Church Community Services News

Hi.  I’m one of the women in the class at SOS right now.  Why am I here?  Well, when I first started, I thought I was here to help others, and to learn new skills.  Honestly, after I have been here for a while, it’s much more than that.  It’s bringing someone special out that is inside of me.  I am here to put my life together.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve thought a lot about change.  What is change?  Change is moving from something old to something new.  It could be a place, thing, people, jobs, or just inside yourself.  In this case, I am talking about myself.

When you start having ideas to change, it is easy.  Then when you begin doing the action steps…well…it becomes very hard.  Your life is like a bunch of shoelaces all knotted up, and you don’t know where to begin or stop.   But I have discovered that God’s plan is awesome.  He puts people and things in my path to make change easier. 

Here is a scripture from Jeremiah (29:11-14) in which I hear God encouraging me:  “‘For I know that thoughts that I think toward you’, says the Lord, ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you’, says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back from your captivity.’”

-SG

We were blessed to have yet another volunteer group helping out at Soup of Success for two days last week!  The !Explore program is a theological program for high school youth through AMBS, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, which is located in Elkhart.  Through this program, they explore theological questions, develop their gifts in leadership, and do service in the community.  We were thrilled that they decided to connect with the Elkhart community this year to do their service projects, and that Soup of Success was one of the agencies where they volunteered their time!  While at Soup of Success, they helped put together soup, cookie, and dip mixes and got to learn more about Church Community Services, our Client-Choice Food Pantry, and about the needs in this community. 

Below, Kent (!Explore Event Pastor) and Joseph (AMBS Campus Host) sort beans in preparation for making Ruth’s Five Bean Soup!

!Explore participants (below) putting together dip mixes.  This group assembled and tied 162 Double Chocolate Kiss of Mint cookies, wrapped 216 Santa Fe dips, assembled and tied 341 All-American Chicken & Stars soups, and assembled 274 All-American Chicken & Stars spice packets in just two afternoons!  Thanks for your help, !Explore, and we hope to see you back next year!

Here’s what several of the women in the current class at SOS had to say when asked, “What are you most proud of in being at SOS?”

“What I am most proud of having at Soup of Success is Money Management class, because that class has helped me manage my income and has helped me save money out of every check and pay my bills on time.  I also spend less money than I make.” -LW

“I am proud to be chosen and be part of Soup of Success.  The different skills and life training I’ve had here cannot be paid for with any amount.  Tears of joy and tears of sorrow fall down from each others’ eyes.  Soup of Success is my life now and leads me to be a super woman.” -RC

“Going through Money Management has made it so I look at my finances and bills very differently.  I’m also getting in touch with my inner self…a task all in itself!”   - AR

“What I am most proud of in coming to Soup of Success is that the staff here are very involved with the participants.  They care for where we may go in the future.  Learning about myself is awesome and fun.  The only thing is sometimes the truth hurts when you face it.” -SG

“I am so proud to be a part of SOS.  It really blows my mind that 3 little letters can mean so much and have so much packed into it!” - FA

“I have learned so much that I never knew about before.  Things  that help me everyday and will help me out in the real world.   It feels so good to be able to feel me changing week by week.”  - WS

“I am proud that I have made it to this point of the program regardless of my barriers.  I am proud of making new friends and learning beneficial life lessons from the best and friendliest staff in town.  Last but not least, I am glad to have shed some pounds from walking to and from work every day, from the other side of town.”  - DR

“I am proud of finding my strength and wisdom.  It helped to stop and look inside of myself.  With a little more help, I hope to find happiness too.”  -DM

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.

The above is a truth spoken in one of Maya Angelou’s poems, which the graduates, staff and volunteer mentors of Soup of Success recite together at our monthly reunion nights, celebrating our shared support, our sisterhood of success. 

Last Thursday night, I basked in the synergy of 30 different women from all over our community–ages 23 to 84–retirees, professionals, job seekers, homemakers, students, women with disabilities, service and retail workers–married mothers, single women, single mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, step-mothers, and women with no children–teachers, gardeners, entrepreneurs, scientists, readers, nurses and artists–So different from each other, from different circles, and yet one in our understanding of the power of women and the power of women together.

We ate taco salads and cookies prepared by Elkhart Valley Church of the Brethren.  We made a rainbow of clay figures with which to introduce ourselves to the group.  We played silly question games.

I particularly enjoyed watching our new mentoring pairs meet one another.  Each woman at SOS is matched with a volunteer from the community who agrees to be an encouraging support on the path of growth, building resources and economic security, pursuing dreams.  I’m excited for them to discover each other’s gifts, to see life and our community through new lenses, to find new parts of themselves.   Their introductions were inevitably slightly awkward, but by the end of the evening, they were sharing laughter, encouragements and phone numbers. 

I smiled watching the seasoned mentoring pairs surrounding our new pairs, knowing the stories they’ve shared, the problems they’ve solved, the successes they’ve celebrated.

This, after all, is one of the secrets of success.  Join with others.  Assemble your team. 

You don’t have to go it alone.

For more information about mentoring at Soup of Success, click here.

I look forward to hearing from you.

-Kathy

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.

The staff and women of Soup Of Success are always on the lookout for interesting, delicious and unique new soup, dip & cookie ideas. If you have a favorite recipe idea that would work as a dry mix, we would love to hear from you! Just interested in being part of the taste-testing team? There is room for you too!

Leave a comment or email us at Soupofsuccess@aol.com with your ideas.

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