Home >  News Letters > Fall 1998

Home All Recent Newsletters Spring - 2003 Holiday - 2002 Fall 2002 Summer 2002 Spring 2002 Winter 2001 Summer 2001 Spring 2001 Holiday 2000 Fall 2000 Summer 2000 Spring 2000 January 2000 Holiday 1999 Winter 1999 Fall 1999 Summer 1999 Spring 1999 Holiday 1998 Fall 1998 Administrative Offices Christian ServiceCenter for CentralFlorida, Inc. 808 W. Central Blvd. Orlando, FL 32805 407 425-2523 E-mail: Marketing Executive Director Robert F. Stuart Outreach Editor Greg Gentleman 2007 Officers and Board of Directors

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down.... Well, not quite. But one of the walls did crumble -- a little. We’re talking about the Wall-Breaking and Site Dedication for the Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program’s Share the Care Center, located next door to the Center’s administration building at 800 W. Central Boulevard.  On Thursday, September 17th, several local and state community leaders took part in the ceremony, including State Representative Alzo Reddick, Secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs, Bentley Lipscomb, and Dr. Randolph Bracey, Pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church.  A personal testimony was given by Mrs. Ober Lawhorne, whose mother is afflicted with Alzheimer’s. A kickoff fundraiser for the capital campaign immediately followed the ceremony at the offices of Morgan, Colling & Gilbert, P.A. Approximately $80,000 is needed to complete capital funding. The Share the Care Center is an Alzheimer’s specific adult day care center which will serve up to 35 memory impaired clients each day, allowing their caregivers to continue to care for them at home. It is a community project which has received capital support from the City of Orlando’s Community Block Grant Program, Orlando Regional Healthcare Systems, Central Florida Women’s League, Lockheed Martin, Darden Restaurants Foundation and others. The majority of the operating funds will be provided through the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative (ADI), a state general revenue program. Along with ADI support, the Heart of Florida United Way has committed funding to targeting low income minority elders while the Orlando Sentinel Charities Fund has committed to support scholarships for working caregivers. Bentley Lipscomb, Secretary of the Department of Elder Affairs, and Christian Service Center Executive Director Robert Stuart envision the future home of the Alzheimer Respite Care Program’s Share the Care Center. When complete, the Share the Care Center will replace the day care site on Curry Ford Road. If you would like to help or desire further information, please contact Program Director Mary Ellen Ort-Marvin at 423-5311. The story is told of a young sculptor who was faced with a tremendous challenge. A piece of Carrara marble had been placed in a cathedral in Florence, Italy. This marble, nicknamed "the giant," had been the challenge of artisans for almost 100 years. This sculptor looked at the block of marble, l8 feet high and more than 9 tons, and saw the young shepherd boy, David.   For three years, Michelangelo carefully carved each muscle. When his apprentice saw the completed work, be exclaimed, "It lacks only one thing, and that is speech." Just as Michelangelo saw the young shepherd boy, God looks into each of our lives and sees a masterpiece.For months, we have been planning a special pilot program called WINGS. WINGS is a training program for the unemployed and underemployed in our community that requires the skills and motivation to achieve lifelong success. It originated in Baltimore and training classes have since been conducted all over the United States. The goal of the Christian Service Center is to pilot one class and determine its effectiveness with helping people reach their potential. WINGS is an example of the innovative programs that are available to the Christian Service Center Although It is only a pilot program, it will change the lives of those involved who are willing to commit to a lifelong devotion to become all that God would have them become. With the unemployed, under-employed, with all of us, God sees the inside - a masterpiece - waiting to be sculpted. WINGS takes flight September 28th. We pray it will be a successful journey. Robert F. Stuart "Fashions Off Central" Has What it Takes! Move over Cindy Crawford...make room for Candie Whitney! You’re finished Naomi Campbell...it’s Diane Barber’s turn now! Candie and Diane joined several other models at the Fashions Off Central Fashion Show at the Downtown Business Women’s Luncheon Series sponsored by the First United Methodist Church of Orlando. Featuring the specialty clothing of the Christian Service Center’s Unique Boutique, both male and female models showed the audience what "finery" the Center has to offer. Sportswear, career, dressy – the Unique Boutique has it all. Many thanks to the following "aspiring models" for making the show a tremendous success: Diane Barber, Jane Horton, Chris Lecher, Shirley Cunningham-Williams and her husband, Ed, Candie Whitney, Darby Turnipseed, Angie Small, Robert Fitzpatrick, and First United Methodist’s very own Rev. Jack Jackson. Coordinating and serving as emcee was the Center’s Director of Volunteer Ministries, Shirley Swint. Coordinating the models was Thrift Store Coordinator, Helen Jones. An outreach of the church, the Downtown Women’s Luncheon Series is held in the spring and fall of each year, offering a series of dynamic speakers to the 80-100 in attendance each week. For more information on this series, please call Candie Whitney at 849-6080. Modeling clothing from the Center’s Unique Boutique are Mr. Ed Williams, Ms. Candie Whitney, and Ms. Diane Barber and Rev. Jack Jackson. "Fashions Off Central" was part of the church’s Downtown Women’s Luncheon Series presented in September. We Need Your Help Men's and women's undergarments and socks are badly needed in our thrift stores, especially as we move toward cooler weather. It will get cooler, believe it or not... Also, we are always in need of men's jeans and slacks, size 34 and below. If you can help, please contact Shirley Swint at 425-2523 or bring them by the Center, 808 W Central Blvd., between the hours of 8:30 and 5:00, Monday thru Friday. Program Updates Daily Bread: Labor Day saw 508 individuals in need of a noon-time meal. This marks one of the highest, daily, number of meals served in the history of Orlando Daily Bread. In the first six months of 1998, 48,278 individual meals were served in Daily Bread’s three