The following is a partial list of the organizations with whom First Presbyterian Church is involved through the Service Committee. If you know of other activities, please forward the following information to the service committee:

• organization name;
• brief description;
• how FPC menbers can get involved;
• a point of contact at the church, including phone and e-mail.

The Biscuit Ministries is a program to deliver food to the day laborers who congregate at Labor Finders on Governors Drive looking for work. Because they need to be at Labor Finders by 6:15 a.m. or thereabouts in order to get to job sites by 7:00 a.m., these folks miss the opportunity to eat the breakfastss served at the Salvation Army and the Downtown Rescue Mission. On the first Wednesday of each month a group meets at the church at 5:40 a.m., or at Labor Finders at 6:00 a.m. and provides sack lunches and hot chocolate or lemonade to the workers. Getting involved: Groups are needed to help assemble the lunches which consist of: vienna sausage, applesauce, a juce box, cookies, cheese crackers, a spoon/fork, a napkin, a ziplock bag and a Bible verse sticker. The Service Committee buys the supplies. Also, individuals who don’t mind getting up early are needed to hand out lunch packs and beverages. Contact Jeff Kyser at ktrails@comcast.net or call 539-5428.

Blount House – When a person is seriously injured or ill, family members struggle through a period of emotional and often financial crisis.  The Blount Hospitality House provides lodging and supportive companionship for out-of-town relatives of patients in Huntsville area hospitals.  Those who wish to stay at the House must live outside Huntsville and must be referred by a hospital social worker or nurse.  Through gracious gifts and donations, Hospitality House will continue its 25-year tradition of providing a home-away-from-home for families in need. More information can be found at: http://blounthospitalityhouse.org/home

Breaking Free Mission provides emergency food, shelter, and transportation for men and women of Huntsville and the surrounding area.

C. A. R. E. Center offers offers hope for the needy and low-income in Eastern Madison County through resources that create self-sufficiency.  The CARE Center offers emergency food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, baby products, school supplies, and financial assistance to Eastern Madison County. There are three established tutoring programs as well as a Home Repair Ministry and Clothes Closet.  The CARE Center also joined the Angel Food Ministries in 2006.  The CARE Center currently serves the following areas of North Alabama: Brownsboro, Gurley, New Hope, Hampton Cove, Owens Cross Roads, Berkley, Big Cove. More information can be found at: http://www.thecarecenter.us

Choose Life’s mission is to strengthen families by educating people to make choices that will have a positive effect on their lives, their families and their communities. Judy Howard is FPC’s point of contact for Choose Life; contact Judy at HowardJaudon@aol.com or call her at 539-8459. More information can be found at:  http://www.chooselifehuntsville.org/

Community Free Clinic continually strives to provide free, excellent health care to members of this community who have no health insurance and no other option for health care.

Downtown Rescue Mission – FPC provides direct monetary support to the mission. In addition, groups from the church, primarily the youth and DISCIPLE classes, have prepared meals to serve at the mission. The latter involves planning and preparing a menu to serve roughly 200 people, then taking the food to the mission and serving the food to the women of the Sapp Shelter, the men who live at the mission, and the transients who depend on the mission for food. Getting involved: The Service Committee has set aside money for up to three meals in 2008, and we need your help to plan or to prepare or to serve these meals! Contact Jeff Kyser (ktrails@comcast.net) for more information, or call him at 539-5428.  More information on the mission can be found at: http://downtownrescuemission.org

The Food Pantry at Trinity Presbyterian is the only PC(USA) food pantry in our area, and FPC supports this project by donating food and money. A large wooden box for food collection is set up in the fellowship hall, and food is taken to Trinity on a monthly basis. This ministry has grown dramatically over the past year, resulting in hundreds of adults, teens and children getting access to much needed food in times of financial crisis. Getting involved: Bring paper towels, toilet paper, bar soap, condiments, peanut butter, pancake or biscuit mix, and any canned fruits, canned vegetables or canned meats such as tuna. Regular sizes are preferred over “jumbo” sizes that must be divided. Checks can also be accepted; make them out to ‘First Presbyterian Church’, put ‘Food Pantry’ on the memo line, and drop them off at the church.  Also, if you are willing to run the month’s food collections over to Trinity, contact Kristi Kelly at kristikelly@comcast.net or call her at 880-7366.

Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.  Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need.  Habitat has built more than 225,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. Getting involved: FPC will participate in a Blitz Build in August; contact DeWitt Westrope at 536-6819 for more information. Additional information on Habitat can be found at: http://www.habitat.org

HEALS (Health Establishments at Local Schools) provides free medical care to school children in Madison County Schools.  HEALS is dedicated to promoting accessible, quality school-based primary health care for children through collaborative effort with the school system and the medical community.  The services offered by HEALS are an essential strategy for improving the lives of children and optimizing their opportunities for success in school and society.

Huntsville Association of Pastoral Care (need description, contact, getting involved here)

Interfaith Mission Service is people and communities of faith serving together to promote religious, racial, and cultural harmony; respond to human needs; and facilitate communication within the community. More information can be found at: http://www.interfaithmissionservice.org

LIFT Housing assists people who are trying to make the transition to apartments and more permanent housing. FPC’s primary involvement with this program is to provide funds through the Service Committee budget and to help with fund raising. Kim Hovater sits on LIFT’s board of directors, and has been the treasurer for about 8 years. Contact Kim at akhovater@aol.com or call him at 539-6773. To contact LIFT directly, reach Kathryn Strickland at kathryn.strickland@gmail.com or call her at 551-1610, ext. 208. Their office is located at 600 St. Clair Avenue, Building 3, Huntsville AL 35801.

Lincoln Village – A multi-denominational effort to relieve poverty in one of Huntsville’s poorer neighborhoods, less than 2 miles from our church, the Lincoln Village project seeks to provide affordable housing and a neighborhood church to the area surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr. School.   More information on Lincoln Village in general can be found at: http://lincolnvillageministry.com

Outreach Ministries of Alabama, Inc. is involved in drug prevention, education, and Christian training for those with life-controlling problems.  It is also involved in evangelistic outreaches within the U.S. and internationally. More information can be found at: http://www.oma-inc.org

Pathfinders is providing a structured environment for recovery and a path to community responsibility. Everett Mosley is FPC’s point of contact for Pathfinders; Everett can be reached at ecomos@bellsouth.net or call him at 534-0034.

Project Harvest (need description, contact, getting involved here)

Salvation Army Angel Tree (need description, contact, getting involved here)

Salvation Army Soup Van – A team of 4-7 folks is needed on the third Saturday of each month to drive the Soup Van to two different locations and serve approximately 60-100 meals to some of Huntsville’s less fortunate. The team meets at the Salvation Army building on Seminole Drive at 5:30 p.m. and is generally finished by 7:00 p.m. In addition, the Service Committee has provided funds so that we can supplement the menu with green vegetables, fruit, a dessert, a hot beverage, or whatever seems appropriate based on the meal being served. To get involved, sign up on the bulletin board outside the fellowship hall, or contact Jason Kerr at jkerr@drash.com or call him at 656-4428.

Second Mile Development (need description, contact, getting involved here)

The Vine Pastoral Counseling Center is a non profit cooperative ministry of pastoral counseling and marriage and family therapy. The Vine is a congregation-based ministry of the church.  It serves as an extension of a client’s congregation and as an outreach of our supporting congregations.  FPC is a supporting congregation and is represented on The Vines’s Board of Directors.  John Newton is FPC’s point of contact; John can be reached at jaknewton@comcast.net or call John at 536-8925. More information can be found at: http://www.vinepcc.com