bless others – Amen.”
THANK YOU TO ALL THE LOCAL CHURCHES & SCHOOLS WHO ARE DONATING SPECIAL EASTER BASKETS FOR THE CHILDREN!
MEET MARY JO’S SPECIAL FRIEND, KADIR SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, MOTHER OF CHRIST
For 17 years, we have been abundantly blessed with the presence of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ. The Sisters run our Children Center which is for the Mary’s Place children age 3-9, they run our food shelf at Sharing and Caring Hands, they help organize and sort the household donations that come to Sharing and Caring Hands, they give tours of our campus to donors and visitors, they help staff our Mary’s Place Front Desk, and they help advocate for the Mary’s Place families. The Sisters bring to us their steadfast faith and prayer life and are wonderful models of how to be truly compassionate and loving to all.
Kadir is 5 years old and suffers from a long list of medical conditions – the most notable and scary being a heart condition. When Kadir’s family moved into Mary’s Place, Kadir’s health was so poor that he was only given a 20% chance of survival. Kadir spent 2 months in a coma, 8 months in the hospital, and in the last year has had 16 surgeries. Despite all of this, though, Kadir’s mother remains positive and thankful. She says Mary Jo and her staff helped her get a great team of doctors, specialists, and surgeons; when she was sleeping at the hospital every night, she knew her other 6 children were fed, safe, and being watched over; her children had access to tutoring help, the Teen Center, and were being invited on field trips to help take their mind off of what was happening to their youngest brother; she was given comfort, peace of mind, a place to rest, safety, and security; and that Mary Jo has shown her an unconditional kindness and love. She says there is nowhere else in the world she could have gone for the help and support that Mary Jo and Mary’s Place has given her. She was given a beautiful, free apartment and the gift of TIME to focus on improving Kadir’s health and chance at life. Kadir is now home with his family, living at Mary’s Place. While he still has feeding tubes and 4 upcoming surgeries, he is walking, talking, running, laughing, and goes to school part-time. Kadir’s mother is enrolled in school, working, and saving money to rent an apartment. Because of your generous donations and support for Mary’s Place, we have been able to help Kadir and his family while they become stable – Thank You!
PLAN A CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY AT MARY’S PLACE
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR SUMMER READING PROGRAM
Please consider spending part of your summer with us in the Reading Program. This program pairs volunteers one-on-one with at-risk children, many of whom have never had someone to sit and read with them; students read aloud to volunteers for 30 minute sessions which helps them move closer to their respective grade levels by the next academic year. We offer interactive materials for volunteers to use to make the students’ learning engaging and fun! This program is much-loved by both children and volunteers and we are excited for another successful summer of reading.
Are you a part of a group that would want to plan a special event for the children and/or families living at Mary’s Place? We have both indoor and backyard space for volunteer groups to use for interacting with the children and families! This would be such a treat that the families would enjoy. The families we serve cannot afford to go out, so we would love to bring fun, special moments to them. The families, especially the parents, are so grateful for the special events they get to experience while living here because it momentarily relieves all of their family’s anxiety, stress, and worries – they say it means so much to them to see their children happy, laughing, and enjoying a good time. We have had volunteer groups do arts and crafts, ice cream socials, carnivals, outdoor recreational/sports games, etc. We would love to hear from you! To schedule, please call/email Farah Ali at 612-596-3422 or
[email protected].
Volunteers need to be 16 years and older and need to commit to coming once per week as this is only an 8-week program. Volunteers are provided an orientation training before working with students. Summer Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 3:30-5:30pm. June 18th, 19th, 20th : Program begins Week of July 2nd : Program closed for holiday August 13th, 14th, 15th : Last week of program Sign-Up Schedule: New and returning volunteers can email/call now to sign-up! Sign-Up Contact: Please call/email Kathy Klement at 612-328-0988 or
[email protected].
ONGOING NEEDS
PANTRY FOOD items for those that access our Food Shelf. HYGIENE items for men, women, and kids. DIAPERS, PULL-UPS, BABY WIPES, BABY FORMULA. HOUSEHOLD items (new/gently used but in excellent condition)- dishes, pots and pans, crockpots, glasses, silverware, towels, sheets, blankets, pillows, and small appliances in good working condition. CLOTHING (new/gently used but in excellent condition) for men, women, and kids. CAR SEATS/STROLLERS in great working condition (car seats cannot be expired).
VEHICLES A vehicle donation can change a family’s life forever. If you have a car that would offer good,
reliable transportation for a family in need, please consider donating it to Sharing & Caring Hands. We give your vehicle directly to a family in need so you can deduct the fair market value as a donation. Your donated car could be the answer to a family’s prayer. To donate, please call/email Jeremy Barthel at 612-328-1681 or
[email protected].
