News

August Food Pantry Volunteer Schedules
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Camp Happy Sands
CSC is now accepting applications for Camp Happy Sands, which will be held June 7-11. Client children ages 6-10 are eligible for sign up. Click HERE to view a slide show of prior year activities in the form of a slide show.

Gulf Shores Publix Joins Food Donation Program
The Gulf Shores Publix was opened on Wednesday April 21, 2010 in Gulf Shores, AL We are pleased that the Center's representatives were invited to the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting and are particularly pleased that this store, like its Orange Beach sister store will be contributing food to the center to fight hunger in our communities.. Show below are some photos of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with lots of dignitaries from Publix management and the City of Gulf Shores and the Chamber of Commerce. The photo on the right is of Bennie Dalzell , manager of the Gulf Shores store, Pam the loading dock manager, and Bill Martin during the first pick up of donated food on Thursday April 22, 2010. Click to enlarge the photos.

Officers 2010-2012
Shown below is a photo of the officers and program chairs for the Center for 2010-2012. They were installed at the meeting of the board of directors on Monday April 12, 2010 by Rev. Rollins who is shown in the left of the first row. Please pray for and support these volunteers as they carry out their duties. You may enlarge the photo by clicking on it.

Ten Years of Service
Based on the latest complete year figures available, the Center continues to serve more and more people on an annual basis. Shown on the chart below are the total number of individuals served for the 10 year period 1999-2009. May we continue to be able to meet the challenge. You may enlarge the chart by clicking on it. It should be pointed out that 2005 was the year Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast.

Keeping the Pantry Full
Each month at least two of the churches which sponsor the center provide food or funding to the center to keep our shelves stocked with items to give to our clients Shown in the photo on the left below is the contribution of Christian Life Church this past Monday, March 1st 2010. This food was delivered to the center by volunteer Stan Moss, who is a member of Christian Life Church. The photo on the right below is the bread contribution from Publix in Orange beach for a Sunday and Monday to the center. The bread was picked up by two of the center's volunteers and delivered to the center before it opened at 9:00 am. If you would like to volunteer at the center or become involved through your church in their efforts to help us, please stop by the center or call 968-5256 for more information. Clicking the photos will enable you to see a larger version.

Don Meghreblain	Sirens of the Sea	South Baldwin Regional Medical Center	Brett Robinson Real Estate
Gulf Shores Woman's Club	In Memory of Matthew Flanigan	Kaiser Realty	Original Oyster House
St. Andrew Men	RBC Bank	Our Lady of the Gulf Alter and Rosary Society	Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church
The Villadsen Family	Wisconsin Sno-Bird Club	Baldwin Bone & Joint PC	Shake's Frozen Custard
GSBP Automotive	WalMart	Winn Dixie Gulf Shores	Liberty Linen
Big O's	Publix	Longhorn Steakhouse	Holy Spirit Thrift Shop
St Andrew By The Sea	Jubilee Pickers	Gulf Shores United Methodist Church	Lagoon Baptist Church Women's Group
		Three Palms Realty

To view the letter to the editor which Linda Chappelle sent to local newspapers, CLICK HERE. You will need Adobe Acrobat to open this.

Four Winds Barbershop Chorus
Come and enjoy a delightful evening of memorable songs in perfect harmony performed by the Four Winds Barbershop Chorus benefiting the Center on Thursday February 18 2010 at the Orange Beach United Methodist Church at 28751 Canal Road. The concert is free, however donations will be accepted to be given entirely to the Center's ministry.

Recent Photos
These are photo recently taken and used in articles appearing in newspapers in our area. The photo on the left shows Linda receiving a check from the Clothes closet. The photo in the center shows our volunteers at the In-Service held at the Gulf Shores Presbyterian Church in January and the photo on the right shows Mary Claire Dover with P.U.R.E. volunteers with recycled toner and ink cartridges

Christmas Food Boxes Handed Out
Volunteers worked Monday through Wednesday the week of 14-18 December to prepare food boxes for the 201 families in our area who requested food for Christmas Dinners. The boxes included a turkey or chicken, dressing, bread, dessert, vegetables, fruit, and cranberry sauce plus some other odds and ends. The boxes were finally ready for handing out on Thursday and Friday and that process went very smoothly thanks to the efforts of our volunteers and members of the Gulf Shores fire department. Some photos below will give you a feel of the effort put forth. Thanks to all of the volunteers who prepared the boxes, helped hand them out and to those who provided food and money to the center to make this all possible.

