HandsOn Northwest North Carolina

The NonProfit Connection

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We Make it Easy to Make a Difference

The Mission of HandsOn Northwest North Carolina

HandsOn Northwest North Carolina strengthens our community by building the capacity of our nonprofits and increasing volunteerism. We connect nonprofits with the resources needed to develop capacity, and we connect volunteers with nonprofits needing services. We work closely with the 350+ different nonprofits in our network, and we touch the lives of thousands of volunteers each year. While we have a central focus in Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County, our core services are available to organizations and citizens in the surrounding communities of Davie, Davidson, Yadkin and Surry.

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New! HandsOn Northwest North Carolina in partnership with Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem State University and Big Brothers-Big Sisters planned a Read-In event to promote Dr. King’s messages of service and literacy in conjunction and co-located with one of the largest commemorative events held in our city every year: the 30th Annual Noon Hour Commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday. The 2010 MLK Day of Service was a “day on, not a day off” for many community members in Winston-Salem, NC. About 300 volunteers served at the 2010 MLK Day Read-In Event. The collaboration was the first of its kind in Winston-Salem and allowed parents to attend the Noon Hour Commemoration while their children attended the Read-In event. The children learned about Dr. King, performed service such as writing letters to troops, and they also received new and used donated books. Approximately 500 books were distributed to the 100 children who participated in the event. We were excited about the turnout for the day, and have already started planning for 2011! For pictures, check out our photo album on Picasa.

OUR UPCOMING EVENTS

02.19.10	WFU Pro Humanitate Center Summer Non-Profit Internship Info Session
02.23.10	Winter Best Practice Breakfast
03.10.10	HandsOn Board-Basics
03.25.10	HandsOn Board-Leadership Development

FEATURED VOLUNTEER

Elwyn "Tubby" Seawell

No one knows the man called Elwyn R. Seawell. Those who have been touched by his humor, intelligence, Tubby Seawell at work compassion, and loyalty know this man as Tubby. Tubby has been an active volunteer at Crisis Control Ministry, one of HandsOn's Supporting Organizations, since 1986. When asked how he first came to CCM, he says that Stimp Hawkins, former Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, INSISTED that he come. He came and has been there ever since. He has served as an interviewer and lead, public speaker, and ministry advocate. Tubby is always willing to share information about the ministry. He is often called upon to assist staff at different volunteer fairs and events. Tubby is a moving speaker. It is obvious how much he loves the ministry and the ways CCM helps those in our community.

Cynthia Fearrington, Director of Client Services writes, “Tubby Seawell is always willing to do whatever is needed to help the ministry run smoothly. He has done everything from public speaking to delivering food and medicine to snowed in clients. He seems to have a sixth sense for knowing when we are short of volunteers and just roars in with a booming voice declaring, ‘Never fear! Tubby’s here!’ Anyone who spends any time at all around Tubby will most likely be treated to a poetry recitation. He can recite more poems than most of us have ever read. Tubby loves people (especially children) but hates meetings. One of his favorite quotes from a former coworker is, ‘Half the time spent in meetings is wasted. I’m just not sure which half’.”

You, too, can be a volunteer at Crisis Control Ministry. Check out their opportunities today!

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FEATURED ORGANIZATION

Samaritan Ministries

Samaritan Ministries provides hope and healing by sharing food, shelter and guidance with the hungry, homeless and people in need through Christian love and service, for the benefit of all. This interdenominational, volunteer based Christian ministry has been serving hungry and homeless people in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County since 1981 - 365 days a year. Their programs include Samaritan Soup Kitchen, Winston-Salem’s only soup kitchen, Samaritan Inn, a 69 bed homeless shelter for men and Project Cornerstone, a residential substance abuse recovery program for men.

Since 2008, hunger has reached epidemic levels and Samaritan Ministries has felt the impact. As the area’s only soup kitchen, the ministry began addressing the escalating number of people requesting food by extending their lunch serving time by thirty minutes daily. Although helpful, the agency could still not keep up with the demand for food. By collaborating with another nonprofit that addresses hunger issues, Second Harvest Food Bank, the ministry realized it could buy entrees from the Food Bank’s culinary job training program, Triad Community Kitchen. This was not only a cost effective way of providing additional food, but greatly reduced the time needed for meal preparation, allowing more people to be fed. Because close to one-third of each class enrolled in Triad Community Kitchen are homeless men and women, Samaritan Ministries could easily refer their shelter residents to the program as a way to gain employment skills. For their innovative approach to help feed the hungry, Samaritan Ministries was awarded the 2009 High Five Award. Congratulations to Samaritan Ministies and to Second Harvest Food Bank for their collaborative efforts to meet the needs of our community!

Want to see your nonprofit as our next Featured Organization? Sign up to become a Supporting Partner today!