Though these letters are directed to Mary Jo and the staff, we share them with you to show the impact your love, generosity and caring love have on the lives of others.
LETTERS FROM THE MAIL BAG Dear Mary Jo, I have been living at Mary’s Place for 6 months now and have learned so much from you. You always say to me, “When a door closes, another will open for you,” “Do not be sad, but be glad,” and “God puts us in places so He can work with us.” Meeting you and talking with you has opened my eyes and heart to new things. I am glad I came to Mary’s Place – I am being given a chance to gain peace and to get life right again. I am setting goals for myself and learning to be happy with what life has given me. Being here makes me want to be a better woman and mom to my kids. I would never have been able to do all of this without Mary Jo and her lovely staff who are always supportive. I love Mary Jo and God Bless her for all she has done for my family. Love, April & Family
Dear Mary Jo, Thank you for the opportunity to volunteer in the Tutoring Program. I am in college studying education and the time I have spent with the children has been truly beneficial and eye-opening. I thought I was going to be giving something to the kids, but in reality it is me who has been blessed by working with them. Despite everything they have been through, they have the most positive, resilient attitudes. Working with them has been a highlight for me. Thank you for having such a great program available to both the students and community volunteers! Thank You, J.C. (University of St. Thomas, St. Paul)
Dear Mary Jo, Thank you for the dental care! I had been in so much pain but was able to get my tooth pulled from your dentists who were so kind and gentle to me. There is no other place I could have gone for help. Please thank your wonderful dentist volunteers for helping me! Thank You, Sherri-Anne Dear Mary Jo, Thank you for helping my client with his security deposit! We tried getting help from so many places, but you were the only one who helped! Thank you again! Thank You, Danella (Anoka Social Worker)
Dear Mary Jo, I have been a social worker for 15 years and just wanted to say how much I appreciate your clothing closet and food shelf. What the public does not realize is that while there are many clothing closets and food shelfs in the Twin Cities… Most of them will only help you if you reside in their neighborhood/zip code. For a homeless person constantly in transition it is often hard to find help without there being some kind of restriction. You allow your services to be accessible to all, no matter where they come from, where they live, or what their circumstance is. Thank You!
Thank You, Lianna (Ramsey County)
Dear Mary Jo, Thank you for helping pay for my work uniform, giving me a bus card, and $20 lunch money! God Bless You! Thank You, Darnell
LETTERS FROM THE KIDS Dear Mary Jo, Thank you for my $2 every Thursday! I am saving to buy a new toy! I think I will have enough money after next week! Dear Mary Jo, Thank you for giving my family a place to sleep.
Dear Mary Jo, Happy Valentine’s Day. I have never had that holiday before but wish you good health and a long life. I love you so much. You are really helping my family. You give us a place to live, beds, clothes, food, money, and really anything we need help with. You are one of the kindest people I have ever met.
Love, Sierra (age 8)
Love, Ethan (age 6)
Dear Mary Jo, I love living at Mary’s Place! I have made new friends and we play together at the Teen Center every day after school. I love that the Teen Center has air hockey tournaments and pool tournaments – I am practicing to win the $5 money prize soon!
Love, Ali (age 12)
Dear Mary Jo, Thank you for giving my family the Clean Room Award. We are excited to go to McDonalds with the gift certificates you gave us!
Love, Nya & Normani (twins, age 11)
Thank You, Ayan (age 15)
ULTIMATE GIFT
Please consider a gift to Sharing & Caring Hands as part of your will or trust as you do your estate planning. Donations can be in the form of stocks, 401K’s, insurance policies, or charitable remainder trusts. Talk to your financial advisor or call Mary Jo Copeland at 612-328-4290. Regular donations are vital to our work, and many employers will match your donations, thus doubling its value. You can use your Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express for donations to Sharing & Caring Hands. A donation of stock is also welcome and can have great tax advantages. We are a 501(C)(3) charity so all donations are tax deductible. May God bless your generosity! Sharing and Caring Hands 525 North 7th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55405 612-338-4640 vvvvvvvvvv
Business Hours: M-Th: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. vvvvvvv
You can use your Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express for donations to Sharing & Caring Hands. vvvvvvvvv
We also have the option of Electronic Funds Transfer vvvv
Want to know more? Visit us on the Web!
www.sharingandcaringhands.org
[email protected]
YOU CAN DONATE TO SHARING & CARING HANDS ONLINE.
Sharing and Caring Hands P.O. Box 50657 Minneapolis, MN 55405-0657 address service requested
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A Compassionate Response To The Needs Of The Poor
