• Guest Post: Jim Cannon from CapCity Kids

    September’s guest post is from Jim Cannon of Cap City Kids.  CapCityKids is a non-profit organization created to help children facing homelessness beat the odds and get a quality education. CapCityKids develops innovative programs and provides direct resources to help these students stay in school.  We met Jim about two years ago, and it has been exciting to see how this non-profit has blossomed into a force of hope of kids who seem to have deck stacked against them.   We’ll let Jim tell you more:

    Homelessness is a lack of permanent housing resulting from extreme poverty, or, in the case of unaccompanied youth, the lack of a safe and stable living environment. Over 1.35 million children and youth experience homelessness in a year. Families are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population in the United States, accounting for approximately 40 percent of those in homeless situations. Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in family homelessness over the past 15–20 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty. There is an increasing gap between income and housing costs for low-income individuals. Children and youth in homeless situations often do not fit society’s stereotypical images. For example, many children who are homeless are very young; in fact, over 40 percent of children living in homeless shelters are under the age of five.

    Natural disasters and other unexpected tragic circumstances place children and their families in very traumatic situations. Simply being in a homeless situation  is often very traumatic. Trauma causes children and families to feel out of control. Their day-to-day existence becomes unpredictable and chaotic. They often feel that they are helpless to bring order and a semblance of “normalcy” into their own lives. It is of the utmost importance for them to feel a sense of safety, security, and community support.

    Research shows that it is often not the trauma itself, but rather what occurs in response to the trauma, that determines the amount of time and completeness of recovery. School personnel are in the unique position of being able to help children and families make choices that bring a sense of control, address feeling needs, and achieves some sense of normalcy and routine in their lives.

    Local homeless education liaisons are Local Educational Agency (LEA) staff responsible for ensuring the identification, school enrollment, attendance, and opportunities for academic success of students in homeless situations. Some of these activities may be performed by the local liaison himself or herself, while others are accomplished by coordinating the efforts of other staff. National evaluations have found that local liaisons are an important factor contributing to the success of a school district’s homeless education program; therefore, the McKinney-Vento Act now requires every LEA to appoint a local homeless education liaison and specifies his or her legal responsibilities. By linking students and their families to school and community services, local liaisons play a critical role in stabilizing students and promoting academic achievement at the individual, school, and district level.

    CapCityKids began their collaboration with local (LEA) staff as a way to work directly with Homeless Children and to Piggyback off the existing infrastructure of AISD.  CapCityKids develops innovative programs and provides direct resources in Central Texas to help these students stay in school. Administrative costs for our programs are absorbed by the Austin Independent School District. Thanks to this close partnership, 100% of donations go directly to the students. Donations not only provide basic school supplies, but also support campus based specialist for at-risk students, after-school tutoring at homeless shelters, and help connect kids with social services.

    Our short-term goal is to help serve these families in crisis. Our long-term goal is to develop a proven set of “best practices” for supporting these children in their pursuit  of an education.  Another unique and innovative methodology pioneered by CapCityKids is the use of AISD’s existing administration, personnel and facilities for our programs to the maximum extent feasible.   Partly as a result of this strategy, CapCityKids has no salaried staff or administrative overhead. Volunteer groups such as Austin New Church are critical to our continued success by provider a large donor base of volunteers for our Empowerment Academies and other events.

    First, thank you Jim for taking the time to write this post, we are humbled to have the opportunity to serve with you all.  If you have any desire to work with at-risk children, and help change the trajectory of their life, please email CapCityKids at: info@capcitykids.org.

  • Guest Post: Slave Free Austin, by Kevin Austin of Not For Sale

    This month’s guest blog is by a new friend to Restore Austin and Austin New Church, Kevin Austin.  Kevin is the director of the Abolitionist Faith Community, of Not for Sale Campaign.  Over the past two months Restore Austin and Austin New Church has spent a lot of time building a partnership with Not For Sale.  We are excited to see this relationship develop deeper as we work together for a Slave Free Austin and a Slave Free World!  Here is Kevin’s blog:

    There are more slaves in the world today than at any other point in human history. Real slaves – unable to walk away – forced to work under the threat of violence or provide services without pay.  Slavery permeates everything from our cell phones, to our clothing, to our coffee, chocolate, and tires.  Slavery is not just an “over there” issue of poor Thai girls in forced prostitution or child soldiers in Uganda.  It exists in our backyards, in our own cities and suburbs.  The U.S. State Department, in their annual Trafficking In Persons Report, states that at least 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States every year.

