Church Community Services News

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!

In the month of June, 155 individuals provided 436 hours of volunteer time assisting with soup production!  Groups included Fabric Services, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Waypoint Community Church, Southside Fellowship Church, Prairie Street Mennonite Church, Church of the Living Word, River Oaks Community Church, First UMC of Goshen, Current & former employees of the Department of Family Services, Wednesday’s Table - 1st Presbyterian Church & the Catholic Heart Youth Work Camp.

Thank you to members of “Wednesday’s Table” small group from 1st Presbyterian Church in Elkhart for coming and helping us make soup mixes!

Youth from all over the country gather each summer for the Catholic Heart Work Camp.  Each year, SOS is blessed to get one of the teams for 4 days during camp.  This year, the youth were invaluable help with SOS soup & dip production,  yard work, and moving “extra” stuff from the current building to the new CCS warehouse.   It’s great to be able to spend some extended time with this group each year and get to know themo n a more personal level.

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

The  2008 Spring “Tea with Ruth and Friends” was held on May 3 at Living Faith Fellowship Church in Elkhart.  This year’s tea raised $3045 for CCS and it’s  Soup Of Success program, over $400 more than the last Spring tea! 

 Jack Donis serves tea with a smile.

One of the unique opportunities available at the Teas are free car rides with Steve Stoner (below) and his beautiful antique car.  Steve attends both the Spring & Christmas teas and is available to answer questions, pose with pictures, and even chauffer you on a little jaunt around the neighborhood.

The 1927 Model A Ford drew attention parked outside of the Living Faith Fellowship Church in Elkhart.

Don & Ruth Rockwell (pictured below) are long term supporters of Church Community Services.  Don, a former CCS Board member, works as a part time client counselor working directly with clients in crisis.  Don also serves as the Financial Officer, managing our books and fiances.  In 2006, Don was named CCS’ “Volunteer of the Year”.  Ruth leads a team of over 100 volunteers in implementing (2) Victorian fundraising teas each year.  In addition to the many “labor-of-love” hours dedicated to tea preparation, Ruth also serves as the Congregational Partner (liason) for River Oaks Community Church.  In 2007, Ruth was awarded the Soup Of Success “Souperwoman Award”  in recognition for going above and beyond.

There are plenty of activities available for the littler tea guests as well including:  children’s crafts, face painting, games, and of course - tea!

Tea goers are delighted by the wide array of amazing delicacies available.  There are even people on hand to explain what each item is along with information of it’s origin and history.  Tremendous treats to delight both young and old!

Along with the admission fee of $5 and a canned good for the CCS pantry, “Tea Baskets” are one of the ways that the tea raises funds for the agency.  All but 4 of the 142 gift baskets made for the event were sold.  The baskets were available in all sizes and themes.  Whether you were looking for a special mother’s day gift, or something for baby, anniversary, birthday, etc., you were sure to find a unique, affordable gift for every need.

Below, members of a local Red Hat Society club browse through the themed baskets available for sale.

Already, the tea volunteers are hard at work on the Christmas tea.  Mark your calendars for December 6, 2008!

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.

“We were getting pretty desperate in the food pantry - this food drive took place at a crucial time.” - Wayne Harter, CCS Food Pantry Coordinator

Throughout the week of May 5-10, mail carriers in Elkhart delivered an extra piece of mail to homes and churches - a brown paper bag. Much as if it were at a grocery store, these brown paper bags were then filled with food and groceries. However, the grocery-filled paper bags were then delivered to the Post Office on Saturday, May 10. One brown paper bag of food arrived, and then another one - and another - and before long, 12,000 pounds of donated food items were collected, transported to Church Community Services, and sorted. Wayne Harter, CCS Food Pantry Coordinator, remembers that this annual food drive has gone on for as long as he has volunteered at Church Community Services, seven years, and that food donations this year significantly increased from the 5,000 pounds of food donated last year.

Nearly 40 volunteers from River Oaks Community Church, Hively Avenue Mennonite Church, and CCS Food Pantry Volunteers were present on Saturday to aid in the transportation and sorting of food. Before food can be placed on the food pantry shelves, it must be sorted; this allows for the food pantry shelves to be restocked easier, and allows Harter to see which items the food pantry is lacking. Currently, baby food, personal care items such as toothbrushes, and toilet paper are all still in low supply at the food pantry - and in high demand by food pantry clients. Church Community Service’s food pantry is a client-choice pantry and is the largest in Elkhart County, serving 1300 families and individuals every month.

Didn’t receive a brown paper bag in your mailbox? Call Church Community Services at 574-295-3673 to find out how you can donate food to the client-choice food pantry. To see pictures of the Food Drive, go here.

Guest Blogger Vonda here…

“Volunteers Plant the Seeds of Kindness” was the theme of our 2008 volunteer appreciation picnic. This year we were at Studebaker Park pavilion in Elkhart.

It was a gorgeous day to celebrate our volunteers and we enjoyed a delicious homemade meal of sloppy joes, chips, fruit, deviled eggs, and dirt pudding.

We recognized all of our hard-working volunteers and thanked them for their committment to Church Community Services. Special awards were handed out to Don Rockwell and Brenda Toews for completing their terms of service on the Board. Sarah Thiessen (above, receiving award from Soup of Success Director Betsy Ayrea) was honored as our first ever Mennonite Voluntary Service worker.

Jan Grodnik (in absentia) was given the Soup Of Success “Souper Woman” Award for 2008 (above: Jan Grodnik, L, receiving Souper Woman Award from Vonda Horst, R).

The “CCS Volunteer of the Year” award was given to Jim Victor (above, receiving award from Executive Director of Church Community Services, Dean Preheim-Bartel).

Both indoor and outdoor activities were planned for and enjoyed by people of all ages, including badminton, bubbles, bingo, scavenger hunt and card games. Of course, the best part of the day was just being all together and enjoying each other’s company.

Can’t wait until next year!