Saint Paul Area Council of Churches

The St Paul Area Council of Churches does many wonderful things to benefit many communities, but the one area I'm most familiar with is their work with the homeless community. They organize the congegrations of churches, temples and synagogues to house overflow homeless shelters year round for Project Home. I have met many in our congregation who have been moved by these volunteer opportunities that they make it a priority to help each and every year. We are extremely proud to work with SPACC and appreciate their commitment to the homeless community. I strongly urge you to choose the St Paul Area Council of Churches, not just because they deserve it, but because the community will benefit as a whole from a more organized and manageable website. Thank you for your time.

Project Home, a program of the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches, is an extraordinary service to the people of St. Paul. It is a wholistic attempt to serve those who find themselves homeless; and it provides an opportunity for Churches to be a part of that service.

As a coordinator at my church , in partnership with Project Home, the homeless program of St. Paul Area Council of Churches, I am honored to let you know that they meet a vital need for individuals in our community and a key piece of their collaboration with the churches that partner with them is their communication and presentation on-line. To have you gift them with your services would be like a pebble in water with many lives touched by the ripples. I recently responded to a need on-line to volunteer when they were shorthanded and I will continue to keep myself updated by their postings as will many others. Thank you for your consideration.

I have worked as a volunteer and weekly site coordinator with Project Home for 8 years now and cannot tell you how valuable this service is to the community and also to those of us who volunteer our time there. Project Home is a service program of the St. Paul Council of Churches that provides overflow housing for families in Ramsey County in cooperation with churches and temples in the area. It's a great and innovative partnership! They work so hard to get by on what little monetary resources they have and as such, are most deserving of your assistance. Anything you can to help them will in turn help everyone associated with and served by Project Home and SPACC. Blessings.

I am a professor of education at Concordia University-St.Paul. I have worked with Project Home, a service program of the St.Paul Council of Churches, for several years. As a member of the Shelter Committee of my parish, St. Peter Claver, I have had the privilege of participating in the exemplary work of this organization. When the average homeless person is nine years old, Project Home is a critical resource to families who find themselves without one of the most essential needs -- a place to live! In conjunction with area churches and temples -- no small collaborative effort -- Project Home serves as a guiding light for both homeless families and those who seek to service them. With minimal resources, they provide vital direction and oversite in this life-saving work. As a university teacher Project Home has also assisted me in opening the doors of service learning to young preservice teachers. They have shared their knowledge and enthusiasm for this important work in college courses. They have provided the bridge for engaging young students in real-life, proactive service to the community through the shelters they assist in sponsoring. Project Home has become for these future teachers an exemplar of what it means to serve the "least of these". Project Home provides an invaluable service to the present AND the future of our community.

The parishioners of the Cathedral of St. Paul have felt privileged to be a part of Project Home (SPACC). The program is run with such efficiency, integrity, warmth and sensitivity. Many lives are touched and changed by the love and concern provided them by the coordinators and volunteers of Project Home. The program brings hope to the hopeless and provides the basic necessities needed to start life anew. I would encourage you to choose Project Home (St. Paul Area Council of Churches) as the recipient of your website gift.

As one of the six program areas of the St. Paul Area Council of Churches, the Department of Indian Work (DIW) serves the community with emergency services, parenting programs, health education and youth enrichment after-school and summer programs. As a volunteer for the Family Education Diabetes Series, I see first hand the strength these programs give to the American Indian family. A free diabetes screening, useful tips for controlling diabetes and a healthy meal are provided to a population that suffers a high rate of diabetes. I also update the current website on a volunteer basis and see the value of a revamped website to increase our chance to tell our story. May I give the example of the day First Lady Laura Bush visited the American Indian Magnet School to learn about DIW. We were excited that our partnerships were getting national attention but the functionality of the website, due partially to the web design we work within, left us wondering if our online visitors would really find it.

I am a participant in the Family Education Diabetes Series at the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches, which educates and creates a support system for American Indian people with diabetes. Diabetes affects more than half of the local American Indian population and the only people I know who do not have diabetes are the young ones. This program has helped me lose about 30 pounds, provided an opportunity for me to live a more healthy lifestyle and put a hold on the complications of the disease. Complications include limb amputations, loss of vision and more devastating symptoms, including organ failure. A better website will help get the word out to others affected by diabetes. It has saved my life and has the potential to save so many others.

