I need to be honest, Ms. Margaret*, who is a regular in our store and sleeps on the porch of the church next door, has become a drain on our staff and me.  She comes in on a regular basis to our store to ask customers for money, borrow equipment, use supplies from Community Grounds, and use the bathroom.  This had not been an issue for me for a long time as there are no other places to use the bathroom around our store.  However, in the previous two weeks, we had to call a plumber out because our toilets continued to be clogged from misuse and our staff continued to clean excessive dirtiness.  For the first time, I contemplated making the bathrooms “For Customers Only” due to the high cost of maintaining them.

A few weeks ago my daughter, Maya, turned three.  She came into the store to see me on the morning of her birthday since I left for work before she woke up that morning.   Ms. Margaret happened to be in the store when Maya came in, and we shared with her that it was Maya’s birthday.  Without hesitation, Ms. Margaret reached into her pocket and pulled what amounted to 25 pennies to give to Maya.  Maya didn’t understand the significance of Ms. Margaret’s gift, but her father did.

All of the feelings of angst, frustration, selfishness, and quite frankly arrogance that I had been feeling in the weeks leading up to this event were put into perspective by Ms. Margaret.  Daily she comes in to heat up whatever she has been able to scrape up, either with change or in the trash cans around the store.  And here she was, literally giving away her next meal, to our daughter for her birthday.

As a follower of Christ, I have read Mark 12:42 many times in church, but for the first time in my life it was playing out in front of me.   Never did this passage seem more real to me than in this moment.  More convicting, I never had seen myself as the judgmental person who questioned what people had to give, and yet I found myself on that side of the aisle in this moment.

The bathrooms have remained open to the public and will continue to do so at the Marketplace.  As followers of Christ, it is the least that we could do for our friends that sleep on the streets or have no place to go during the day.  Today, I am thankful for Ms. Margaret’s reminder of what it means to follow God’s commands.

*I have changed names to protect privacy

Sincerely,

Jeff Delp

Executive Director

It was amazing to watch everyone in the store share in the joy with Seaira.  Customers who never met her were congratulating her. Seaira hugged every employee working that afternoon to share her joy, her fellow students were excited and appreciative of her efforts…it was a wonderful community moment and one that is happening more and more every day in South Atlanta.

Not too long ago, stories like Seaira’s were hard to come by as Carver High School was not known for producing high quality students.  At one point, a case could have been made that Carver High School was the lowest performing school in Georgia.  Five years ago, Atlanta Public Schools decided to revamp the high school and transform it into 4 smaller schools, each with their own focus.  In the five years since the schools have re-opened, test scores have risen, attendance has improved, and students are off to better colleges (the valedictorian went to Harvard last year).

While the success of Carver has been documented academically, it takes more than just a good school to make a healthy community and successful students.  Seaira’s accomplishment is an amazing individual effort, but it is made whole when it is able to be shared with a community of people that care, support, and encourage her to keep going.   Seaira does homework at Dede’s house when she needs to use the internet (they live on the same street).   She is held accountable for her school work and attendance at her workplace.  And most importantly, she is able to and wants to celebrate her accomplishments with those she is working with on a daily basis.

Our goal ultimate goal at CED is not to sell a certain number of clothes, electronics, cups of coffee, pieces of jewelry, or bicycles, but rather to see the day when our employees are able to navigate the merky waters of life on their own accord.  By investing and encouraging in life’s accomplishments with Seaira, we hope to help lay the foundation for a life that will see Seaira, and all of our employees, go off to college and become employable in the open marketplace.  We believe that this is how communities truly change and become healthy – one person working hard with their own efforts being supported by a group of people that care and lift them up in order to succeed in life.

We are grateful to have been able to offer life giving and sustaining employment in South Atlanta over the past three years.  The jobs we have created in South Atlanta have assisted in transforming the lives of our employees.  We absolutely cannot run our program without the dedicated group of donors, volunteers, and supporters we have in you.

As a staff, we say thank you!

