Being that Albany, GA has the 8th highest childhood poverty rate in the nation, we wanted to focus our efforts this month on bringing  awareness to this issue.   On June 20, 2009, over 30 volunteers came together to give hope and joy to the children who live in the projects located in the area of Davis St. and W. First Ave. .  Our mission started when we met 2 awesome guys who felt called to live in the same area as these children and their families, and to mentor the children thru tutoring and introducing them to things in our community that they normally would not have the chance to experience. Justin Wilson and Joseph Haefs have dedicated their time to be with these children and bring light into their darkness and show them the love that our community has to give.  This past Saturday was a pure heart-warming experience for all of us as we played kickball, wiffleball, painted canvases, relay races, and tug-of-war with over 50 children that came out to the park near their homes.  Volunteers donated peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, and cookies, along with board games for Justin and Joseph to keep at their house for them to have for the kids to play when they visit.  Not only did we have volunteers donate their time, efforts, food, drinks, games, etc to these kids, but someone made a monetary donation to take the children to our local Civil Rights Museum.  How awesome is that!

It was amazing to see the kids eyes light up as the day unfolded with games, ice cream, and just spending time together eating lunch picnic style in the park.  The volunteers not only blessed the lives of the children, but we were all blessed that day by the love that the kids gave back.  Many of theses volunteers learned that they can come and mentor the children of this particular neighborhood any time that they like through the help of Misison:Change, Justin, and Joseph.  We know that many lives were touched this past weekend and the children can't wait for us to come back soon!

It warmed my heart when one of the little boys came up to me and put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Can you come back tomorrow? You are coming back aren't you?"  Tears swelled up in my eyes knowing that I could not promise I'd be back tomorrow, but definitely another day.  We had many of the children to ask this question and others told us that they had the best day of their lives.  You know that you are doing awesome works when the children of our community come together and want more of the good old fashioned fun that we had that day!

My prayer is that each one os us remembers not only the men and women of our community, but most of all the children that are the future of our community.  To know that we all have or have had a part in the boys and girls lives of Albany, Ga is the most rewarding thing that could happen through Mission:Change.  Thank you again to all the volunteers that came to the park this past weekend and all of our supporters of our Monthly Mission Projects, without you guys we would not be able to bring hope to the people in our backyard!

-LaDonna

The community of Albany, Ga took one giant step forward on Tuesday, June 9th.  Ever sense the Hope for the Hungry and Homeless Sleepout in January, we have been advocating the need for Albany to adopt and implement a real plan to prevent and end homelessness.  A plan with timetables and goals to reach along the way.

With the leadership of Albany-Dougherty Homeless Coalition president, Timothy Sweet-Holp and help from coalition members, Becky Boyd and Thelma Watson, this plan got off the ground today.  Over 50 service providers and concerned citizens met for an all day planning session to lay the ground work for the  "Action Against Homelessness Plan".  One of the many goals that came out of the planning session is to develop  a central resource center (one stop shop).  It seems that there are so many different organizations and resources in the community with no synergy between them. One of the objectives  for this center is to streamline and simplify the process of going from homeless to permanent housing as quickly as possible.  Anyone on the brink of becoming homeless would also be able to find the needed resources at this center to hopefully prevent them from becoming homeless.  This is just one piece of the puzzle that will hopefully help Albany end this social injustice.

One thing that was unanimous among everyone in attendance is for this plan to be successful, the community as a whole has to come to the realization that we do have a homeless problem and it's going to take a team effort to reach the ultimate goal of making sure everyone in our community has access to permanent affordable housing. I encourage anyone who wants to be a part of helping our neighbors in need, get in contact with us or Mr. Sweet-Holp and/or attend the homeless coalition meetings held on the 4th Monday of every month at the Microbusiness Center on S.Jackson St. at 12 noon.

Mr.Sweet-Holp's email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Next Homeless Coalition Meeting: Monday, June 22 at 12 noon