Lions Club Donation
The Orange Beach Lions Club made a cash donation of $200.00 in December to the Center to help cover the costs of providing food for the hungry in our community. Thanks Lions. Making the presentation were Pam Davis and Charles Larrimore of the Lions Club and accepting the donation on behalf of the Center were Kay Reese and Jim Denison as shown in the photo below. Click the photo to view an enlarged version. It should also be noted that Charles is a regular volunteer at the center as well.

Donation by Community Association Organization
The Community Association Organization of Pleasure Island presented a check for $1000.00 to Linda Chappelle, President of the Board of Directors of The Christian Service Center on Tuesday 8 December 2009 at the Center's office in Gulf Shores. Shown in the photo below from left tor right are Keith Jiskna, President, Linda Chappell of the Center, David Sharpe, Vice President, and Jeniee Hudson, Secretary of the Community Association Organization.

Sponsor Appreciation Reception
On December 4, 2009 The Center held a Sponsor Appreciation Reception at the home of Radney and Bev Tucker. The reception was for those who have contributed and continued to support the CSC. Photos were taken during the reception and may be viewed by clicking the small photo below. It was a fun evening for all who attended and the Board of Directors is pleased that so many of our friends and supporters were able to attend. A special thanks to Radney and Bev Tucker for the use of their home and to Fay Cook and those on her committee for all the hard work that went in to planning and preparing for the event. The food was delightful.

Food Drive

Curves Workout Center of Gulf Shores recently participated in their 4^th annual Holiday toy and food drive to help the clients of the Christian Service Center located in Gulf Shores, AL. Tina Watkins, owner of Curves, says Our Curves members are a family, not only our local members, but our wonderful winter guests who join us part of the year. We have an amazing support group and truly enjoy helping those in need.

Tina's commitment to helping others in need has resulted in hundreds of magical toys for children who would have little chance of receiving a toy and a twice annual food drive that gives a needed hand up to local families working hard to secure their financial footing again.

Curves looks forward to participating in numerous charitable events in the community by promoting charitable causes, learning about health-related issues and developing lasting friendships.

The Christian Service Center salutes Tina Watkins and the Curves clientele for their continued commitment to this community. The Christian Service Center will be collecting Christmas Toys for local children through December 18^th at 317 Dolphin Ave. To view a photo of the food collection by Curves, click the small photo below.

Island Spirit Award

Linda Chappelle, President of the Board of Directors for the Christian Service Center was awarded the Island Spirit Award on Monday December 1, 2009 at the Center's offices on Dolphin Drive. Congratulations Linda on winning the award. No one deserves it more and we are pleased that you were recognized for the work you do on behalf of the Center, the community, and those who need the services of the center. Two photos of the award are shown below. Click them for larger images.

Food Drive
A food drive sponsored by the Alabama Gulf Coast Sports Commission, Kaiser Realty, South Baldwin Regional medical Center, and Tacky Jacks was recently completed and the approximately 300 pounds of food was donated to the Christian Service Center. It was delivered to the center on Wednesday December 2, 2009. Shown below is the food at delivery with representatives of the food drive and the Center. Click the photo to view a larger version.

Santa's Helper Toy Drive Benefits Local Children

The Christian Service Center and Sunny 105.7 FM are teaming together to ensure local children have a happy and delightful Christmas this year with the kick off of Santa's Helper Toy Drive. No child should feel left out at Christmas, not for any reason. These children have little chance of receiving any gift unless it is through a toy drive for needy children says Christian Service Center case worker and toy drive co-chairman, Janice Moss. It just breaks my heart thinking that any child would experience Christmas without a single gift.

By providing Christmas toys for children from birth to 16 years, families with over-stressed finances will receive relief so they can pay their bills. Because of this successful program, over 2000 local children have been blessed with holiday toys in past years.

The Center is expecting a greater number of children this year, and many area businesses are offering to help out as locations for toy donations. Toys do not have to be expensive to be special. Whether a child needs a left-handed base ball glove or a Miss Kitty purse, Christian Service Center volunteers happily glean through each donation until every child's wish list has that special touch of Santa. Knowing a needy child will receive something special for Christmas is our greatest gift says Mrs. Moss.