    Slavery certainly exists in and around Austin.   What then is to be done?

    First, denial of slavery is unacceptable.  Equally unacceptable is the thought that we are powerless against it.  Slavery exists.  The horror of the situation should not leave us numb, shocked out of our senses, but should instead propel us into action.  We can do something about it.  The abolitionist movement of the 19th century, in one generation, challenged the enormous, entrenched business of slavery and abolished it.  We can do the same.  We can re-abolish slavery in our lifetime.

    Second, learning more and being fully aware is necessary. Visiting a website like the Not For Sale Campaign is a good beginning.  There are many good books and sources of information available.  Not everyone will want to study and learn everything there is to know, but we do need some who can speak with knowledge about the issues.

    Third, being a voice in the community is necessary. Chambers of Commerce, our faith communities, politicians, business leaders, friends, family, and our public schools should all be challenged to explore the issues and take concrete steps to protect the vulnerable, prosecute the perpetrators, create just laws, and unite our entire society against this evil.  It will take everyone working together to create new futures for the vulnerable.

    Fourth, moving beyond awareness and talk to action is imperative.  Talk will not change things.  Books will not change things.  Statistics are cold and lifeless.  Churches preaching and singing, soccer moms casting votes, politicians creating laws, neighbors changing their lifestyles, city counsels providing services – these things create change.  Slow but steady change is necessary.

    Fifth, meeting with those who are deeply concerned and ready to take action may be the first step of all the steps to take.   Faith Communities should be encouraged to create opportunities during the year to gather everyone together and strategize how best to make Austin slave free.  What does that look like?  How do you do it? When? Who are the major players?

    The issue of modern slavery affects us all.  Our businesses are deeply impacted, our families are at risk, and our morality is challenged.  Slavery is one of the highest money making criminal activities in the world.  We are, essentially at war.  Having this frame of thought and the actions that accompany it will help us all win the battle.  For the sake of our communities and families; for the sake of all God’s created ones everywhere, let us fix our mind and shape our actions.  Let us re-abolish slavery in our cities, counties, states, and nation and oppose the evil overseas as well.

    Let us be a community characterized by these words: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31: 8 & 9)

    For more see: www.notforsalecampaign.org and www.freedomsunday.org.  Also take a few seconds and download the Modern-Slavery.

    Kevin, thank you, thank you very much for this post and your time.  For those reading this please stay tuned for more opportunities by Austin New Church and Restore Austin!

  • Guest Post: Sam Beauchamp of ciee High School Program

    This month’s guest blog is by Sam Beauchamp, the regional director of CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange).  Our request for a guest blog came from a member of Restore Austin, Matthew Hansen.  Matthew and his wife Sarah are working with them to take in a foreign exchange student in August.  As they began to look more into this opportunity they were embarking on, they couldn’t help but feel this would be a great cultural opportunity for many people associated with Restore Austin.  From what we understand, not only does the student become part of your family for 10 months, but they are also going to be involved in some sort of service/volunteer opportunities while here in the states, and it gives you as a host family the opportunity to be more involved in the schools they will be attending.  Okay, we’re done talking, Sam, will you tell us more about CIEE?

    Okay, in a summary, CIEE is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to quality exchange and global learning opportunities. The CIEE USA High School Program is designated by the U.S. Department of State to sponsor our students on a J-1 visa to attend high school in America. More simply stated it is our hope to help people gain understanding, acquire knowledge and develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world.  The truth is, there are many benefits for students of the CIEE USA High School Program. Cultural immersion allows students to gain a personal understanding of the “American way of life.” Attending American high schools, participating in school and community-run clubs, and living with a host family give students unique firsthand access to American culture. Many students also come to the U.S. to improve their English skills. After hearing and using the language every day, many students attain fluency by the end of the program.