Jeff Delp

Executive Director

Next Drive:

Over the next month, we will be collecting new and gently used sporting good equipment to sell at the Marketplace.  Many student athletes are going back to practice and would love to gear up with shoes, equipments, clothes, etc…  We have included a small flyer for you to look at and we would love to have your support in making this drive a success!

*Special requests from groups of 5 or more will be accommodated when possible.

1. Donate online!  All donations received go directly to providing toys and gifts in our store during the holiday season.  This is the easiest and fastest way to give this Christmas.
2. Host a toy drive!  We serve approximately 500 families during December and it requires all of our supporters to stand with us to provide enough items for our families to choose from.  Please consider hosting a drive at your business, church, as a family or online!  Email eabernathy@fcsministries.org for more information regarding hosting a drive.
3. Want to give to Pride for Parents in a unique way?  Shop online from our Amazon Wishlist and have the items sent to our store.  Better yet, encourage your friends, family, and others to do the same.  We all love the postal service, so let’s keep USPS in business this holiday season!  Our address is 1297 Jonesboro Road, Atlanta, GA 30315 Suite 1.

1. Our new video shares the story of Pride for Parents from the founder and a parents perspective. Pass this video along, share on Facebook, or show it at your church!
2. Our promotional material for hosting drives is online.  Feel free to download and use as needed for your drives.
3. We have a team of speakers that are ready and willing to come share with your group about Pride for Parents and how it impacts lives in South Atlanta.  Email eabernathy@fcsministries.org to book a speaker today!
4. To stay updated on what is going on with Pride for Parents, become a fan of ours on Facebook.

Each year we carefully plan to ensure that we have the right amount of toys for our families in South Atlanta.  We don’t want to have too much or too little. Every year we have been blessed to receive what we need to serve our families.  However, this past week we have suffered several set backs in our toy collection plan for this Christmas.  As it stands now, we are looking at collecting less than 2/3′s of the toys needed for our program and the very real possibility of running out of toys before the Christmas season is over.

We know that many of you have given generously this Christmas season and we are grateful for that.  We are asking that, if possible, you help us fill the gap that has been left by the set backs in our donations.  We would love to be able to fullfil our promise to offer toys for families in South Atlanta all the way through Christmas.

Here is how you can help:

1) Spread the word to your congregations, business associates and/or schools about the need for Pride for Parents and conduct a special drive for us.  If you have not completed your drive yet, please spread the word to your congregation, company, or school of our shortfall this year.

2) If you know of any resources that we could connect with for toys, we would be more than happy to follow up with them to explain our program and what our needs are.

3) Donate to Pride for Parents and we will do the shopping for you.  Every dollar donated between now and Christmas will be used to purchase toys for our store in South Atlanta.  You can donate online atwww.prideforparents.org/donate or send a check to PO Box 17628, Atlanta, GA 30316.

According to our updated plan and based on past history, we will have enough toys through December 18.  However, we are concerned about December 20-24 and what we can offer.  So there is still time for us to make up the shortfall.  We hope that you can help us give the gift of pride this Christmas season.

Thank you for your consideration,

Jeff

Now I am on the other side of the hiring process.  I am the manager of a community business.  This past week I put out a notice that the South Atlanta Marketplace was looking for someone to work 8 hours a week.  Within 3 days, I had 10 applications.  Most of the 10 are young people, under the age of 18, that are looking for the same opportunity that I had when I was growing up.   I wish I could hire them all. What a blessing for one young person (at least for now) that within walking distance of his home is a place that is able and willing to hire him. Perhaps this job will start this young person on a journey that includes finishing high school, going to college, and entering the work force prepared.

I got hired on my first job at the first place that I tried.  However, if that had not worked out, I had several other options.  None as close and convenient as Bi-Lo but there were others.  Unfortunately, the same opportunities are not so available to my neighbors in South Atlanta.  Legitimate employment opportunities are few and far between in our neighborhood.  I am concerned about the 9 others that I will not be able to hire.  Statistics show what happens to young people in urban communities when they are unable to engage in positive activities, the picture is not pretty.   I think about myself, and what would have happened had I not found employment when I was 15.  Even with the job at Bi-Lo, I still found ways to get into trouble occasionally, but being engaged at work definitely provided me with something positive in my life to keep me from drifting too far down a wayward path.  I believe that there is a strong correlation between that first job at Bi-Lo and where I am today.