You too can help delight a child this Christmas by bringing an unwrapped toy to these business locations: Sunny 105.7 Studio, Gulf Shores Pharmacy, The Happy Shak, Hope's Cheesecake, Robertsdale Feed, Dr. J.D. West, Sweetie Pies, Back To School, The Original Oyster House, St. Charles Place, Milos, Duck's Diner, Longhorn Steak House, The Office Lounge, Merrill Miller Interiors, Charm Boutique, Manning Jewelry, W&W Flooring, Kitty's Cafe, and Pack & Mail.

Toys can also be dropped off at the Christian Service Center at 317 Dolphin Ave in Gulf Shores Monday to Friday 9 am until noon. For more information, call the Christian Service Center office at 968-5256 or http://www.sunny105.com.

Left to right Janice Moss, Lee Hagan, Mary Claire Dover

USDA Releases Startling New Statistics on Hunger

The USDA reported that 49 million Americans, including nearly 17 million children, are food insecure. The new data reinforces recent findings from a research study conducted by Feeding America reflecting a dramatic increase in requests for emergency food assistance from food banks across the country.

The 2009 report on Household Food Insecurity in the United States shows an increase of 36 percent over the numbers released one year ago by the USDA, which found that 36.2 million American were at risk of hunger. “It is tragic that so many people in this nation of plenty don’t have access to adequate amounts of nutritious food,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. Although these new numbers are staggering, it should be noted that these numbers reflect the state of the nation one year ago, in 2008. Since then, the economy has significantly weakened, and there are likely many more people struggling with hunger than this report states.

Escarra observes, “Our network food banks are calling us every day, telling us that demand for emergency food is higher than it has ever been in our history. Feeding America will continue to work closely with our partners at USDA to ensure that the public and charitable sectors are keeping pace—as best we can—with the dramatically increasing need for food assistance.”

The dramatic increase in food insecurity makes our mission more important than ever. With Child Nutrition Reauthorization around the corner, President Obama and Congress have a chance to make a real difference for millions of hungry Americans by strengthening child nutrition programs. It is up to the anti-hunger community to keep up the pressure on our elected officials and urge them to make ending hunger a priority.

You can use the Hunger Action Center to send a letter to President Obama and your Members of Congress. Just click here!

Brent Burns Blue Moon Benefit Concert
Adult Activity Center Gulf Shores
December 31 2009
See Below

Sand Spur Band
January 24th 2010 Christian Life Church in Orange Beach.
7:00 PM Tickets $10.00

Four Winds Concert
February 18th 2010.
Orange Beach United Methodist Church
7:00-8:30

Sirens of the Sea Food and Funds Donation
The lovely ladies of the Sirens of the Sea visited the Center on Tuesday 17 November with a donation of food for the pantry and a hefty check to enable the Center to continue operating and meeting the needs of our clients. Photos of the occasion, taken in the food pantry are shown below. Each of the photos may be enlarged by clicking on the thumbnail. Thank you ladies for your generosity and your concern for those in our community who need our help.

IFA and South Baldwin Food Drive
The Inshore Fisherman's Association and South Baldwin Regional Medical Center sponsored a food drive during their Redfish Tournament held Friday and Saturday 6-7 November 2009 at The Wharf in Orange Beach. Participating in the food drive in addition to IFA and SBRMC were Columbia Southern University, Peninsula Golf Resort, Craft Farms, Emerald Coast Redfish Club, and the Alabama Convention and Visitors Bureau. Photos were taken on Saturday of some parts of the event, and on Monday after the food was delivered and unloaded at the Center. They may be viewed by clicking the small photo below. With over 3500 lbs of food delivered to the Center, we can only say Thank You over and over to all who made this generous donation. You have helped us meet our food needs for weeks to come.

Newcomers Club Donations
The Newcomers Club of Pleasure Island held it's monthly luncheon and business meeting on Tuesday 3 November 2009 at the Beach Club on Fort Morgan Road. The speaker for their program was Bill Martin, Food Pantry Co-Chair of the Center. Edith Bolster, a volunteer at the Center, arranged for Bill to present the program about the Center and its many programs to aid those in need in our service area. The ladies of the club brought cans of soup to the luncheon to stock the pantry at the center, resulting in over 165 cans of various kinds of soup being donated. Thank you Newcomers for your generosity. A photo of Bill and the CSC volunteers who are members of the Newcomers club was taken after the luncheon and is shown below.