    Now, on a less technical and more personal note, what better city to get these young adults into than Austin?  Austin is one of the best areas in Texas for our students and there are not many challenges there with the schools as with other areas of Texas.  Austin truly offers these students the opportunity to experience a wide variety of American culture done right!  So, here is the deal, I could go on and on about what it means to partner with ciee, but I think it would be better to hear from the students themselves.  So, click HERE to read stories and watch videos from some past foreign exchange students. Also, if you would like to read more about the benefits in being a host family, click HERE, and to find us on facebook simply click HERE.

    Sam, thank you very much for taking the time and informing us about the great exchange program of ciee.  If anyone reading this article knows of anyone who would be interested in this type of cultural exchange, please email Matthew Hansen at matthewdhansen@me.com.

  • Guest Post: Stacy Bruce of Caring Family Network

    This month’s guest post is by the CEO of Caring Family Network, Stacy Bruce.  Caring Family Network has

    Stacy Bruce

    become a great partner to Restore Austin and Austin New Church.  In partnership, we have about 8 couples working through the foster-to-adopt process in order to give these children homes they deserve, along with that we have just recently began to inquire about working with them in areas of tutoring and mentoring through the summer.  But not only that, Stacy has become a pretty good friend to Restore Austin’s Matthew Hansen.  Stacy is an amazing leader and is doing some amazing things with Caring Family Network.  If you want to know more, read below:

    In 1999, I was hired by Caring Family Network (CFN), a local foster care and adoption agency in Austin.  I was a young, green social worker ready to take on the world.

    In 1999, Darrel and Melody Dussetschleger became a licensed foster family with CFN.  At that time, Darrel and Melody had 3 children of their own (high school and middle school aged).

    In 1999, Jessy and Shela were removed from their young mother in Corpus Christi and put into the State’s Care.  After several placements, Jessy (age 4) and Shela (age 3) were placed in the Dussetschleger foster home and I became their case manager.

    That year, all of our lives changed.

    This story illustrates the biblical need to focus on God’s calling, outlined in James 1:27, right here in Central Texas.  If it weren’t for Darrel and Melody’s faith and trust in God’s calling, faith in one another, faith in their own family and faith in CFN, Jessy and Shela would have very different lives today.

    And so the story begins…Jessy, born deaf, was placed in the State’s care at age 4.  He was removed from his young mother’s care due to the neglectful environment of his biological home.  While in his mother’s care, Jessy never learned to communicate.  After six foster care placements in three months and no attachment to a caring adult, Jessy had absolutely no communication skills, no exposure to rules or structure and no social skills.  I remember thinking “this child reminds me of the Tasmanian devil.” Jessy arrived at the Dussetschleger’s heavily medicated.

    Shortly after placing Jessy with the Dussetschleger’s, we placed his little sister, Shela.  Shela was 3 years old, had been in 9 foster homes (including psychiatric hospitalizations) in six months and also appeared to be deaf.  It wasn’t until a thorough medical examine was completed that we were told her hearing was fine.  As I write, I recall a picture of Shela taken around the time of placement.  In this photo, she is holding a baby doll.  While most three-year-olds are full of life, Shela appeared lifeless, her 3-year-old spirit was deeply buried by the abuse and neglect, and there appeared to be no life in her little body. She was also heavily medicated.  But at last they had arrived in a safe, nurturing family, committed to accepting this challenge.

    Within the first couple of years, the entire Dussetschleger family became fluent in sign language.  Jessy was beginning to communicate and Shela’s eyes were showing signs of life and love.  While Jessy continued to struggle with his disability, social skills and many developmental delays, he was beginning the process of healing. At that time, Melody began the daunting task of navigating the Medicaid system to pay for a cochlear implant for Jessy.  After advocating up the chain of command and ending with Carole Keaton Strayhorn, Melody was successful!