Where I am today is the Executive Director of a non-profit that seeks to provide the same opportunities that I was afforded when I was 15.  It is the mission of FCS Community Economic Development (CED) to equip individuals and families to strengthen themselves economically. CED impacts the lives of low-income families by increasing their purchasing capacity and placing economic power back into the hands of the community. The program emphasizes the importance of honorable work and economic empowerment as essential to human dignity. It provides employment with health-care benefits and quality merchandise at affordable prices, thus avoiding the spirit-eroding effects of subsidies and handouts.

For those of you that have supported us in the past, we thank you for your support.  2009 was a year of transition for CED.  After many years of service to the communities of Grant Park and South Atlanta, we said goodbye to the Family Store and Home Resource.  It was time to re-design our vision.  What has grown up in their place are the fresh ideas and visioning of South Atlanta residents themselves: The South Atlanta Marketplace (still carries on the Pride for Parents and Back to School campaigns), Community Grounds Café, and Firetongue Music Studios.

Starting a small business, no matter where, is a difficult and challenging proposition.  Add to that the challenge of starting three businesses in a place most businesses have left plus the current economic climate and there is no doubt that our work is cut out for us.  However, surmounting challenges in difficult terrain is the work we have been called to.  We believe in a God that cares deeply for the poor and a God who can also move mountains.  So we forge ahead with our mission, in the hope that God will provide the necessary resources.  But certainly we cannot succeed without the support and personal involvement of caring friends like you.

On the attached page, you will find a list of ways that we invite you to engage with us in this mission.  There are a variety of options; hopefully there is one or more that will suit you, your family, your church, or your place of business. During this start-up period, revenue from our businesses will cover about 60% of our operating costs on a monthly basis.  And it will take a year or more to operate at full capacity in terms of employment and benefits to our employees.  Your contributions, whatever they are, will help us to grow toward full capacity and provide much needed economic opportunities to residents of South Atlanta.  We need your help getting there.  Will you consider investing with us? Follow this link to our response form and return it to us, will you?  If you wish to donate online, you can visit: www.prideforparents.org/donate. Your partnership with us is vitally important.

Thanks for your support.  We’ll keep you informed on our progress.
Sincerely,

Jeff Delp

There are many ways to define success in terms of our program but one thing comes to mind right off the bat.  A grandmother came into our store this past Saturday.  She had been to the store several times over the course of the month, each time looking for a scooter for her grandson.  She works the night shift and does not get off until after 11 pm, making it difficult for her to get to the store first thing.  Normally, we did not have any scooters left past 10:30 in the morning.  On her 3rd or 4th attempt at coming in, I told her that if she came in Saturday morning at 10 am, I would have a scooter waiting for her.

As I was preparing to open the store on Saturday morning, I saw the grandmother standing outside waiting to come in.  We had not received a scooter from our previous days’ donations, something that I had expected, so I was a little nervous.  Our volunteer group from the Bridge Church showed up a few minutes later and low and behold they had a scooter.  Both her and I were very pleased!  After she shopped for a while, she noticed that a bike was sitting over in the corner.  She inquired about it and quickly called her daughter to see if she wanted it for her son.  When this grandmother got off of the phone with her daughter she was in tears because of how happy her daughter was that she was going to be able to give a bike that she purchased to her son for Christmas.

It is not often that you are able to be included on such a precious moment in the life of a family, but I got to be on this day.  It was wonderful to see how much joy this family was able to have from being able to purchase gifts for their family.  It is a moment that will live within me for a long time and a moment that I wish each one of you could have shared in personally.  You do share in the moment because of your support of our program, but I wish you could have seen it for yourselves.

As we begin to wrap things up for the season, there are lots of thoughts and feelings that are going through my mind.  I am grateful for the provision that God has provided us with this season and for the families of South Atlanta.  I am thankful and grateful that our store will remain open and able to serve the residents of South Atlanta during 2010.  I am grateful that we are able to talk about hiring another person from our community, another job for a resident of South Atlanta.   Most of all, I am grateful for your support of our program, without which we could not do what we do.