Food Drive By Mid South Home Health
The Christian Service Center was the recipient of the food collected during a recent food drive put on by Mid South Home Health located in Foley at 1390 N. McKenzie Street. Over 700 pounds of canned and boxed food items were in the dozens of bags of food collected by Mid South Home Health, over 300 pounds of which came from Mid South Home Health employees. Volunteers from the Center picked up the food with the aid of Mid South Home Health employees, and transported it to the Center for distribution to clients of the center seeking food and other assistance. Several photos were taken during the pick-up and these may be viewed by clicking the small photos below. Clicking on the photos will enlarge them for more detail. The large photo below the smaller ones is of the entire Mid South Home Health crew on duty in Foley the morning of the pick-up. Thank you for your generosity and for helping us help others in our area.

We're In The New Facilities
The Christian Service Center expansion and remodeling project is complete and all of the new additions and remodeled areas are now being used. We are grateful to the Erie Meyer Foundation for the grant, to WAP Inc for their construction skills and management, to the dozens of volunteers who aided in the construction, to those who fed the volunteers, and to all of the volunteers who man the center on a daily basis for their patience in working around the many changes made necessary by the disruption during construction. We will now be able to serve more in need in our community. Photos of some of the new areas taken Tuesday September 22nd may be viewed by clicking the small photo below.

Certificate of Occupancy Obtained
The Christian Service Center expansion and remodeling project reached a big milestone on Friday 11 September 2009 when we got our certificate of occupancy from the city of Gulf Shores. Now there remains the final touches inside both the Auxiliary building and the new offices in the main building. To view photos of the work done since the last report click the photo below.

Construction Continues
The Christian Service Center expansion and remodeling continues. We have the end in sight as the addition to the auxiliary building has been dried in, insulated, and sheetrocked. The shelves, freezers, and food from the main building food pantry have been removed and we are temporarily operating out of cramped quarters in the auxiliary building. The walls have been built for the two new offices and sheetrock was completed on Wednesday 26 August. We have had a dedicated group of volunteers who have done this work, and have been blessed by folks who have brought lunch each day. Soon we will all be moving into our new facilities. Photos of work accomplished since our last report may be viewed by clicking the small photo below.

Cool Change Charter Aids Center
The Christian Service Center recently received two checks from Captain Joe Nash and First mate Kyle Partain of the charter fishing boat Cool Change which is out of Orange Beach. Captain Nash ran charters on a weekend, the proceeds of which were donated to the Center. Captain Nash donated $1500 to the Center and his First Mate Kyle Partain donated his tips for the day totaling $170 for a total contribution of $1670. The center is grateful to Captain Nash and the crew of the Cool Change for their very generous contribution to the Center. The funds collected will help the Center as it continues to assist those in need in our community. A photo of the check presentation is shown below.

Left to right are Cindy Brown, Capt Joe Nash, Jennifer Jackson, 1st Mate Kyle Partain, and Stan Moss

Growing to Serve More and Better
The Christian Service Center is in the process of expanding our auxiliary building in order to consolidate all of the food handling, birthday club, and medical equipment processes into that building in order to gain more space to see clients in our administrative building during our hours of operation. Currently we sometimes see overflow clients in the hallways, front porch and even reception area. Once the auxiliary building is complete, the admin building will be remodeled to include more offices and other improvements. The work on the auxiliary building and follow on work in the admin building is being done by volunteers and what a great group of folks they are. To give everyone a flavor of what has taken place to date........August 10th 2009, click the small photo below for a slide show of the construction from start to now. More on growth will be provided later and YES you can volunteer to work on the construction and remodeling. Just come to the Center and you will be given a job.

Donation from Christian Life Church
Pictured left to right: Administrative Pastor Phillip Anthony of Christian Life Church presents a check for $3,100.00 to Christian Service Center President Linda Chapelle also pictured are Christian Life Church members Janice Moss and husband Stan Moss.

The Christian Service Center received a donation from Sirens of the Sea and were visited by Barbara Pugh and Helen Shivers of the Sirens when the check was presented to Linda Chappell, President of the Board of Directors of the Christian Service Center on July 21st 2009. A photo of presentation of the check may be viewed below. Left to right in the photo are Barbara Pugh, Linda Chappelle and Helen Shivers.

07/21/10		News
Our next board meeting is Monday June 14th at the Gulf Shores Presbyterian Church...bring a brown bag lunch if you like.....light refreshments will be served.