Project HOME, a program of the St. Paul Area Council of Churches is a truly fabulous effort pulling together church congregations to provide the church space and volunteer time to provide 40 beds of emergency shelter 365 nights a year for homeless families with children. Project HOME has become an essential part of our response to homelessness in Ramsey County. As important as the actual beds provided, Project HOME has put a human face on the tragedy of homelessness for the hundreds of Project HOME volunteers. In so doing, they have created an army of people ready and willing to speak out to neighbors, city councilmembers, county board members, state legislators and others about the essential task of ending homelessness in our community. I would hate to think about where we would be without this wonderful program.

Ironically my synagogue, Mount Zion Temple, is a member of The Saint Paul Area Council of Churches. You might ask why. One reason is that this organization pursues what Jews call Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. There is no higher action in life than to pursue what is just and right. I applaud SPACC for their array of programs that touch the lives of so many. An improved website would give this organization more ways to connect people to their programming. The program that I know the best is Project Home. For one month each year since 2001, I have led the volunteer coordination effort at Mount Zion as we house families who have no home. So many good people are put into homelessness by the absence of one paycheck or the presence of one large medical bill. But thank goodness Project Home is there to partner with congregations like ours to provide a safe place to spend the night. I’d love to see a sign up component added to the website to be utilized by the hundreds of volunteers each year that assist in caring for the families.

"I like Indian youth enrichment because we go on fun field trips and there are staff I can rely on. I love the fact I can have fun and learn at the same time." - Rainey, age 10 Thanks to SPACC's support, the Indian Youth Enrichment Program has been a part of my daughter's life for the past five years. This program has provided her with many enriching oppertunites to learn more about her cultural hertiage. The staff have provided good role modeling for her and have installed the importantance of education. A better website for SPACC that includes youth friendly componants would be an excellent way to expand urban Indian youth's knowledge of techology. Thank you!

I serve as a volunteer with the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches, and help plan their Interfaith Teen Day of Service. This is such a meaningful event, in which youth and adults from different religious backgrounds come together for a shared experience and dialogue. This kind of good work needs and deserves the support of well-designed website!!!!!

During my eight years as a board member of the St. Paul Area Council of Churches, I have come to appreciate the many excellant programs it provides. I stay on the board because it truly works to follow our Mission statement.My passion for the marginalized in our community finds satisfaction from our Project Home ministry. Our Church which was previously not a supporter of SPACC is now involved and hosts September guests each year.Many of our congregation now attend funtions of SPAAC and several give at at a high level. Certainly we could do much better with an improved web site. John F. Anderson, Past President

I volunteer for the St. Paul Area Council of Churches to convene interfaith dialogue and networking groups. We bring together people from different traditions, including Jewish, Muslim, Baha'i, Christian, Hindu, and American Indian leaders, to build relationships and sponsor education/dialogue events for congregations and the public. We've given the name "St. Paul Interfaith Network" to these efforts. This past fall we conducted a six-session series on "Peace and Violence in Our Religious Traditions," which attracted an average of about 175 participants per session. Monthly sessions for clergy and leaders provide opportunity for participants to get to know each other in depth and to share in determining what programs are needed in the community. The staff at the Council provide the necessary support, resources and assistance to make this volunteer work possible. Administrative staff handle funds, computerized communications and meeting arrangements. Communications staff assist with e-mail communications and press relations, as well as web site communications/information. We are very interested in building this Network to extend the reach of positive interfaith relationships in the St. Paul metropolitan area. Web communications can be very significant and instrumental to success in these efforts. The Council is a great partner to the many groups involved, and deserving, I believe, of assistance, particularly with web communications. Thankyou.

