Campus Ministries. Serving the physical & spiritual needs of those in Monroe and Union County, NC, since 1987

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1 June 2018 Operation Reach Out Campus Ministries Serving the physical & spiritual needs of those in Monroe and Union County, NC, since 1987 What We Gave in May 2018 Families served: 129 Food given: $2,170 / 3,520 pounds Clothing, shoes, furniture, household items given: $ Financial Aid/Food Purchases/Special Projects: $4, Items donated to other ministries: $720 GRAND TOTAL: $8, Whatever you did for these my brothers and sisters, you also did for me. (Matt 25:40) From Our Director Did you know that serving can be one of the most rewarding opportunities you can do for others? At Operation Reach Out we have eight projects that we do yearly to help others. Your involvement in one or more of these can help make a difference for many we serve in Monroe and Union County. Please call our office to ask for more info, Bring your church group, civic club, Sunday school class and make it a fun time for everyone! We're collecting fans for those without AC and school uniform polo shirts for Monroe Middle School students...red, hunter green, and navy blue. Thanks for your help as always! James Sessoms Executive Director Blessings, James Sessoms Just an Idea... It started as just an idea posed by one of our founders, Modene Howie: People bring food. We charge a price. Make a little money. A couple of us got together. We talked about it and, at first, decided the undertaking was too great. We nearly bagged the event from the start. Not enough time. Not enough interest. Saturday, September 29th 5:30-8:00 pm First Presbyterian Church in Monroe Tickets go on sale September 1st Everything changed, though, as calls from interested restaurants started pouring in. We thought, "Yes, we CAN do this." Taste of Union was born. That was ten years ago this summer, and we are still going strong. The venue has changed over the years: First Presbyterian. The Ag Center. Back to First Presbyterian. The entertainment has changed--wow, has it changed! Live entertainment, blue grass, hip hop, classics, the youth symphony, DJ's, one-man bands, guitarists and pianists. The restaurants have changed too. Some have stayed with us all these years (thank you!); others have come and gone. Dave Nixon, who passed away a few months ago, was an avid supporter of Taste of Union and of Operation Reach Out. Wil Jackson at Taste 2010 Volunteers have been steady and faithful. And the people? Well, they have come every year. Our friends, our supporters, our donors, our churches. We are tremendously grateful for the outpouring of support from this community. Operation Reach Out continues its mission to alleviate hunger physical and spiritual. We help when others can't. We meet people where they are. And thanks to you and this "little" fundraiser which celebrates its tenth year in September, our ministry will continue.

2 OPE RAT I ON REACH OUT JU NE 2018 Page 2 Assistant Director s Corner Summer days are here! With the weather heating up, you can t help but notice the rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning that come with summer storms. When storms approach, our nature is to find shelter or protection from those storms. But what about the storms we face in life? It seems these storms send us seeking shelter in much the same way. The clients that walk through the doors at Operation Reach Out are seeking shelter from some type of storm in their lives. Sometimes those storms are a temporary setback due to unexpected expenses, illness or loss of job; some storms are much greater because an individual doesn t know the peace of Jesus Christ, a life without addiction or have been deemed as an outcast to society. We are called to not only serve those who walk into our doors, but also to seek out those in the storm. Reading a devotion on missions, I came across this passage: The mission of every believer in Jesus Christ is to communicate to the world who Jesus is and to extend to all His offer of salvation and spiritual refuge. Jesus has commissioned all believers to go to the most distant, remote and stormy points of the earth as well as to their neighbors next door to reach the lost with the gospel Cara Steele Assistant Director message of redemption and reconciliation. They must make the Savior known through the spoken word (Romans 10:14-15), through good works (James 2:14-17) and through the example of new character (Matt 5:16-20). Operation Reach Out continues to be a lighthouse, to help those lost in the storm, but we cannot do it without your help! We need volunteers, tangible goods and financial support to ensure that this ministry will continue to offer shelter from the storms! Monthly Projects June s School Children Project We are continuing to collect school uniforms for the students of Monroe Middle School. We need: Khaki pants/shorts (boys/girls all sizes) Navy, red, hunter green polo shirts (boys/girls all sizes) All items may be dropped off at our office at 1308 Miller St. in Monroe or at Finders Keepers at 800 Skyway Drive in Monroe. July s Personal Hygiene Items Bar soap/body wash Shampoo/conditioner Lotion Deodorant Toothbrushes Toothpaste Full size preferred but we appreciate and will take any size products. Homeless Need Our Help Did you know that on a single night in January 2017, the number of men, women, and children experiencing homelessness in America was 564,000? That number of people could easily fill eight NFL stadiums! In Union County alone, there are over 350 chronically-homeless people. Almost half of the homeless population is made up of single men. Tent City Ministry s objective is to help meet the needs of the homeless population in Union County that are currently making their homes in tent camp communities. The ministry meets new homeless people nearly every day whose only hope is God...and the friendship and compassion of others. Our ministry is made possible only by God s provision through His people. Tent City Ministry Needs insect repellent 3-4 man tents sleeping bags twin/full air mattresses 9' x 12' tarps propane cook stoves (singleburner) pop-top canned foods (especially proteins such as tuna packets) VISA gift cards cash donations

