What charities do you support? The TKO Graphix Volunteer Committee, which I am a member of, met at the end of 2017 to decide on where the team would focus our efforts in 2018. Some of the charities have become traditions, such as a Blood Drive in February and the Salvation Army Angel Tree Toy Drive every December. As the team matched charitable events to the 12 months of the year it became apparent we had too many organizations we wanted to support or not enough months. So we came up with a solution. In April we plan to support four local groups, one per week, Sheltering Wings, Just Be Kind, Susie’s Place, and Strides to Success. If you’d like to learn more about each keep reading.
Four Weeks in April and Four Charities
Sheltering Wings
“Sheltering Wings owes its existence to a group of volunteers at a local food pantry. These loyal volunteers for the pantry at Cornerstone Christian Church noticed that many of the women who came in for assistance in feeding their families showed signs of abuse.
They wanted to offer help and guidance, but quickly discovered that there were no local shelters for abused women and children. Shelters in Indianapolis and other neighboring cities were struggling to keep up with the demand for their services.
In January 2002, Sheltering Wings welcomed its first resident. She walked through the doors of an 11,600-square-foot facility that included 11 family units. Each had a private shower/tub, four beds, and a walk-in closet. Sadly, it didn’t take very long for all of the units to have residents.
As the communities we serve grew, the need for our services did, too. Our board made the difficult and courageous decision to launch a capital campaign that would fund a major expansion. In early 2013, we completed that work, becoming a 37,000-square-foot facility with 68 beds.
Volunteers continue to play crucial roles in our success. Today, support from more than 115 churches, 71 civic organizations, 329 businesses, 25 schools, 36 foundations and more than 1,200 individual contributors ensures that we can offer safety, hope, and Christ’s love to women and their children.” — About Sheltering Wings
Just Be Kind
What do you do when you a disadvantaged elementary school living in a hotel with your mother and other underprivileged kids? You start a movement for kindness and then you sell merchandise to finance outings for you and the rest of the troop. After that, you help others. Just be kind is a life style not a motto.
“The Just Be Kind Club started around Memorial Day of 2015. A group of Plainfield kids wanted to earn money to do “stuff.” They decided that making and selling t-shirts with an important message would be a great way to earn money and push their basic –but important– message: Just Be Kind! Thus, the Just Be Kind Club was created.
The kids’ motivation has now turned to spreading the message of kindness everywhere! Their goal is to have five Just Be Kind shirts in every country!” About Just Be Kind
“Some of the money raised pays for outings for the kids and their families to places they couldn’t otherwise afford to go, but it didn’t take long for the kids to decide they wanted to do more for others …the kids have decided to use it to help pay for supplies and field trips for the life skills class for developmentally disabled students at Plainfield High School.” Indianapolis Star
Susie’s Place
“We provide forensic interviews for children in a child-friendly center for the investigation of alleged crimes against children.
In the past, several different people often interviewed children, i.e. school staff, Department of Child Services (DCS), law enforcement, prosecutor’s office. Children were being traumatized by having to tell their story over and over. Also, they were often interviewed in police stations, which are not child-friendly. As a response to those concerns, the Child Advocacy Center was born.
Our goal is to ensure that the child is the main priority during their time at Susie’s Place.” — About Susie’s Place
Strides to Success
“Strides mission is to provide unique equine experiences that promote learning opportunities that strengthen and develop lives. Strides to Success combines a research based learning model with metaphoric experiences that encourage personal growth and development in both adults and youth.
Because of the diverse range of expertise among the staff, Strides to Success custom builds the experience for each client. We do not offer canned programs but rather we take the time to understand each individual and custom tailor mounted and unmounted interaction with our horses for the best outcomes.
We offer different types of workshops throughout the year to help people learn the skills needed to love what you do, do what you love, and make a living at what you love to do!” — About Strides to Success
The More Charities the Merrier
If you’d like to be a part of the four charities weeks in April and lend your help to these four worthy charities let the Volunteer Committee know. There are never too many hands for a good deed.
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash
