SERVICE
This committee meets monthly to oversee the benevolent portion of our church budget and select groups and agencies within our community and beyond to receive financial support from our congregation. Our church supports the following agencies, and some of those groups also need volunteer service as explained below.
The Adult Life Programs operates four day-care centers for the elderly and people with disabilities. The centers provide daily care and socialization for adults 18 years and older. Activities and exercises are designed to maintain and increase a person's level of function.
ALFA is the only AIDS service organization in our four-county area. ALFA provides case management and support services to those people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in the Unifour area. It provides education to the community about HIV/AIDS. Volunteers are recruited and utilized to assist ALFA in both client and non-client involved tasks and to provide adequate staffing for the organization.
Our church partners with the American Red Cross to provide a blood drive four times a year. Donors are needed for whole blood of all blood types. Volunteers are needed to provide refreshments and assist Red Cross staff with set-up in our Fellowship Hall.
This fund supports special needs of Presbyterian Home for Children in Black Mountain, Crossnore School, Grandfather Home for Children in Banner Elk, Barium Springs Home for Children, and local agencies that serve children in need. Volunteers assist with a Valentine's party at Crossnore and special work trips to various homes.
Tutors are needed in an after-school program for Spanish speaking children and youth. Spanish is helpful but not required.
First Presbyterian organizes gift drives within our congregation to provide for the needs of children and/or families in our community. A volunteer is needed to organize a "giving tree" that matches donors with recipients and to coordinate the delivery of gifts to agencies.
For one week during the summer our church works with other churches to offer a Vacation Bible School for children in the Kenworth neighborhood. Your talents in the areas of music, Bible stories, recreation, or crafts will be well used!
Exodus Homes provides supportive housing, support groups, and job placement for persons in substance abuse recovery and for persons immediately leaving incarceration. This program seeks to reunite families who have been separated by addiction and to provide spiritual and physical support for recovery.
The Family Care Center serves homeless families with dependent children and teaches them to become self-supporting, responsible citizens. The agency provides those accepted into the program a place to live, food, job referrals and teaches the family such basics as how to shop wisely and budget responsibly. Adults in the family are expected to work and/or return to school.
The Flynn Home serves as a half-way house dedicated to men with substance abuse problems. Residents are accepted after completion of a rehabilitation program elsewhere. Our support goes toward general operating expenses of the home.
Each Sunday that communion is served the church receives a special offering at worship to support this fund. Many people in crisis come to our church asking for help with funds for rent, utility bills, and medicine. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-4 pm, committee members interview those in need and decide how much help can be given. Volunteers commit to one afternoon per month.
CCM provides assistance for the needs of people living in poverty in the Greater Hickory area. CCM currently has five programs through which they provide service to clients: Food Pantry, Financial Assistance, Healthcare Center, Pharmacy, and a Thrift Store. Volunteers are needed in all areas: interviewers, pharmacy assistants, food pantry workers, nurses, and thrift store or warehouse workers.
Volunteers are needed to coordinate First Presbyterian's participation in this fund-raising walk on a Sunday afternoon, usually in October. Members of the congregation are encouraged to sponsor a walker financially or to walk themselves. Proceeds fight hunger in our community.
We are partnered with Iglesia Monte Hebron in Santo Domingo, Guatemala. We support their ministry with a small gift each year, pray for one another, and send visitors from our congregation to theirs and vice versa. We are committed to sharing our faith together. Spanish not required in order to visit.
Habitat for Humanity is an international program that builds housing in partnership with eligible families. Houses are sold to families at no profit to the organization with a no-interest mortgage. Operating expenses of our local Habitat chapter are covered by proceeds from the Habitat Home Store, donations from churches, and individual gifts. Together with other Presbyterian churches in our area, we sponsor one house every other year. Volunteers are needed to work on construction crews, to provide food to workers, and to share brief devotions with work crews.
The Soup Kitchen of Hickory provides a hot mid-day meal Monday through Friday and a bag lunch on Saturday for those in the community who are hungry. Sunday meals are hosted by local churches. Our church hosts a meal on the second Sunday of the month. Any adults and children in need of a meal are welcome. To serve the meal, watch the newsletter for opportunities.
Hospice is a special concept of care designed to provide comfort and support to patients and their families when a life-limiting illness no longer responds to cure-oriented treatments. Care and comfort is provided by specially trained professionals, volunteers and family members. Volunteers are trained to visit with patients on a regular basis.
The Hospitality House provides a caring "home away from home" for out of town family members of seriously ill hospital patients. Overnight accommodations are available for sixteen guests, as well as day use for families needing rest during the days. The house offers kitchen and laundry facilities and family visiting areas. Guests are not charged a set fee, but donations are welcomed.
Members of First Presbyterian Church have the opportunity each year to serve others through national and international mission trips. We offer trips for adults, senior high youth, junior high youth, and families. Adult and senior high trips usually focus on construction projects, often to areas where natural disasters have caused significant damage. Junior high youth usually work with urban ministries within a one-day drive from Hickory. Weekend family trips are planned for nearby locations. Medical mission trips are planned as the interest and needs arise.
The Nickel a Meal program is a strategy of our presbytery for increasing awareness and raising funds in response to hunger. By contributing 5 cents per person at each meal, we are reminded of the needs of others. We collect the special offering four times per year during worship. Take a Nickel a Meal can home for your table.
The Rape Crisis Center operates a 24-hour crisis intervention for victims of sexual assault, their families, and friends. The center offers counseling, support groups, medical and legal advocacy as well as community education to raise awareness and encourage safety and prevention. Volunteers are trained to assist victims of sexual assault.
Six churches in our community prepare and serve breakfast every Saturday morning at the Sunny Valley Community Center in Ridgeview. A team of volunteers from our church serves one month twice a year.
The Salvation Army offers areas of service consisting of Boys and Girls Clubs for school-aged children, a shelter for homeless persons which includes breakfast and evening meals, financial assistance, and help with food and clothing. The agency is a key player in the annual Christmas Bureau providing food, toys, and clothing for families. Volunteers are needed in the Boys and Girls Clubs, or to assist with serving the evening meals at the shelter.
