We recognize that we may be called on to bolster our neighbor's pantry as well as his proud spirit; that his child is also our child to shelter and to mentor; that the world becomes a vastly better place whenever we extend a hand to a stranger.
photo courtesy of Vicoria Banister 2007 thanks to Sara Pierce
WAYS OUR MEMBERS HELP
OUR COMMUNITY
with our time , our talents, our money
TUESDAY SCHOOL
( local Jr. High/ High School lunch program)
Individual church members join forces to prepare and furnish and serve several meals a year to feed up to 100 hungry kids who experience Christian fellowship and great food
THE JEFF DAVIS COUNTY CHILD WELFARE BOARD GIVING TREE
(Community program that provides Christmas gifts for selected local youth)
The main charity of
Our Women's Evening Circle, many of our members donate gifts, money and time spent selecting and gift-wrapping items of clothing and a toy for each eligible child
Church Members Support:
FOOD BANK
FIRE DEPARTMENT/ EMS
ANIMAL SHELTER
(Great Companions Humane Society)
OVERLAND TRAIL MUSEUM
CASA HOGAR
Orphanage in Ojinaga, Mexico
(see article previous column)
JEFF DAVIS COUNTY LIBRARY
Our two Women's Circles make small but regular cash donations to several national and international Presbyterian-sponsored charities and scholarship funds. The ladies also contribute time and talents to local benevolences. An incredibly reliable network of kitchens provides family meals after funerals, transportation to those who can no longer drive, phone calls and visits to those who are ill or housebound.
Presbyterian Men way out here in Fort Davis are especially resourceful types, quick with hammers and nails when repairs are needed, ready when strong backs are required, easy with advice and willing to step in and share their diverse talents with the community.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program is one of the most effective means of helping after earthquakes, floods or other devastating events strike a community. You can be sure your money is put to the use you intend, rather than wasted.
Your check should be made payable to
"Presbyterian Church (USA.)"
and marked specifically, ie."Haiti relief"
Send your donation to:
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Individual Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700
To learn more about Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, log on to
http://www.pcusa.org/pda/
LOCAL ASSISTANCE
FOR VICTIMS OF THE
APRIL 2011 WILDFIRE
IN JEFF DAVIS COUNTY
jeffdaviscountyrelief.org
(you may donate online thru PayPal)
or, mail checks to:
Fort Davis State Bank
PO Box 1809
Fort Davis, TX 70734
make checks payable to:
"Jeff Davis County Relief Fund"
ALBERQUE CASA HOGAR:
A HOME FOR BORDER CHILDREN
photo courtesty of Victoria Banister 2007
Story courtesy of Sara Pierce 2008 updated 2009
Sometimes
it takes more than one village.
Concerned with the needs of street children, Teda Neill and five Ojinaga families enlisted support from First Presbyterian Church of Fort Davis in 1996. A Casa Hogar board, consisting of members from the US and Ojinaga was designated in 2001. Alberque Casa Hogar became a functioning reality.
Thanks to funding by area churches and individuals in Fort Davis, Alpine, Sonora, even distant Fort Worth, improvements followed these humble beginnings. FDPC helped construct a dormitory capable of housing fifty children, which was dedicated and blessed on May 28, 2005.
At the annual Christmas party for the children on January 6, 2007, a new dining hall was dedicated and blessed. Teda Neill and the children cut the ribbon across the front door. With its first ever "cross the border" grant, the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation (Dallas, TX) provided the kitchen equipment.
Casa Hogar currently (2008) cares for thirty-three children, ages four through seventeen. Monthly, approximately $34 per child goes to food, just over a dollar a child covering three daily meals. The children are attended night and day at a cost of about $43/child. Operating expenses such as utilities, auto and building maintenance and the childrens' clothing must be covered each month.
The international nature of this benevolence sometimes becomes an exercise in patience. An Alpine resident helped provide a new van to transport the children to school. The van has been in Mexico for some time, but as of spring 2008, unfinished paperwork still prohibits its use.
Much chaos resulted from all the construction in the children's living areas. But the old sleeping quarters and original kitchen were recently torn down and hauled away, clearing room for visitor parking and for playground equipment. Donations from the Fort Davis and Sonora churches helped with the demolition.
Despite financial and bureaucratic frustrations, Casa Hogar grants kids a chance to just be kids. The former street children are taught good manners; compatibility; how to set a table. A couple of boys currently take boxing classes at the sports' park. Summers mean trips to the local swimming pool. Art lessons, guitar lessons using inexpensive instruments, English lessons fill gaps in children's educations. New computer training classes are being conducted, thanks to Christmas computers gifted by the Alpine Pilots Club. Cooking lessons have already resulted in several batches of cookies.
Results in touching these troubled lives are beginning to be evident. The kids attend school. Two former teachers tutor the children; a few Casa Hogar kids have now graduated high school. Two have gone on to college. All the children participate in catechism lessons; three have received their Confirmation.
This is a huge and on-going project for all involved in its support and operation.
There's always a need for basic items: laundry detergent, clothing, shoes shoes shoes, socks, underwear, soap, lotion, personal hygiene items; dental care; swim suits. The kids love Spanish books and CD's, arts and crafts. They are first and foremost, children, and they need to play, to learn, to be nurtured.
As anyone who has raised a child knows too well, as kids get older, they become more expensive to feed, clothe, school. More funding will be needed as the younger Casa Hogar children reach adolescence.
For more information about how you or your organization can help, please contact:
Patricia Miller
PO Box 2153 Fort Davis, TX 79734
or
Victoria Banister
PO Box 840 Alpine, TX 79830
or
email the church office
