ENP Blog

A CONVOY of HOPE

January 6, 2014 andrewfeil Community Outreach

A Convoy of Hope invaded the Fresno Fairgrounds at the end of November! Hearts of compassion, grace and love were evident in the 2000+ volunteers that spent the day serving meals, giving haircuts, fitting people with shoes, taking family portraits and sharing valuable information with more that 6000 guests who were welcomed, served, prayed for and loved that day; and those are just a few of the things that took place at Convoy! Health & Dental Services were also provided, flu shots were given and resumes were prepared. It was HUGE!

The follow through started as people had their groceries carried to their cars and new doors are being opened as the Convoy team now engages in connecting people with churches, small groups, organizations, etc. At the end of the outreach, before Saturday was through, impassioned Convoy volunteers took some of the leftover prepared meals to folks in need in downtown Fresno, feeding them, engaging them, continuing the Day of Hope and extending it beyond the Fairgrounds. Guests that responded “yes” to offers of connection to a local church are being followed up with follow phone calls and conversations.

People are being connected, resumes are being submitted, transportation is being arranged back to churches through bus tokens, and workshops are being planned with much more to come. It was an impactful day, but it’s not just about ONE day! The doors are open now for many to continue to build upon the connections made.

Lowell Moms Giving Back

November 24, 2013 andrewfeil Community Outreach

“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” I Peter 4:9-10

The moms at Lowell Elementary were eager to show their gratitude to the teachers for the time and energy they pour into kids on a daily basis. Many of the mothers at Lowell, however, are not able to communicate effectively in English. But they found a way they could give back and bless the teachers in a meanginful way!

Food is nourishment to both the body and soul! Food connects people! These moms sent a strong message of thankfulness through their loving act of service. The meal was fabulous! The teachers LOVED it! The moms felt blessed by the opportunity to serve and now recognize that their cooking skills are a gift that can be used to bless others . . . this week it was the teachers that teach THEIR children who were on the receiving end!

It’s exciting to watch these ladies use their gifts to be a blessing to their neighborhood!

– Ariana Martinez

Heart + Vision = IMPACT

November 4, 2013 andrewfeil Community Outreach, Economic Development

The relationship began a few years ago when a group of people from The Well Community Church were challenged to “be the church” and find creative ways to serve our city. Rather than choosing from a bunch of planned service opportunities, folks were challenged to look around and find impactful ways to reach out. Jerry DiBuduo’s life group got together with some others and decided to pick 5 Boys & Girls Clubs in Fresno and take 15 kids from each club to a Fresno Grizzley’s game. Twenty-five chaperones and seventy-five kids – they had a fantastic time!

That started it all! They really connected with the kids that day and from that point, decided to “adopt” the Pinedale Boys & Girls Club. Once the relationships were formed with those kids and their families, other needs were discovered and this group was committed to do what they could do to bless this community. “For YEARS”, they said, “we had all written checks to various causes, but rarely shared our TIME!” WHAT an impact! Not only in the lives of the kids, but the volunteers as well.

Last year they decided to take on a bigger project and transform the alley behind the Pinedale Boys & Girls Club into greenspace, with a raised bed garden area and a shaded patio, greatly expanding the usable space for the kids in the neighborhood. It was a huge project that involved hundreds of people and thousands of dollars. It is beautiful!

A few weeks ago they hosted a Farmers Market with 40 volunteers and 2000 pounds of quality produce provided by several generous farmers. The produce was sold to families at significantly reduced prices, providing healthier foods for the families. The proceeds benefited the Boys and Girls Club as well as “Off the Front” who repaired 50 bicycles that day. HUGE IMPACT!

Who knows what they will think of next, but there is no doubt that they will continue to reach out with their hands and hearts with a vision to see Pinedale become a healthy and thriving community.

Heart + Vision + The Gift of Time = HUGE IMPACT!

True Neighborhood Presence

October 21, 2013 andrewfeil Neighborhood Presence

World Impact is a national organization that plants missionaries in neighborhoods for the purpose of them being salt and light in that community. Here in Fresno ENP works with several World Impact families.