    In 2005, Shela reached permanency through adoption by the Dussetschleger’s.  Due to the financial difficulty of meeting Jessy’s special needs, the Dussetschleger’s chose not to adopt Jessy at that time.  However, they remained 100% committed to him and in all of our minds; he had reached permanency as well.

    During the July 2008 CFN Annual Summer Celebration, I was privileged to watch as in walked two lanky, well-adjusted, UNMEDICATED, much loved, and very beautiful, young teenagers.  Shela spent her time admiring and picking out the perfect prom dress, while Jessy spent time talking (yes, talking not just signing) with staff, foster parents and other children.

    At the August 2009 CFN back-to-school celebration, I was able to erase the haunting picture of Shela at age three, broken by such a wounded spirit.  It has been replaced with a vision of life and energy that she emitted with every step she took.  And there sat Jessy, as if completing the cycle of healing, holding his 18 month old foster sister, a beautiful little girl, also a victim of child abuse and neglect.   The unconditional love, the commitment, and the faith in God’s Plan…the healing is so apparent.

    Now to the present day!  Jessy continues to struggle with his disabilities and has been diagnosed with a macular degenerative disease.  He attends the Texas School for the Blind, where he is loved and quite successful.  In fact, Jessy has made such an impression that the school produced a video of him to use as a model for all deaf blind children in the U.S and Canada. The Dussetschleger’s will adopt Jessy within the next month. Shela has graduated from middle school and moved to High School.  She is a beautiful young woman, full of life.  I’ve watched Jessy and Shela grow and heal through our Powerful God and the powerful therapeutic care, love and nurturing that the Dussetschleger’s have provided to these two children.  It is almost impossible for me to have a conversation about Jessy and Shela without crying or at least tearing up.  Gone are the Tasmanian devil and the little girl so wounded she showed no spirit. What a powerful testimony to a family who chose to put God first and to allow Him to use their hands, their hearts and their family and community to bring healing to these children.  Today, the Dussetschleger family consists of two proud doting parents, 5 children, one grandchild and another grandchild on the way.  Along the way, the Dussetschleger’s have provided a loving, healing home to more than 20 foster children with special needs.  And that young case manager that was ready to take on the world is now the CEO of Caring Family Network.  I can see the Fingerprints of God all over this!!!

    Our lives changed forever!!!!

    WHY FOSTER, WHY ADOPT the children of Central Texas.  The numbers speak for themselves:

    In 2009,

    • There were 68,326 confirmed cases of child abuse/neglect in the State of Texas
    • 12,107 children were removed from their home as a result of a CPS Abuse/Neglect Investigation
    • On August 31, 2009, there were 15,932 children in foster care
    • At the end of 2009, there were 6,386 children waiting for adoption
    • In Region 7 (Travis and surrounding counties) alone, there are 1,761 children in foster care
    • Sadly, in 2009, 1453 children emancipated from the State’s care without a family.

    Why foster or adopt or get involved…because James 1:27 gives us our instructions.  If you are called to care for children from hard places, if you are ready to be a part of one of the most unique, exciting and meaningful experiences in life, if you are ready to be challenged, changed and charged with an awesome privilege and responsibility, if you are ready…Texas children, like Jessy and Shela are ready and waiting for you!

    Stacy, thank you so much for your friendship, your leadership, and your commitment to these children.  We look forward to a much deeper partnership as time goes on.  We love you and all those at Caring Family Network!

  • Guest Post: Alan Graham of Mobile Loaves & Fishes

    This month’s guest post is by Alan Graham, the founder of Mobile Loaves and Fishes and the new Campaign, I Am Here, which became one of the number one stories on CNN.  Alan has become a real friend to Austin New Church and Restore Austin.  We have learned a lot from Alan, as would any one.  Please take the time to not only read this post, but to wrestle with it, and your response to it.

    Who Is Really Hungry?

    This year Mobile Loaves & Fishes will serve over 500,000 thousand meals and will probably exceed having served over 2,000,000 (yes! Two million!) since our inception in 1998. This is incredible but what is astonishing is how many people it took to deliver those meals to the streets directly where people are. Today we have nearly 13,000 volunteers in six cities throughout the US dedicated to serving these meals with love. Every night these 17 catering trucks loaded with food, clothing and volunteers head out on to their respective streets to serve these meals. With such a large army it begs the question of who is really hungry.

