Thousands served Thanksgiving meal
Thousands served Thanksgiving meal
Posted: Nov 22, 2008 07:24 PM EST
Updated: Nov 27, 2008 11:25 AM EST
By WTOC Staff
For full report, please visit:
http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?s=9399013
WTOC Reports: Volunteers Serving Up Hot Meals
Volunteers serving up hot meals
Posted: Dec 25, 2008 09:19 AM EST
Updated: Dec 25, 2008 02:49 PM EST
About 60 to 70 people are expected to eat breakfast at the Old Savannah City Mission this morning.
By WTOC staff
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - As many were waking up this morning, volunteers with the Old Savannah City Mission were busy making breakfast for people in need.
Every year, dozens of volunteers spend Christmas morning serving others, including volunteers with the Jewish Educational Alliance.
Executive director Jim Lewis says they’re blessed to be able to serve the community. “There’s no stronger expression of God’s love and care for us than when we serve someone a hot meal and that’s especially true today,” he said.
About 60 to 70 people are expected to get a hot meal Christmas morning with even more expected to come to the Old Savannah City Mission for lunch and dinner.
WTOC: Old Savannah City Mission Delivers Toys to Needy Kids
Old Savannah City Mission delivers toys to needy kids
Posted: Dec 24, 2008 06:17 PM EST
Updated: Dec 24, 2008 06:17 PM EST
By WTOC staff
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - One local organization used today’s pleasant weather to deliver toys to those in need.
The Old Savannah City Mission loaded up with toys this afternoon then took them out into the neighborhoods, especially for little ones who might not otherwise get such things.
Volunteers and organizers alike say this is what the holidays are all about.
“This is the real deal about Christmas and I’m excited that there are so many volunteers that are wanting to help us,” said Jim Lewis with the Old Savannah City Mission. “It’s a time to celebrate and a time for kids to know they’re special.”
On Christmas morning, volunteers at the Old Savannah City Mission will be serving breakfast from 8am to 10am. Among those volunteers are members of the Savannah Jewish Federation who are trading places so those who wish to celebrate Christmas with their families can do so.
Spirit of Christmas Touches Family of Four
Spirit of Christmas touches family of 4
Published on SavannahNow.com (http://savannahnow.com)
Spirit of Christmas touches family of 4
By Savannah Morning News
Created 2008-12-25 00:30
Some say it’s a feeling worse than blowing another deadline to pay a bill - Christmas was only a day away, and the Garrisons had no gifts.
Dwayne Garrison had just signed out of Old Savannah City Mission. He was hard-pressed to find a job and recoup the losses endured by his wife, Linda, and their two daughters - Nicole, 17, and Amanda, 13.
Like the miracle described in the story of Christmas itself, on Wednesday they were blessed with a bevy of clothes, books - even iPods - for the entire family, said the Rev. Jim Lewis, director at Old Savannah City Mission.
“It was a very special Christmas for them,” Lewis said in a soft, humble tone. “They had nothing. And when we left them today, they were really excited.”
Lewis said he and his team trekked through the Garrisons’ mobile-home park off Whitfield Avenue on Wednesday afternoon, looking for families with a genuine need for help.
They found the Garrisons.
“They had nothing,” he said. “Dwayne was in the mission for several months and had to go back to work. They weren’t prepared financially.”
The spirit of giving broke free, he said. Along with the gifts that mission members bestowed on the family, two of those helping Lewis went out and purchased a pair of iPods for the teen girls.
“Overwhelming challenges and a family being reunited - what a better time than at Christmastime?” he said.
