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Cooper, a Kindergarten student at Meadowfield Elementary School, was assigned a project on "Ending Poverty in America" for his class. There were two requirements for the project: Increase the awareness of poverty in your neighborhood Do something to help. His kindergarten teacher, Dr. Ali Jenkins, shared with the class that she was homeless at ages 3 and 17. Her vulnerability and Cooper's love for his teacher put a face to the issue in his mind. He decided he wanted to help kids, like Dr. Jenkins was, who were experiencing homelessness. His mom was familiar with Oliver Gospel, but had not heard about Toby’s Place. As she was scrolling through our webpage, she saw a link for Toby's Place with a list of our current needs. Using this list, Cooper decided that collecting these things for the mamas and babies at Toby's Place would be how he accomplished step 2 of his project. If you ever meet Cooper, you will know he is not a shy kid within seconds! Living in his own little COVID-less world, he wanted to literally go into people's houses and get stuff to help these women and children. Graciously empowering his excited spirit, his mom compromised by agreeing to send flyers around the neighborhood instead. One day, Cooper and his older sister Callie stood with signs that said, "Honk for ending poverty!" Three hours, $200, and two vans full of donations later, The need that had struck a chord in Cooper's hear had been filled! A few days later, Cooper, Callie, their mom, Angela, and Grandmother, Alice, came to Toby's Place to deliver their bounty from their community. While there, they were able to meet three of the mamas and infants that benefited from their generosity. The Takeaway During a time when we all want to go inside people's houses and meet – whether that is to gather supplies for women and children in need or share a warm meal and pleasant conversation – people are starving for community. Poverty, hardship, and trauma are all around us. For men, women, and children in need, they especially need people who understand their situation and are willing to listen. Yes, they need things like diapers and formulas to help keep their babies healthy, but more than that, they need one another. We all need one another. Cooper and our Toby's Place mamas need one another. If Cooper's story resonated with you and you are ready to do something for those in need around you then contact us! We always have needs at our Men's Center on Taylor Street, at Toby's Place, and in our Admin offices. Please reach out and let us know how you want to help! We all need each other. Want to help like Cooper? Click Get Involved on our website or contact Christian Albertsen, our Community Engagement Coordinator at christian.albertsen@olivergospel.org to find out different ways you can get involved!

Though not many positive things have come from this pandemic, here at Oliver Gospel, we see positive changes happen in our guests' lives every day. Just like for you and me, every day, we are faced with challenges. We can choose to think positively and move forward or fall into a crippling cycle of negative thoughts and poor decisions that keep us from showing up in our everyday lives. The men, women, and children we serve must make difficult decisions like this every day. To choose to overcome addiction, trauma, and hardship or fall into old, destructive thought patterns that hinder them from a transformational, lasting change in their lives. This past Christmas, I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the guys in our program (pictured above) while waiting for my coffee to be made at our Roastery. After asking him about how his holiday was, he responded immediately with, "Good! This is the first holiday I have spent sober since I was 16." At 31, he's been an addict for half his life. He continued to tell me stories about his family's Christmas traditions, his journey with substance abuse, consequential job loss, and his recovery experience at Oliver Gospel. "I've been to four different recovery centers since April of this year (2020)." I asked him, "What's different about Oliver Gospel?" He replied, "It's focused on building a relationship with God. And I know I need God to overcome this battle I have with addiction." He went on, "And the staff is so kind and loving toward me. The staff here are different than those other centers." Chris entered our Addiction Recovery Program on October 9th and hasn't looked back. He's given his life to Christ, been baptized, and has been sober for 4 months. He has a 15-month-old baby who he is trying to get clean for. He wants to finish the program strong, find a job, get an apartment again, and live a completely transformed life. Every day we see new, transformed people like Chris walk our halls. Every day they are choosing to overcome hardships and difficult situations with faith and determination. In a time in our lives where transformation may be hard to pinpoint, at Oliver Gospel, we still can. Let Chris's story be an encouragement to you. Even if this year looks exactly like 2020, we can choose to pinpoint the tiny transformations taking place all around us. And if you can't see it where you are, stick around, and we'll continue to share ours with you.

A couple of times each month, Debbie Watford, a local artist, visits the residents of Toby’s Place and leads them in a paint class. For the hour she is with them, these ladies and their children escape the worry, stress and fear of the day and find a happy place. The art produced each time is amazing! Debbie is convinced that art is truly a form of ministering to the soul and that it gives those who create, and those who see the work created, sheer pleasure. Kwatika Canty and her daughter Anaya, both Toby’s Place residents, participate in these classes. As an aspiring graphic designer and artist, Kwatika loves to express herself through art. She enjoys passing the time sketching, shading, and blending various scenes she finds relevant in her life. One day during class, she remembered one of her favorite pictures of her then 13-year-old daughter in a posed, lyrical dance photo. She has loved going to her daughter’s performances and seeing her daughter gracefully move across the stage like a ballerina. Around the same time, the teacher shared a quote with them: “Dance for the audience of One, God, not for the applause of many.” She loved the quote and decided to draw the image and add the words from the quote to the drawing. Listening to guidance and direction from the instructor, combined with her artistic instinct and education, she drew a beautiful rendition of her daughter’s dance photo, practically an exact copy (see photos below). Now 16, her daughter has the picture framed and hanging in her bedroom to remind her of her mom. When drawing it, Kwatika says she wanted it to be perfect since she knew it would be a gift to her daughter. She wanted her daughter to remember that God is always keeping watch over here and to remember His presence not only while dancing, but in life. Since last July, Kwatika and Anaya have drawn and painted over 5 pieces of art. “As we’ve been going through these classes in Art Therapy, I realize that my daughter is pretty talented!” These art classes are ongoing, and they are in need of supplies! Take a look below for a list of current supply needs. Please reach out to our Community Engagement Coordinator, Christian Albertsen to coordinate drop-off times. Poster boards (for vision-boards, signs for their door, etc.) Cardstock Acrylic paints and paintbrushes Small canvases Stickers Journals/sketchbooks that they can decorate Small paper bags Lava beads, gemstone beads, and essential oils (this seems odd, but it is therapeutic to make your own bracelet and add specific oils that can help calm anxiety, etc.)