As a long-time member of the Board of Trustees, it has been my privilege to serve in partnership with the Saint Paul Area council of Churches. Through the work of the Council our congregation has been able to access opportunities for service and advocacy that have challenged and enriched the mission of our entire ministry. Whether it is our active involvement in Project Home and serving as a shelter site in December, participating in the interfaith dialogues and discussions, or simply sitting with other congregations as we discern how we can best serve our brothers and sisters in this community, the passion and compassion for others continues to inspire the ministry of Gloria Dei. I am so grateful for the creative minds and hearts that come together through the work of The Saint Paul Area Council of Churches witnessing to what people of faith can do to help keep hope alive!

I have been involved in CROP WALK as a participant since 1988, and have served on the Steering Committee for the past ten years. CROP WALK is sponsored by Church World Service and facilitated by St. Paul Area Council of Churches. On the second Sunday of each October, approximately 40 faith communitites in the East Metro send walkers to hike five miles through a beautiful part of St. Paul. The motto has been "We Walk Because They Walk"...they being people in underserved parts of the globe where Church World Service assists people in need. Up to 300 hundred walkers have been pledged an averaged of $30,000 a year which CWS uses to dig wells, assist with low-tech industries and alleviate hunger around the world and in Minnestoa as well. None of his would be possible without the generousity of the staff at SPACC...the enthusiasm and resourcefulness they have displayed over the years has been tremendous!

I have been involved in CROP WALK as a participant since 1988, and have served on the Steering Committee for the past ten years. CROP WALK is sponsored by Church World Service and facilitated by St. Paul Area Council of Churches. On the second Sunday of each October, approximately 40 faith communitites in the East Metro send walkers to hike five miles through a beautiful part of St. Paul. The motto has been "We Walk Because They Walk"...they being people in underserved parts of the globe where Church World Service assists people in need. Up to 300 hundred walkers have been pledged an averaged of $30,000 a year which CWS uses to dig wells, assist with low-tech industries and alleviate hunger around the world and in Minnestoa as well. None of his would be possible without the generousity of the staff at SPACC...the enthusiasm and resourcefulness they have displayed over the years has been tremendous!

I have been involved in CROP WALK as a participant since 1988, and have served on the Steering Committee for the past ten years. CROP WALK is sponsored by Church World Service and facilitated by St. Paul Area Council of Churches. On the second Sunday of each October, approximately 40 faith communitites in the East Metro send walkers to hike five miles through a beautiful part of St. Paul. The motto has been "We Walk Because They Walk"...they being people in underserved parts of the globe where Church World Service assists people in need. Up to 300 hundred walkers have been pledged an averaged of $30,000 a year which CWS uses to dig wells, assist with low-tech industries and alleviate hunger around the world and in Minnestoa as well. None of his would be possible without the generousity of the staff at SPACC...the enthusiasm and resourcefulness they have displayed over the years has been tremendous!

I have been involved in CROP WALK as a participant since 1988, and have served on the Steering Committee for the past ten years. CROP WALK is sponsored by Church World Service and facilitated by St. Paul Area Council of Churches. On the second Sunday of each October, approximately 40 faith communitites in the East Metro send walkers to hike five miles through a beautiful part of St. Paul. The motto has been "We Walk Because They Walk"...they being people in underserved parts of the globe where Church World Service assists people in need. Up to 300 hundred walkers have been pledged an averaged of $30,000 a year which CWS uses to dig wells, assist with low-tech industries and alleviate hunger around the world and in Minnestoa as well. None of his would be possible without the generousity of the staff at SPACC...the enthusiasm and resourcefulness they have displayed over the years has been tremendous!

I have been involved in CROP WALK as a participant since 1988, and have served on the Steering Committee for the past ten years. CROP WALK is sponsored by Church World Service and facilitated by St. Paul Area Council of Churches. On the second Sunday of each October, approximately 40 faith communitites in the East Metro send walkers to hike five miles through a beautiful part of St. Paul. The motto has been "We Walk Because They Walk"...they being people in underserved parts of the globe where Church World Service assists people in need. Up to 300 hundred walkers have been pledged an averaged of $30,000 a year which CWS uses to dig wells, assist with low-tech industries and alleviate hunger around the world and in Minnestoa as well. None of his would be possible without the generousity of the staff at SPACC...the enthusiasm and resourcefulness they have displayed over the years has been tremendous!