Christian Appalachian Project

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CAP Volunteer E-News - December 2007

Merry Christmas!

From all of us at the CAP Volunteer Program--Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Know that you are in our continued prayers as you discern your call to service.

Kathleen, Jen
Kathy, Brenda, Verna, Harold
Kristine, Kiara, Amblyn, Amy

Volunteers, donors bring joy to Appalachian families

Each December, CAP's Outreach Services program organizes several Christmas Basket distributions in eastern Kentucky's poorest counties. Donors from around the country sponsor one or more families by purchasing gifts, and Outreach volunteers and employees organize distributions in each county. Though long-term Outreach volunteers and permanent staff do the bulk of the organizing and planning of the program, several short-term volunteers also come in November and December to help receive and organize the gift boxes. Volunteers and employees from many CAP programs help at the various distributions.

More important than the actual gift distributions are the special Christmas services that precede them. Each Outreach caseworker plans a service featuring singing, music from volunteers or children from one of CAP's Child and Family Development centers and a message from a local minister. CAP's Christmas Basket program is not simply about the gifts, but an opportunity for the community to come together in joy and thanksgiving.

Click here to view more pictures from Jackson County Christmas Baskets

Volunteer spearheads new project

This month marks the opening of a brand new CAP project, The Grateful Bread Food Pantry. The pantry is a partnership between CAP and God's Pantry Food Bank in Lexington, Kentucky. In an effort to reach more rural counties, God's Pantry sought out CAP to open a pantry in Rockcastle County.

Long-term volunteer Sr. Margot Eder deserves much of the credit for the new project. Now in her second year as a volunteer (in her first year she volunteered in Elderly Services), Margot collaborated with God's Pantry to make the food bank possible.

At an open house to celebrate the pantry's opening, Margot proudly led tours of the facility, which will serve all Rockcastle County residents who meet federal income guidelines. Participants will be allowed to visit the pantry once a month. This spring, CAP will also open a thrift store adjacent to The Grateful Bread. It will be called--you guessed it--the Grateful Thread.

Volunteer Spotlight

"I am learning and growing so much, not only within myself and spiritually, but in the friendships and relationships I've built."

--Kaylynn Witt, Elderly Services

Kaylynn at a glance...

Hometown: Norton, Kansas
Alma Mater: Colorado Christian University
Service placement: Elderly Services
Volunteer Community: Johnson Volunteer House

Like many long-term CAP volunteers, Kaylynn Witt knew she wanted more than just "a job."

"Once I was completed with my schooling I had a choice between volunteer work or a job in my field of study," Kaylynn says. "So I worked for a year, but didn't feel satisfied with how that was going." Kaylynn's sister had volunteered for CAP before, so she knew a year of service might be what she was looking for as well.

Kaylynn began in Elderly Services in January 2007, and recently extended her original commitment to August 2008 because of the connection she feels to her elderly participants. "They are a wealth of wisdom, wit, and generosity. Most of them are like a grandma to me and certainly a friend."

Besides her service with the elderly, Kaylynn enjoys the opportunity to serve in other CAP programs like disaster relief, summer camp and WorkFest. "Ultimately I feel like this is the place God wants me to be and I am so content with that!"

Hitting the road

CAP reps will be visiting colleges in Kentucky and elsewhere in the coming months. Check out our travel schedule to see if we will be visiting your area.

Urgent volunteer opportunities
application process required

Although we accept applications for all of our volunteer positions throughout the year, CAP has immediate or upcoming openings for long-term (serving 9 months or longer) volunteers in the following programs:

Elderly Services: Provides services such as home visitation, transportation, social activities, prescription assistance and various other services which decrease isolation and increase socialization of homebound senior citizens.

Outreach Services: Provide emergency assistance (utilities, household goods, materials for emergency home repairs) and on-going needs assessment for a large caseload of families facing financial crisis and long-term poverty. Outreach caseworkers also organize School Readiness and Christmas Basket programs for one or more counties. Must be able to work independently. Great position for someone with an interest or background in social work.

Child and Family Development: Offers birth to five-year-old children experiences in all areas of child development: cognition, communication, social, physical and emotional development, as well as creative expression. Encourages participation of the whole family through home visits, parenting classes, and involvement in the center. Program also includes a family literacy program called “Families Growing Together” which includes both parents and children. Components cover early childhood education, adult education, parent-child interaction, and parent groups. Must be energetic and flexible, as well as love children.

Adult Education: Provides GED and literacy instruction, job readiness, vocational and college preparation and testing in the home (School-On-Wheels) and in the Adult Learning Center to individuals ages 17-80.

Interested? Apply or request an information packet today!
View more service descriptions

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