Today I write with a heart as heavy as it has been for sometime. Haiti has seen a horrible tragedy unfold, and I know it will continue to unfold. So what can we do…first, we at Shepherd have asked for our neighbors, those we serve, to join with the effort and donate what money they can to the tremendous rescue effort needed. And they are responding…..our effort we are calling… “change for change”.

It has been personal for those of us here at Shepherd as one of our founders was there in Haiti and shared personally the devastation. But our hearts broken cannot be where we end. It is our call to act. So join with us…..will you give? You can support Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, who has been generous to support us. Support the Red Cross, Salvation Army…support someone. Now is the time. As I talk with our neighbors and they share their brokenness, I am moved by their heart for others as well…..the cycle of poverty is broken when you recognize you have something to give. Lots of cycles are being broken.

jay

So the holidays are over….do we shut up the doors and recover? Absolutely not, the unique part of what we do at Shepherd is that our holiday help enables us to further deepen the relationships we have with those we are serving all year. So yes, lots of parents selected gifts for their children for Christmas… and those same kids are walking into the after school program today, or maybe in our pre-school academy, or are in our gymnastics programs.

When folks support Shepherd, they are investing in the lives of our families all 12 months. While our challenges are tremendous, our consistent effort through the support of so many enables us to be investing daily.

The challenges of poverty aren’t met in the episodic, but the consistent investment. As we start a new year, just a quick note to say thanks for those who make it possible to be here all of 2010.

Happy New Year.

jay

You may not hear this story… of professional athletes who are making a difference. A few days ago, MVP candidate Peyton Manning invited 50 of our children to participate in a Christmas party he hosts every year at the Children’s Museum. Five of the Pacers took 30 of our middle and high schoolers shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Each of the students received a $200 gift card. So what did these kids purchase? –gifts for their family. The stories came back of the young girl who spent it all on her family. Point Guard Travis Diener was so moved he ended up purchasing gifts for her, and others in his group. Or the story of the young student who wanted the $95 shoes… but they went back so he could surprise his Dad with a fish finder. They were all very rich, and we are blessed because of this. We hear when athletes mess up… you need to hear that they are helping invest in the long-term development of lots of students as well. Our city is blessed to have both franchises. Go Colts… Go Pacers. Our students are better because of you. And they are all stars in my eyes.

Jay

So we celebrate over two decades of commitment to the eastside of Indianapolis. We have so much to be thankful for, people who volunteered, served as staff and made sacrificial gifts in order to further the work. So now, we celebrate back to the mid-eighties when the vision for making a difference took root.

But what is next? What do we need to do in order to continue to make a difference? Our focus will continue to be engaging in the lives of hundreds of families to give them the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. Yet, we are being compelled to do more… to deal with the systemic issues of poverty that continue to hurt and frustrate so many. Poverty in Indianapolis is more defined by lack of access than lack of resources. We must build the bridges that give them the opportunity to break out of poverty.

Will you be a bridge builder? Come join with us for another 25 years of making a difference.

Carpe diem,

jay

Is it really the lack of resources, or maybe, the lack of access to those resources? I see plenty of hospitals in our city, yet, families go unserved. I see grocery stores, yet kids are going to bed hungry every night. Plenty of schools, yet students who can’t read. So what is the cause of poverty in Indianapolis?

I don’t have time, or the total understanding to be able to explain it, but I know this much… many of those we serve, simply have no voice. No voice to speak up, and if they do, who is listening?

In coming weeks I will be writing more about the causes, and how we are trying to deal with that. Maybe it will help understanding… it isn’t simply pulling one’s self up by their bootstraps… especially when they have no boots.

Stay tuned… email me at mailto:blog@shepherdcommunity.org. Maybe you will have ideas on how to attack the different challenges to address the lack of access. Help give voice.

jay

I fear we don’t really know what a partnership is. We prefer it to be me getting to do what I want to do with your resources. Yet, here at Shepherd Community we have found what a real partnership can and should be.

I am proud to say we partner with one of the best medical facilities in the Midwest. Wishard Hospital is doing a wonderful job serving the community of Central Indiana. Just this week, in a partnership with Wishard, over 25 of our families received new car seats and a short tutorial on how to properly fasten a seat into their vehicle. This could save many lives.

Each week in a program called ‘Prescription for Hope’, both Shepherd and Wishard staff work with those who enter the ER because they are victims of crime, to help them locate services to improve their own situation and make sure they have access to a better life. This, my friends, is a true partnership. One that is about working together to better serve the community.

I know the leadership, many members of the medical staff personally, and they are fine leaders who are making a huge difference in our community. Their leadership and their commitment to partnerships for the sake of the community is why I am supporting the ballot issue to support Wishard’s plan to build a new hospital. They have my full support! Why? Because they will make it serve the whole community.

They make a difference in my neighborhood, and the whole city! Our families will be better served and quite frankly… that is how I want my tax monies being spent… serving our city. No better example of tax payer money being spent in the right way!

We are a world class city because of partners like Wishard… now let’s partner with them.

jay