COMMUNITY OUTREACH

SPECIAL & EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

Our goal is to maintain contact with congregations to inform them of program needs and volunteer opportunities - planning and implementing special events such as holiday sharing, summer resident camp for children, emergency assistance and other programs needed in our community.

Emergency Assistance is part of the Mission/Church Agency department. In 1992, Bethlehem Center received and accepted a Charitable Trust Gift from the Mabel Denning York Fund. The gift was provided with the stipulation and condition that the funds be used for "hands on" and "crisis" situations.

Since that time many clients have received the benefits of this gift. The fund has not generated additional monies and is nearly depleted. The program now relies on corporate donations, personal contributions, churches, United Methodist Women, United Methodist Church, and funds generated from the Bridge Benefit held each spring.

Each person must apply for the assistance through the Missions Department. An in-depth interview is conducted. Once it is determined the client is qualified, the application goes to the Accounting Department. From Accounting, the application goes to the CEO, or in his absence, the COO, to be reviewed. A check is then prepared and sent to the vendor. The client does not receive the funds directly. After a period of time, a follow-up call is made to the client to be sure the service requested was received. Each person is informed from the beginning that we can provide the assistance once a year.

To be able to provide this service is a ray of hope to the clients who are experiencing an emergency situation. We need to build up our Emergency Assistance Fund. This fund is used to help the many people struggling with the high costs of medication, rent, and utilities. If you would like to donate goods or a service, please contact Julia Jordan at 704-371-7400.