Project Change

People

Benefiting: Ozanam

“Why are you people here?” asked one of the teens at Ozanam Pathways, a home for teens who have been placed in transitional living . It was asked as a surprise that anyone would come to visit them, not as any kind of a challenge. One of our group quickly answered, “Because you have value, and you are worth our time.”

Our Project Change team, “Strongest LINC”, spent an afternoon and evening with eight teenagers at their group home. We cleaned the house with them, made some minor repairs, taught them how to cook for a group and to make extra for another meal later in the week. Then we enjoyed the meal together, followed by a crazy game of Guesstures. Apparently, our staff knows few restraints in the pursuit of Guesstures victory- wait until you see the pictures. We had an incredible time of fun, food and fellowship.

The young people there are a delight to work with. As with all of us, time equals love and value. We spent time with them, and they spent time with us. I’d say we got more than we gave! 

Places

Benefiting: Collaboration Works

Our Strongest LINC team was greeted on a Saturday morning with muffins and fresh fruit provided by the staff of Collaboration Works, a great organization that provides free medical supplies and equipment to those that simply could not afford them otherwise. We appreciated their generous hospitality, not realizing at the time how much we would need the energy those treats provided.

From there, our “Place” challenge got a little tougher. We were directed to a large warehouse space packed with every type of medical supply imaginable, from wheelchairs to power chairs, hospital beds and mattresses to large patient lifts. Our assignment: to clear out an empty space in the warehouse that was roughly one third of the total floor space. At first this mission seemed impossible, but with a little ingenuity and a lot of hard work (and stacking), we were able to make progress. In the end, not only had we learned just how heavy an electric wheelchair with immovable wheels actually is (answer: really heavy), but we had cleared the space, organized the supplies and created aisles in the warehouse allowing easier access for staff and volunteers.

We hope this will help this phenomenal organization do their important work a little more easily and efficiently.

Things

Benefiting: Beyond The Conviction

The organization The Strongest Linc chose to work with is Beyond The Conviction. We organized a men’s clothing drive. Beyond the Conviction’s mission statement is ; "To assist At Risk Job Seekers by providing an array of hope through employment advocacy, linkage to resources, and provisions to reduce traditional and nontraditional barriers hindering career and life advancement." One of the largest barriers "that hinders career and life advancement” for these men is lack of appropriate clothing for interviewing and employment.

Therefore, we at the The Strongest Linc saw it fit to put together a clothing drive to assist with this barrier. We collaborated with Community LINC networks to gather items such as: slacks, jeans, suits, ties, dress shirts, polo shirts, socks, and shoes. Robert, a Case-manager and administrative assistant at Beyond the Conviction, was delighted that we were mindful of the needs of their organization. Robert said that, “often times people count them out,” and he was overjoyed that we would make a donation to a people group that is often forgotten.