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Source URL:
http://savannahnow.com//node/642328
Thanks to Our Friends at Carter’s Pharmacy (Pooler, Garden City & Rincon)
Published on SavannahNow.com (http://savannahnow.com)
EFFINGHAM EVENTS
By Savannah Morning News
Created 2008-12-21 00:30
Cash donation center for Old Savannah Mission
Carter’s Pharmacy with locations in Pooler, Garden City and Rincon will again serve as a cash donation center for the Old Savannah Mission through Monday. This year the Old Savannah Mission will have more families to feed Christmas Day than ever before. Participants are asked to bring their cash contribution to any Carter’s Pharmacy location and receive a free package of Leader Extra Strength Pain Reliever. For information, call 912-965-9911.
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Source URL:
http://savannahnow.com//node/639873
Jewish Volunteers Step Up at Christmas (SMN 12-26-08)
Published on SavannahNow.com (http://savannahnow.com)
Jewish volunteers step up at Christmas
By Savannah Morning News
Created 2008-12-26 00:30
In Hebrew, a mitzvah is defined as a good deed - and many of them were carried out by people of the Jewish faith on Christmas Day around Savannah, said Lynn Levine, director of the Savannah Jewish Federation.
Several Jewish volunteers traveled to various metro locations Thursday so Christian workers could spend their holiday with their families.
The event, dubbed “Trading Places,” has been going on in Savannah for about 20 years, Levine said.
“It’s not easy, because the people they’re replacing have such important responsibility,” she said Thursday afternoon from Buckingham South, a nondenominational retirement community at 5450 Abercorn St.
There, at least 15 Jewish volunteers filed in and out of the center to help serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to elderly residents.
Volunteers also spent time Wednesday and Thursday at the Old Savannah City Mission, Union Mission, Wesley Monumental Church, the Jewish Educational Alliance and Coastal Pet Rescue Inc., Levine said.
During lunchtime at Buckingham South, volunteers tried their hands at restaurant-style serving - round trays and all - to grateful residents.
Judy Odrezin said that although she had no formal experience turning tables in large restaurants like her children have, the event was a chance to give back.
“It gives a Christian person time off to be with their family,” Odrezin said, gazing at the last round of residents settling down for a quiet meal in the facility’s bright, cozy dining room.
She normally substitutes for a Christian employee at the Jewish Educational Alliance. But this year she was offered a position serving elderly residents.
“I really have no experience waiting tables, but the residents are so nice,” Odrezin said.
Greg Hirsch and son Jonathan, 17, took to the dining room as a team. Jonathan Hirsch said he was grateful to have a cart available to clear tables.
“Without this cart, I don’t know if I could balance it,” the youngster said with a smile as he cleared a clutter of glass dishes and silverware. “This is really an opportunity to help out so other people can have a day off for the holiday.”
Greg Hirsch said he has been taking part in Trading Places for about five years and uses the experience as a chance to hear stories of others. He also has volunteered at one of the missions.
“They’re very interesting people,” Greg Hirsch said of his experiences. “If you just took the time to listen to some of their stories, they’re great.”
Coincidentally, many of the Christian residents at Buckingham South were already with their families, so many in the room were of Jewish faith. Nine-year resident Bea Rubin said the help provided by volunteers seems to get better every year.
“It’s just wonderful to see them helping out so others can be home with their families,” Rubin said. “It’s a good deed and a great way to start off the new year.”
Indeed, said Buckingham South Executive Director Rita Slatus. When it comes to mitzvahs, donating time to help others is the greatest of all, she said.
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Source URL:
http://savannahnow.com//node/642840
Face to Face, Heart to Heart…Christmas on the Corner 2008
Published on SavannahNow.com (http://savannahnow.com)
Coastal Empire in brief
By Savannah Morning News
ON THE WEB
Dinner for needy at mission today
Between today and Christmas, the Rev. Jim Lewis plans to provide gifts of food to 100 families in need.
Lewis, director of Old Savannah City Mission, is soliciting gifts of up to $100 - from churches, small groups, clubs or individuals - that the mission will use only for the purchase of food to give on a needs-based assessment.
Mission students will accompany donors/volunteers to visit the selected families and turn over the food - what Lewis calls “a face to face, heart to heart opportunity to show what Christmas is all about.”
