Church Community Services News

The Board of Directors of Church Community Services (CCS), the local joint outreach effort of some 50 churches in Elkhart County, has appointed Theodore (Ted) Z. Stanley as Director of Development for the 40-year old organization.

Stanley has had a career as a fundraising professional executive that has spanned more than 35 years. He began his career with the Glenmary Home Missioners’ Development Office, a Roman Catholic home mission group headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

This was followed with 15 years of service with Church World Service, the overseas relief and development agency of some 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican communions. This began with his appointment as Ohio CWS/CROP Regional Director, working out of Columbus, Ohio. He then was asked to come to the Elkahrt National Office of CWS, where he was instrumental in adding Direct Mail and Planned Giving Programs to the traditional support bases of special events (i.e. the CROP Hunger Walks), along with denominational and governmental support for the work of Church World Service. Most recently he has been president of his own fundraising company, Stanley Associates.

In his new position, Stanley will be manager of the Capital Campaign recently launched by Church Community Services to add much needed space for the agency’s food pantry, crisis assistance, and Soup of Success, a women’s empowerment Job and Life Skills Training Program.

He can be reached at 574.361.9910 or at the agency’s number: 574.295.3673.

With Soup of Success soup mixes, cookie mixes, and dips being sold in thirty-seven different locations across the United States (not to mention our gift basket, fundraiser, and individual sales!), it can be difficult to keep our shelves stocked. The women in the Soup of Success program are involved in all aspects of this gourmet foods business, including production of the mixes - but meeting the demand wouldn’t be possible without volunteer groups!

We have been blessed by some wonderful groups of volunteers in the last month that have given their time and energy to Church Community Services and Soup of Success: Bethany Christian High School students, Key Bank employees, and Fabric Services employees. In giving of their time, each of these volunteer groups helped to support the women in the Soup of Success program as well as the larger mission of Church Community Services and Soup of Success. Volunteers are truly the backbone of our agency, and we are overjoyed to have Bethany Christian High School, Key Bank, and Fabric Services be part of the Soup of Success family!

Bethany Christian High School students (above, L-R: Leanne Hochstetler, Erin Helmuth, Katie Hoekstra, Weston Troyer, Jen Sharkey, Matt Weaver) make Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Mixes during the school’s annual day of service.

Key Bank employees (above, assembling Positively Potato Soup Mix) spent a day at Soup of Success and ended up with astounding production totals!

(Above, Key Bank employees sort beans.)

They assembled 887 bags of soup, 229 soup spice packets, and 298 dips; wrapped 167 dips; tied recipe cards on 473 bags of soup; labeled 777 mixes; and cleaned 250 lbs. of beans.

Wow! A big Thank You to Key Bank!

Fabric Services employees (above, assembling Positively Potato Soup Mix) also gave generously and assembled 394 bags of soup, 460 soup spice packets, 1,133 dips and tied recipe cards on 224 bags of soup. The group of volunteers from Fabric Services was also part of a larger company legacy: a priority to give back to the community. Fabric Services makes products for the RV industry; as RV production has slowed down, so has business for Fabric Services. Instead of laying off employees though, Fabric Services decided to give back to the community. They have started paying employees to volunteer at places such as Church Community Services and Soup of Success. The compassion and generosity shown by Fabric Services is truly wonderful!

Reporter Ed Ernstes (above) from WSBT came to Soup of Success to catch the Fabric Services story and learn how Fabric Services is giving back to the community - find out more by reading or watching WSBT news!

To learn how your group can give back to the community, email us at Soupofsuccess@aol.com or call us at 574-523-1551.

There have been several wonderful articles about Church Community Services, Soup of Success, and the SOS Mentoring Program in the Elkhart Truth recently. To learn more about the recent CCS & SOS buzz in the papers, click on the articles below!

Students Give Back to the Community

Truth Editorial: Mentors Key to the Soup

Mentors Keep Soup of Success Cooking

Truth in Video