The Contreras family has been faithfully serving in the Hidalgo neighborhood for several years. They remodeled a small, older apartment and turned the first floor into a Recreation Center which is used for week long outreaches to kids and families in the neighborhood. They host after school programs, game nights, Bible Clubs, parent gatherings and summer programs.

Most recently they teamed up with Northside Church to host a very large Block Party for the community. They closed the street and had bounce houses, basketball games, carnival type activities, face painting and live music. Over 600 residents participated in the event and they all walked away with some fresh produce, prizes, a full stomach and most importantly, a knowledge that there’s a safe place in the community that they can come to when there’s a need in their family.

ENP is proud to support the Contreras family and their year round efforts. They are providing true neighborhood presence in the Hidalgo Neighborhood.

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New Season of Saturday Sports!

September 25, 2013 andrewfeil Saturday Sports

Here we go again! Lots of fun for kids in neighborhoods all over Fresno with the start of a new season of Saturday Sports! There will be FREE SATURDAY MORNING CAMPS at 30 different sites this year providing activities and “green space” for kids who have little to do on a Saturday morning.

We are also thrilled by the number of Fresno State students who will be volunteering in a variety of ways this school year.

Last weekend the Fresno State Softball team visited Addams Saturday Sports. Track and Field, and Lacross teams will visit other sites in the coming weeks. These students add such excitement and energy to the programs while giving kids the opportunity to envision themselves as college students which reinforces Fresno Unified’s goal of preparing career ready graduates.

A group of Nutrition students are volunteering regularly with N.E.E.D. (Nutrition and Exercise Education Development) visiting a different Saturday Sports Program each week. You know the kids are not only learning the importance of fitness, but the value of eating healthy foods each day as well.

Marketing and Communications classes are also volunteering with ENP. After they get an understanding of the goals, mission and vision of ENP, they will each work on a project that will help them gain experience in their area of study and help ENP at the same time.

It’s a win-win for everyone! . . . and the year has just begun!

So much to celebrate!

ENP’s partnership with Fresno State students is a valuable one . . . THE KIDS LOVE IT . . . and all of us at ENP do, too!

The Church in Action

August 26, 2013 andrewfeil Community Outreach

Magnolia McClain is an 82 year old resident that lives in southeast Fresno. A few months ago she noticed that the floor of her bathroom was creaking a lot when she would walk in there. Over time the sound became louder and louder and the floor became softer and softer. She suspected that there may be a water leak somewhere in the bathroom. So she told one of her kids.

When some folks from Saint Rest’s Baptist heard of her plight, they wanted to step in and help. They called ENP to see if we could assist in doing an initial assessment of the work that needed to be done. We found a contractor that was willing to help Saint Rest’s with guidance and with the help of some retired gentlemen from the church they were able to re-floor the bathroom and put in a new toilet.

What a joy it is to see the Church in action – being a blessing to our residents, young and . . . not so young!!

You May Never Know the Impact!

August 8, 2013 andrewfeil Saturday Sports

It’s that time of year again! Almost time for school to start again – which also means we are out finding great deals on markers, crayons, scissors, playground balls and other supplies for the kids at Saturday Sports! Every year about this time we are shopping, because the deals are great!

This week I was at Walmart and a very nice young man helped me with my overflowing cart full of fun! Of course the question came, that I always expect. He asked, “Are you a teacher?” Then I go went on to explain:

“No, all this stuff is for Saturday Sports programs. I work with Every Neighborhood Partnership. We provide these supplies for churches who do programs on Saturday mornings with kids in more than 30 Fresno neighborhoods. It’s a great program and so simple! Volunteers from the churches open up a school playground for a couple hours on a Saturday morning and play with kids in the neighborhood, giving them a “green space” to play and something fun to do on the weekend. They might play soccer, throw a football, jump rope, play board games or do crafts. It’s pretty casual and unstructured which makes it easy for the churches. The kids just have fun and at the end of the morning they leave with a sack lunch, provided by Poverello House.”