    Although Mobile Loaves & Fishes is known as a feeding ministry what we really do is to empower people into a life style of service to our brothers and sisters who live on the streets. This is really important on a number of levels. To have thousands of people working every month donating their time in service to others is really something. I read once where each volunteer hour has an economic value of about $17! WOW! When you empower so many people in service the way we do paradigms and stereotypes change. When paradigms and stereotypes change you suddenly find yourself with an army of advocates. This is one of the powerful resource engines for Mobile Loaves & Fishes.

    Now we can advocate for homes. Go to www.mlfnow.org/HOW to take a look at what we are doing to make people “homeful”. To make people “homeful” we really need to understand what home is. In the recently published groundbreaking book Beyond Homelessness the authors identify eight characteristics of home:

    1. Home is a place of permanence
    2. Home is a dwelling place
    3. Home is a storied place
    4. Home is a safe resting place
    5. Home is a place of hospitality
    6. Home is a place of embodied inhabitation
    7. Home is a place of orientation
    8. Home is a place of affiliation and belonging

    Who is really hungry? We all are! Food is merely the conduit to connect human to human, heart to heart. Some will be nourished physically and others will be nourished spiritually. If you want to become a part of our army go check out www.mlfnow.org or email us at info@mlfnow.org.

    -Alan

  • Guest Post: Chris Marlow of HELP End Local Poverty

    This month’s guest blog post is by a dear friend to Austin New Church and Restore Austin – Chris Marlow.  Chris is the founder of HELP End Local Povery.  HELP is a global tribe dedicated to ending extreme poverty by rescuing orphans, restoring their hope and renewing their communities. Being that April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we’ve asked Chris to write a blog concerning those children who are most abused – orphans:

    The global orphan crisis seems to have captured the hearts and minds of people inside the church, and also outside the church.  It is deeply encouraging, as many have chosen not to ignore or look away from this crisis.

    The more conversations I have, the more people want to understand how we got here.  And by “here,” I mean the orphan crisis.   How, in a world of such deep wealth, intelligence and connectedness, did we come to a place where millions of kids are suffering, alone!

    Let’s take a look at some possible factors:

    War

    When you research the global orphan crisis, war becomes an obvious target.  When men and women die, kids are left behind to fend for themselves.  Even when good Samaritans, or extended family take in these orphans, they also suffer.  Therefore, you can track a chain-reaction destabilizing effect on war-torn countries, that last for decades.   It’s truly crippling!

    Extreme Poverty

    Poverty is quite hard to process.  We live in a world where 1 billion people don’t have access to clean water.  Now think about this for a second; How can a people-group function, if they don’t have a clean water-source?  Of course there are other issues, such as, political uprisings, famines, and natural disasters that causes economic collapse.  For instance, Zimbabwe is a country that for years could not afford to keep the power grid working, they could not pay for food to be imported into the country, and they had civil uprising, which caused a collapse in their farming structures.  All these issues lead to extreme poverty.

    Disease

    The fact remains, that diseases such as aids, and malaria wreck havoc on people-groups that don’t have access to proper medicine.  A child in Africa dies every 30 seconds because of malaria.  There are some 15 million aids-orphans around the globe, that have lost parents to this crisis.  Again, it’s easy to see how this would effect a society, foe generations.

    Lack of concern

    However, the biggest reason that there are some 144 million orphans in the world today, is a simple lack of compassion. There is simply to much wealth and intelligence to assume we can’t do anything about this crisis.  And above all that, in general the church (for decades) failed to respond on a mass-scale.  Christians, like myself, simply ignored the plight of the orphan.  More than war, or extreme poverty, or disease, (as bad as all of those things are) the biggest reason, in my opinion, is the lack of concern by the masses.