Today, the third annual Christmas on the Corner will be observed at the corner of Bull Street and Maupas Avenue. Beginning at noon, the mission plans to serve a smoked turkey Christmas dinner to all homeless friends and neighbors who show up. Volunteers are needed to be servers, and donations to fund the dinner are welcome - the mission accepts no public funds.
For more information, call 912-232-1979. For more on Old Savannah City Mission, go to www.oscm.org [3].
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Source URL:
http://savannahnow.com//node/640433
Urban Training Institute Students Finish Phases 1 and 2 of Improvement Project
Since July Students from the Old Savannah City Mission’s Urban Training Institute (UTI) have been working to improve an area west of MLK, Jr. Blvd. between 33rd and 34th Streets. On Friday, December 19 the students and many community leaders will meet to review what has been accomplished. The picture below was taken in July. This same shot will be taken to show how much progress has been made.
Christmas on the Corner Update
OLD SAVANNAH CITY MISSION
Savannah’s Five Star Gospel Rescue Mission
2414 Bull Street, Savannah, GA 31401 — (912) 232-1979 — www.oscm.org
Friday, December 19, 2008:
On Friday, December 19, the Mission will celebrate “Christmas on the Corner-I” on a corner of Burroughs and 33rd Street (one block west MLK, JR. BLVD). The Mission Urban Training Institute students under the supervision of Bill Stiles, the Mission’s Director of Operations & Facilities have finished two phases of an improvement project they began in July. In a press conference in July, Rev. Jim Lewis promised the Mayor Johnson and Chairman of the County Commission, Pete Liakakis a special Christmas gift…an improved neighborhood. He will present them and Mr. Robert James, President of Carver State Bank with a framed before and after picture of the area.
Donors and volunteer will distribute gifts of food and toys to selected needy families who live in this project. Lewis is soliciting donors to give $100 which the Mission will use to purchase food for families assessed to have needs. Lewis feels strongly about stewarding donated resources to the needy, not the greedy. If volunteers/donors would like to purchase the food, Lewis says the Mission will facilitate the delivery. Urban Training Institute students will accompany donors/volunteers to the selected families and make introductions. It’s a face to face, heart to heart opportunity to show what Christmas is all about. As always, the Mission depends upon people of good will to be generous. This event is unique in that donors can participate do directly in sharing their compassion and personal blessing.
Orientation for Food Distribution: 10:00 a.m. in the Mission (2414 Bull Street)
Food Distribution: 11:15 a.m. in the area west of MLK, Jr. and 33rd and 34th Streets
Presentation and Music – 12:15 p.m.
“Christmas on the Corner-I” will conclude with music, the presentation of “the gift” to the Mayor Johnson and Chairman Liakakis and a delicious smoked turkey Christmas dinner prepared by Wiley McCrary, owner of Championship BBQ.
Saturday, December 20, 2008:
“The Third Annual Christmas on the Corner-II” will be Saturday, December 20 on the corner of Bull Street and Maupas. The event will begin at noon and the guests of honor will be our friends and neighbors. The Mission prefers to use this term rather than call them homeless. Jim Lewis says, “If you treat people as they are, you condemn them to stay that way.” In keeping with his idea, the Mission is providing a delicious smoked turkey Christmas dinner to all our friends and neighbors in attendance. Volunteers are needed as are funds. Please remember, Savannah’s Five Star Gospel Rescue Mission accepts no public funds. It depends upon the generosity of caring people.
If you are interested in volunteering, please call (912) 232-1979.
The Old Savannah City Mission is located at 2414 Bull Street. The Mission provided over 122,000 meals and nearly 28,000 nights of shelter in 2007. It is on track this year to meet or exceed these numbers and perhaps exceed them. The Mission is privately funded. For information contact Rev. Jim Lewis at 232-1979 or 655-5118. Jimlewis@oscm.org www.oscm.org