locations throughout Central Florida. Inner-City Community Church holds a weekly Sunday worship service in our Daily Bread facility as a pilot program. Currently about 75 attend each week. The HOPE Team continues to make the Daily Bread building their home office, allowing our clients greater access to medical services. First Baptist of Kissimmee announced the construction of the Osceola Christian Ministry Center which will house the Osceola Daily Bread program. Anticipated opening is Spring 1999. Family and Emergency Services: 4,983 individuals / families have been assisted in the first six months representing approximately 12,500 people. Social workers have been extensively trained on the Community Service Network’s Community Link software for client management and reporting. The Center recently received a grant which will allow all our Family and Emergency sites, Orlando, Ocoee and Winter Park, as well as our Fresh Start program, to have access to this software. As the office prepares for the holidays, we ask our supporters to please remember the program by saving your brown paper bags. Longtime FES volunteer Esther Myers has been selected as one of The Eckerd 100. In celebration of their 100 years, Eckerd sponsored a program looking for 100 women in the nation who have made a difference in their community. Nominated by the Adult Literacy League, where she is also a volunteer, Esther will receive a trip to Atlanta to attend a special symposium on "how women can make an impact in their community." Congratulations, Esther! Fresh Start: We have made a major emphasis on jobs for residents in the Fresh Start program, thus our rental fees are 40% higher than projected. This is an indication that the men are working and staying in the program longer. Testimonies of changed lives are an indication of real success, as shown by four residents of Fresh Start who recently transitioned into an apartment. Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program: More than 20,000 hours of service to 548 unduplicated clients has been accomplished in the first six months of 1998 through this program. St. Luke’s United Methodist Church has offered their facility as a 5 day/week neighborhood site serving southwest Orange County. Renovations to existing space have been provided by CareLink (Orlando Regional Healthcare Systems). The site is expected to begin full operation by October 1, 1998. Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program and ADNet have received national recognition from the National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging. Hotel Ministry: Attendance is higher compared to last year at our weekly Sunday worship services at Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Luau Pavilion. We coordinate the schedules of seven retired volunteer pastors to lead this worship service. Over 1,200 attended this year’s Easter Service. West Orange Ministries: 2,701 client hours to more than 60 families have been provided in the first six months through our LIFE Center programs. Daily Bread continues to serve between 80-100 meals three days/week; Family and Emergency Services is assisting more of the migrant population due to its location; Mothers Helping Mothers is assisting 30 families with educational and vocational training and opportunities; and Early Student Intervention Program (ESIP) is serving 42 children with after-school tutoring and enrichment. The West Orange Neighborhood Center for Families (NCF) of which our programs play an integral role, received "superior" evaluations from Orange County’s Citizens Commission for Children. "A Starlit Evening" featuring Ken Medema awaits you... As the holiday season approaches, we find ourselves hustling and bustling getting ready for what the Christmas season brings – shopping, baking, holiday parties, shopping, office gatherings, children’s programs and more shopping. Whew, you need a breather. Have we got a treat for you! Do your mind, body and spirit a favor by attending the Christian Service Center’s "A Starlit Evening" on Thursday, December 17th.... you will be richly blessed for doing so! Here’s why. You will be served an elegant, candlelit dinner, a sumptuous dessert buffet, the opportunity to do some last minute shopping at our silent auction, and best of all, attend a Christmas Celebration Concert featuring the music of Ken Medema, a singer, composer and musician who, for those who haven’t heard him, is sensational! Composer, musician Ken Medema will perform a Christmas Celebration Concert as part of the Christian Service Center’s "A Starlit Evening" on December 17th. Alone on the stage with a grand piano, Ken creates a flood of sound and light that entertains, inspires and informs. Ken’s comedic and satirical skills leave an audience laughing; his gifts as singer, poet, and story-teller often evoke tears. Born blind, Ken does not let the darkness of his blindness darken his mind. His songs are colorful, imaginative and often daring. He has the uncanny ability to respond almost instantly to a situation with an off-the-cuff song that mixes melody, comedy and a bit of edge to hammer home the previously spoken words. If you don’t come for any other reason, you must come to experience a Medema concert. You will be so glad you did! Held in Faith Hall at First Baptist Church of Orlando, "A Starlit Evening" will rejuvenate even the most weary holiday shopper. For table reservations, tickets or further information, please call Margaret Farris at 425-2523. Programs Do More Through Generosity of Community Givers August was a rewarding month for the Christian Service Center as several grants were awarded to the Center and its programs from several of Central Florida’s community funders. Following is a list of those funders and what their monies will provide: Dr. Phillips, Inc. Walk-in Cooler and Ice Maker for the Orlando Daily Bread program.   Orlando Sentinel Charities Fund Orlando Daily Bread operations; scholarship funding for working caregivers in the Alzheimer Respite Care Program. Darden Restaurants Foundation Kitchen Renovations for the Alzheimer Respite Care Program’s Share the Care Center. Publix Super Markets Charities West Orange Daily Bread operations. Regal Marine Foundation Christian Service Center operations. Christian Service Center Executive Director Robert Stuart accepts a check from Ms. Lydia Gardner of Sprint United Telephone of Florida, who is a member of the Dr. Phillips Inc. Review Committee. Dr. Phillips, Inc. awarded the Center funding in support of its Orlando Daily Bread program Revised: January 19, 2008