    Hope

    With that being said, we now live in a generation that refuses to ignore this issue.  We’re also not scared to tackle the problem.  There is hope that we can turn the tide, we can make a difference, and we will fight no matter what.  It’s hard for people to understand extreme poverty, it’s next to impossible to comprehend war, and we still struggle with diseases. However, this is where EVERYONE can help.  We can simply just care, and also, get our friends to care.  When that happens, we can become intentional, and focus on solutions that can change the scope of extreme poverty.  Scriptures like Isaiah 1:17, Isaiah 58,  Luke 4:16-22, Acts 11:27-30 , Gal 2:9-10, and James 1:27 are being taken seriously, again!

    My hope and passion is that the church will lead the way, and fight for the orphan.  That we will unite, sacrifice, and take action to make a change, to show the world the character and nature of God through His people, the church.

    We can end this crisis, we can crash into eternity doing something to cause impact, and we will rescue orphans, restore their hope and renew their communities.

    Chris, thank you, and the team at HELP!  We look forward to the partnership between HELP, Restore Austin, and Austin New Church!

  • Team: Restore the Orphan

    Restore Austin and Austin New Church has created a race team (Restore the Orphan) for the upcoming Adoption Marathon. To go along with that, we have created a SITE to keep you updated on the team, how you can support them, training recommendations and how you can be involved…This site is for the following:

    • Runners – If you would like to run in this years Adoption Marathon, please click HERE to register. When you sign up, choose either the full or half marathon, and when it asks you what team you would like to sign up for, type in the team name, Restore the Orphan. After you have done that, please email us at lindsey@portroofing.com or matthew@austinnewchurch.com to let us know you have registered.  We will have team dry-fit shirts available for sale, along with non-dry fit shirts for those who want to support the CAUSE.
    • Volunteers – Maybe running is not your deal, but you would love to get out there and help us.  If that’s you, then click HERE, and email them to register yourself, or your Restore Community. We will have Restore the Orphan shirts available for sale so that your volunteer team can wear as well as support the CAUSE.
    • Supporters - Team Restore the Orphan is running to literally RESTORE the Orphan. So, what are we restoring the Orphan to? Good question. There is nothing more complete than restoring an orphan to his/her new home, new family, and new life – this is true restoration for an orphan. So ALL monies raised for this race will go toward restoring several over-seas orphans to their new homes here in Austin! There will be three ways you can support (1) Simply give financially [we will have a link up soon] (2) purchase one of our Restore the Orphan shirts [100% of the proceeds will go to bringing these orphans home] (3) Attend the carbo-loading dinner on October 21st, in which you will have the chance to give, learn, and eat [details to come soon].
    • Beginners – This site is for two types of beginners. Those who are beginning to learn about the orphan crisis, and those who are wanting to begin to start a healthy lifestyle. The Orphan Crisis can seem so overwhelming, that to attempt to be a voice in battling it seems defeating. Stick around this site long enough and we will help point you in the right direction. If a new life of fitness is your new goal. Pay attention to the blogs, and we get you going in the right direction – we hope you plan on beginning both: a new life of fitness and health, and to become a voice for the orphan.

  • March Guest Blog – Starbucks, Austin New Church & The Care Communities, by Roger Temme

    I am honored to introduce you all to Roger Temme.  Not only is Roger part of an amazing organization providing emotional and relational care to those living with HIV/AIDS and Cancer, but Roger has become a good friend.  He has a heart of gold, and his life truly represents one who cares.  If you have any interest in serving and loving those who are ill, let me recommend working and volunteering with this organization.  I personally have served with them, and it has been amazing!  The story is too long to add to this post, so I’ll stop talking and let you read Roger’s guest blog:


    Sometimes sharing a simple cup of coffee can be the beginning of a wonderful collaboration.  And so it happened that I had the real pleasure of meeting  a wonderful human being who simply wanted to make a difference in the lives of people in need.  That cup of coffee at the Starbucks on Oltorf and I-35 with Matthew Hansen began a wonderful partnership between Austin New Church and The Care Communities which I hope will continue in one way or the other for many years to come.