I want to invite you to join us as we move into 2010.  We will be opening Community Grounds in the first few months of 2010, we will be producing more CD’s, and will be working on a very special project, a South Atlanta cookbook.  Please continue with us on our journey next year, and if you feel so moved, please think about supporting us through donating to our program.
Thank you so much for your support and I hope that you have a Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,
Jeff Delp
FCS Community Economic Development

For a decade I had been engaged in urban ministry but had commuted daily from the suburbs.  For several of those years, I had coordinated an adopt-a-family program at Christmas time.  Urban families who had no money to buy gifts for their children were matched up with suburban families who had caring hearts and a surplus of material things.  Our staff would provide the names, ages and sizes of the children and the addresses of the families.

On Christmas Eve day, the suburban families would deliver the gifts to their adopted family in the city.  The spirit of the season as it was shared in this very personal and tangible way would enrich the lives of both poor and affluent families in unique ways.  It was an idea that had great appeal and it gained momentum each year.

But the year I moved into the city, the first year I sat in living rooms with needy neighbors when the gift-bearing families arrived, I observed something I had never seen before.  The children, of course, were all excited at the sight of all the colorfully wrapped presents.  The mothers were gracious to their beneficiaries but seemed, to me at least, to be a bit reserved.  If there was a father in the home, he simply vanished.  At first sight of the gift-bearers, he disappeared out the back door.  It dawned on me that something other than joyful Christmas sharing was happening here.  Although the children were ecstatic, the recipient parents were struggling with a severe loss of pride.  In their own homes, their impotence as providers was exposed before their children.  The mothers would endure this indignity for the sake of their children, but it was often more than the fathers could take.  Their failure as providers was laid bare.  It was destroying what shreds of pride they were managing to hold on to.
It was obvious that this charity system had to change.  The following Christmas, as caring people began to call in for their adopted city family, they were asked if they would be willing to give an extra gift this year.  Would they give the gift of dignity to the dads?  Instead of delivering the gifts directly to their adopted family, they were asked to bring them unwrapped to the Family Store where a Christmas toy shop would be set up.

A small price would be placed on each toy or article of clothing-somewhere between a garage sale and a wholesale price-and parents from the community would be invited in to Christmas shop.  Those that had no money could work at the store to earn what they needed to purchase gifts for their family, since cash flow would be generated through the sale of donations. Then on Christmas morning, parents in the city would experience the same joy as those in the suburbs: watching their children open the gifts they secured for them from the efforts of their own hands.  We renamed the Adopt-a-Family program and called it Pride for Parents.

It was a quantum leap, selling donated gifts rather than the very personal and warm-feeling home-delivery method.  But when we explained to donors what was happening to the dignity of their recipients, they could understand.  They understood, too, that the extra gift that they were being called upon to give was that rush of joy they experienced at seeing the faces of children light up when the presents arrived.  The Pride for Parents idea caught on and continues to grow each year.  Toys are collected by churches, at office parties, by sponsoring corporations and by individual families who want their children to learn the importance of giving to others, especially those in need.  And urban families by the hundreds stream into the Family Store excited to find wonderful “bargains.”  Some are put to work stocking shelves, unloading vans and sweeping up.  Others put gifts in lay-away, paying a small amount each week until the full purchase price has been paid.  The proceeds from the sale of donated toys is then used to hire and train unemployed parents throughout the year who will in time secure permanent, full-time employment that is sufficient enough to support their families.  Thus the gifts at Christmas not only bring great joy during the holiday season but keep on giving all year long.

That first Pride for Parents sale was 26 years ago, and it still continues today.  If you would like to participate in the sale by donating toys and gifts, organizing a toy and gift drive, sponsoring the program, and/or volunteering, please use the sidebar to direct you to the appropriate information. If you would like to give a cash donation, please visit our donation page.  We would love for you to give two extra gifts this Christmas season: the gift of dignity and the gift of jobs for our neighbors in South Atlanta.