3 Sharing Our Blessings Finders Keepers Thrift Store 800 Skyway Dr, Monroe Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm Saturday 9am-4pm / Closed Sunday-Monday VALUE CLOTHING (Salisbury, NC) ships clothing, bedding, shoes, books overseas to countries in need. (We gave 259 bags & 26 boxes of clothes, linens, & books in May.) CHESCO (Chesterfield County, SC) facility that serves disabled adults. Their thrift stores provide safe, on-the-job training for those with disabilities. (We gave 234 boxes of hard lines in May.) TURNAROUND TOYS $3 Bag Sale Friday, June 29 Saturday, June 30 Any clothing you can stuff into a bag! (Monroe, NC) provides refurbished toys to impoverished children. (We gave 20 boxes in May.) Dream Dinners Fundraiser for Operation Reach Out 3909 Providence Road S. in Waxhaw Tuesday, July 10th: 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 12th: 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 a.m. See attached flyer Please bring a personal-hygiene item for our July Project to help those in need. Thank you! United Healthcare recently held an information fair for our clients. Thank you to Prospect Elementary for donating their end-of-year lost and found items! Thank you to Cuthbertson High School for donating their end-ofyear lost and found items! Operation Reach Out was the winner for SNA Today s May give back a check for $200! SNA Today is a social media marketing company dedicated to giving back by donating to nonprofits. Page 3 OPERATION REACH OUT JUNE 2018

4 OPE RAT I ON REACH OUT JU NE Miller Street P.O. Box 403 Monroe, NC Office hours: Monday-Friday 9:00am-2:00pm Phone: opreachout@aol.com JU N E Follow us on Facebook! opreachoutmonroe/ Lunch Calendar July 2 Union UMC 3 Lucy s Lunches 4 Happy 4th of July! 5 Buffalo Wild Wings 6 Blacks Memorial Presbyterian 9 Waxhaw UMC 10 Mountain Springs Baptist 11 OPEN 12 Macs Fish & Chicken 13 Lakeview Baptist (A) 16 Bethlehem UMC 17 First Baptist Weddington (A) 18 Prospect UMC 19 Chick Fil-A 20 OPEN 23 Mt Carmel UMC 24 OPEN 25 Roanoke Baptist 26 OPEN 27 Lakeview Baptist (B) 30 OPEN 31 OPEN Want to serve a lunch? Contact our office at opreachout@aol.com or Founded in 1987, Operation Reach Out is a 501(3)(c) nonprofit ministry and operates in Monroe, North Carolina, serving the poor and working poor in the inner city of Monroe and surrounding Union County. We are 100% supported by donations from churches, businesses, organizations, government funds, and individuals as well as by the proceeds from Finders Keepers (our resale store) and an annual fundraiser (Taste of Union). Our Mission: To provide spiritual and physical help and hope to those in need, with the encouraging and loving heart of Christ and without judgment or cynicism. Our Vision: We aim to glorify God through our daily interactions with those who come through our doors with any and every need. We seek to share the gospel through our daily lunch and Bible study; offer financial support, emergency shelter, household goods and food assistance for those in crisis; and provide material and educational support for those seeking employment. As needed, we will accomplish our goals through strong partnerships with area churches and other Union County ministries and organizations. Board Meetings are the third Tuesday of each month. Next meeting : Tuesday, July 17th, 4:00 pm at Operation Reach Out Daily Bible Study/Lunch Monday-Friday, 12:00-1:00pm Our garden is growing and soon we ll have fresh vegetables for our clients! To celebrate National Turkey Lovers Day, Circle S Ranch gave back to the community by donating turkey products to our food pantry! Shop Amazon AND support Operation Reach Out! Go to choose Operation Reach Out as your charity to support...and Amazon will give.5% of your eligible purchase to Operation Reach Out each time you shop via the Amazon Smile link. (It s the same Amazon you know same products, same prices, same service but with the added bonus for our ministries.) We recently received our first check from Amazon Smile: $23. It all adds up!

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