Saturday, November 1, 2008

A family sticks together...

We as a community have enjoyed the company of some truly remarkable people. People who not only have chosen to seek out what it means to follow Jesus, but people who have constantly open arms to others who struggle spiritually, physically, financially, etc. I'm proud to be a member of this new family - I only wish to spend more and more time with all of you. I also wish I could blag (a combination of blog and brag) about this all day, but it just wouldn't do justice.

One result of our continued conversation has been the idea that we should 'adopt' some families into our family. One main thread of this idea has been that we will strive to not just simply provide material things, but also to provide an open and constant invitation into our lives. A more holistic approach to supporting those in need.

We have been given the oppurtinity to help three families. They have specific needs appropriate to the holiday season, and longer term needs that we will try to address as well. We want to be respectful of these families' privacy, and so we should refrain from posting specifics, as the caseworkers have asked.

However, we need to move forward, and I'd like to include everyone. I'm going to post a list of needs on our shared google docs - so that we can at least kick this thing off. If you don't have access to our google docs - comment that you need an invitation.

Once in, find the tab at the bottom called 'families'. Just put your name by those items that you would like to provide or help with, and feel free to put any notes, etc. Feel free to duplicate names, and I'm sure we can find more families or rearrange as needed. Also in this document, I've put three spots to become 'concierge' for each family. This may or may not be the way we want to structure it. For now, I just wanted to get it off the ground, so please feel free to comment away...

14 comments:

Jimbo said...

Jacob, I don't think I have access to Google Docs. Where do I find it? How do I use it?

Yard said...

It's at http://docs.google.com/

You have to have a google account (you can use any email address as your username, doesn't have to be google, sign-up is pretty painless).

Once signed in, you should see our emergent excel sheet automatically. Hopefully this helps.

AdamBam said...

Thank you very much for getting the ball rolling on this, Jake. I think the Google Docs approach is great!

Folks, please don't hesitate to contact either of us if you're confused by finding the Google doc, etc. There are some great opportunities to connect with these families, and everybody that feels compelled to get involved will definitely have a role to play. I'm excited to see how this evolves...

maventheavenger aka jamie said...

Jake, I can't see the document. I am signed in.

Yard said...

Once signed in - make sure 'documents' is selected (near the top of the page) and then on the left in the navigation pane you can select > "items by type" > "spreadsheets" (this is one way to get there).

Much apologies for the trouble.

carrie said...

I think I need an invite to view the spreadsheet in google docs?

Unknown said...

This is great! Thanks for organizing this onto a spreadsheet for all of us, Jacob! I am so excited to see how this progresses!

Sarah said...

Hello! Sorry to be off-topic, but Ron and I would love to come again this week and I noticed that afterwards there is a chili dinner. What should we bring? Chili? A side dish? dessert? If someone could comment here or send me an email at sarah.gonski@gmail.com I'd appreciate it!

Looking forward to it!

Jimbo said...

Sarah, glad to hear you and Ron can make it. Some kind of side that goes with Chilli or a dessert would be great. Debbie and Sherri are bringing a white chilli with chicken.
We haven't been very organized on who brings what, but somehow it seems to work out pretty good.

Thorn-67 said...

Looking forward to seeing everyone again tomorrow. This past 2 weeks apart has been much too long for me.More on that later.
I met with Oralia today for coffee and we discused the Kinship Care families. At this time...there will need to be changes made to the spread sheet...one of the families with the 2 teens is opting out for personal reasons. Oralia mentioned that the other 2 families are currently waiting to be contacted by our group to procede.
I would like to volunteer to make that initial contact and follow up with them to confirm their needs and expectations as they stand right now. I think we need to get rolling. Some things may have changed or need to be modified for the holidays.
Would anyone be opposed to Jim or I taking that step at this point and then communicating that info to all of you? We can then update the spread sheet and get everyone plugged in to help.
Thoughts?

maventheavenger aka jamie said...

Joy, I think that would be awesome! You are so good at stuff like that.

Yard said...

That sounds fantastic Joy. Thanks for being the point person. I deleted that family off (I talked to Oralia yesterday too, coincidentally - great minds think alike, eh?).

So it looks like there are some spots to fill yet, and maybe some things you would add or delete/edit per your conversations with them.

One side note - my wife and I talked about her offering tutoring for the 6th grade boy, but that brings up a babysitting need for us to make that possible. Thoughts towards this anyone?

Oh, and one more thought everybody - feel free to put your name where somebody else already has. The more the merrier I'm sure, in terms of these types of needs.

Jimbo said...

Joy and I made contact with the two families we are adopting.
We are stopping by the Grandpa's (with 9 grandchildren) Thursday (11/13) to check out and prioritize his home repairs. Was nice to talk with him. With 9 kids of various ages, alot of things tend to get worn out and need repair. We'll talk to him about upcoming Holidays then as well.
Joy contacted other Grandma. Her immediate concern is having money/gift card to provide for Thanksgiving meal. She also discussed Christmas with her (no changes to list). Joy told her our group would mail her a Walmart gift card by next week for Thanksgiving meal.
We'll update list after tomorrow. Please let us know what areas you'd like to help with.

Jimbo said...

We have a refridgerator for the family we are helping and just need someone with a truck to help move it (possibly a dolly too). Can anyone help?