Store employees typically respond with positive, semi-interested comments like, “Oh, that’s great.” However this young man’s response made me smile! (OK – I admit, it kind of made me cry a little.) He told me that people from churches had a very positive impact on his life while growing up. I thought he was going to tell me he went to Sunday School, or VBS or something, but he said, “You tell those people that they may never really know the impact they are having on those kids! Every weekend people from churches would hand out lunches when we lived near 99. My brother and I couldn’t wait to go there every weekend. I’ll never forget them!” This was an 18 year old boy who was telling me this story. He is now working and saving up to go to college. Needless to say I walked away feelling pretty blessed thinking about the time our partnership churches are spending with kids in Fresno neighborhoods and the impact they are making!

More than 3000 kids attended a Saturday Sports Program during the past school year, and they received MORE than a lunch! Volunteers played with them, talked to them, colored with them, AND gave them a sack lunch before they went home. What do you think those kids will say when they are 18?

Volunteers have an opportunity to make an impact this year on thousands of Fresno kids on Saturday mornings. Churches have an opportunity to reach out to them. There are places form more volunteers to serve at existing Saturday Sports Programs, and there are more neighborhoods with kids who would LOVE something to do on a Saturday morning! How many more lives can be reached this year?

The opportunities are there . . . and so are the kids!

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If you would like more information about Saturday Sports, or would like to donate craft supplies or sports equipment for these programs, we would love to talk to you. For a list of items we still need, please contact us, or check out the list on our website.

Lawless Neighborhood Outreach

July 31, 2013 andrewfeil Community Outreach

Northpointe, The River, Mt. ZIon and Life Bridge churches, along with over 20 service organizations joined forces for another amazing Neighborhood Block Party at Toby Lawless School this past weekend. Activities included games for the kids, food, live music, and drawings throughout the day with a couple kids going home with new bikes! Everyone seemed to enjoy the activities AGAIN this year and the weather was beautiful! To top off the day, community Food Bank handed out bags of produce to the families as they left for home.

Thanks to everyone who made this day memorable and fun for the whole neighborhood!

This video tells the whole story even better than words! ENJOY!

Fresno Youth – Caring for Our City

July 20, 2013 andrewfeil Community Outreach

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15

God cares for the city and He cares for the aesthetic beauty within it as well. He calls us to be good stewards in our community, “to work it and take care of it”, and the Church Body is carrying out that calling here in Fresno!

This past week, ENP had the opportunity to hang out with three teams of very energetic and tenacious middle and high school students from People’s Church. These students were a great blessing to the City of Fresno staff by helping to get a few projects off of their to-do list. The goal: to beautify our city!

One very determined and hardworking team cleared out weeds from the side of one of Fresno’s major streets, while a second team painted over graffiti on about a mile of walls in downtown Fresno. The last team spent their time investing in a neighborhood park, painting stripes on the parking lot, weeding flower beds, sanitizing playground equipment, sweeping sidewalks and raking!

We at ENP continue to be impressed by this younger generation’s energy and willingness to pour into our city! God is at work and we are thankful to be witness to that, and happy to assist them in their efforts!

– Ariana Martinez

Now THAT’S a Picnic Table!!!

May 10, 2013 andrewfeil Community Outreach, Partnership Spotlight, Saturday Sports

Volunteers from Trinity Community Church recently finished construction of an awesome picnic table at Jackson. You might have a mental picture of a cute little table that seats 4-6 people comfortably. Nope – this one seats a MULTITUDE!!!

Now the kids who come to Saturday Sports have a great place to do crafts, eat their lunch at the end of the morning. They will be able to enjoy it at school during the week as well.

This table isn’t going anywhere any time soon, either. It will probably be there for these kids to show to their grandkids, and they will tell the stories about the nice people “the church” who built that table for them. Pretty sure the kids will also remember a lot of other amazing ways, that these volunteers Trinity Community Church made an impact in their lives.

This table will simply serve as a reminder!