    The vision of Austin New Church is to care passionately for all—especially the abandoned and the helpless. The vision of The Care Communities is to provide care unconditionally for folks living with AIDS or cancer and to make sure that no one goes through their illness alone.  What makes churches and organizations work well is a common vision that is lived out in a practical way.  One of my favorite quotes that I often used in sermons and presentations comes from Henri Nouwen, one of my favorite spiritual authors, is “Every human being has a great, yet often unknown gift: to care, to be compassionate, to become present to the other, to listen, to hear and receive—if that gift would be set free and made available—Miracles could take place.”  That quote has become my personal mission statement as I come on my 11 years at The Care Communities.  I have been blessed to meet folks like Matthew and congregations like Austin New Church.  I invite you to become part of our partnership.  Check out or website  www.thecarecommunities.org and become a part of a Care Team.  And as St. Francis said to his followers often, “Pace e Bene”   “Peace and all Good”

    Roger Temme
    Outreach Coordinator
    The Care Communities

  • Be a Parent to the Parentless!

    We have heard it said, that as followers of Christ, we should pursue adoption the way that Christ pursued us!  We do, however, know that not everyone is called to adopt, but we all need to be involved in this crisis.  Your role may simply be to support a family who is adopting or support an orphan in India or Africa or volunteer at local foster agencies.  No matter how you feel you are to be involved, we believe the plight of the orphan is something that God calls us all to impact.

    Based off of this conviction, Austin New Church and Restore Austin are teaming up with Caring Family Network to host the required classes for Foster Care, Foster-to-Adopt, and Respite Care.  If this is something that you or anyone in your church is interested in, please email me at matthew@austinnewchurch.com and I will send you the necessary application for you to complete and send in to Sarah Mercado via fax at 512.719.4073 or email at smercado@cfntexas.com or bring them with you to the opening class.  The first class will be at Austin New Church (11530 Manchaca Road, 78748) on February 23rd at 6:00pm.  At this  class you will receive the schedule for the remaining classes necessary to be completely certified as a foster parent, adoptive parent, and/or respite care provider.

    Thank you,

    Matthew

  • Guest Post: Alissa Magrum of Communities in Schools

    This month, Restore Austin’s guest blog is not by just a great partner, but by a great friend.  On a corporate note, the partnership between Restore Austin and Communities in Schools is out of this world, and based off of that alone Alissa and I had the opportunity to speak at the annual TAPE Conference last week.  However, on a personal note, I think this partnership is what it is, not only because we have mutual visions for people and the city, but because of a deep friendship that has formed.  This is one of the greatest outcomes of a true partnership for me.  Sure, we get to work together for the good of the city, and that is amazing, but it is even better, when those people you work with have become amazing friends…So, here is Alissa’s blog:

    I just read some tips to writing good blogs. Two of the tips: make your opinion known and keep it less than 250 words. I’ll try to do both.

    Austin New Church and Restore Austin are invaluable resources in this community! DONE!  Just kidding.  Specifically, they are incredible and amazing partners to Communities In Schools of Central Texas (CIS).  Their pure desire to serve the community to make it stronger is apparent every time we interact.  It is this pure desire, coupled with boundless energy, caring people and true passion that makes them effective. They provide support to CIS in so many ways. They donate school supplies to our students. They make our CIS counseling rooms bright and therapeutic. They sponsor our families around the Holidays. They raise funds and awareness by running on Team CIS. They respond during crisis. They volunteer at special events. They help us however we need help.

    This is how they do it. And it works.  We tell them the needs in the communities we serve. They LISTEN to those needs. They either respond directly or connect us with another resource in the community (usually another church plant) to meet the needs.  Repeat again and again.

    Seems simple and it works! Another key to the success of our partnership is a strong and trusting relationship. This mutual trusting relationship helps us achieve our mission of helping kids stay in school and prepare for life. Amen!

    Do you want to get involved with us? Click HERE and become part of the change this city needs and deserves!

    Alissa Magrum

    Director of Volunteer Services and Community Partnerships

    Communities In Schools of Central Texas

    Twitter: ciscentraltx

    Alissa, thank you very much for your partnership with Austin New Church and Restore Austin…we look forward to a long relationship of affecting the individual, collective and social good of this city!

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