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This is why we do what we do. TM.
 
 
 
  June 2015
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Jim LeBlanc

Dear Friends,

Earlier this month we conducted a “Keeping the Faith” campaign, asking you as staff of Volunteers of America Greater New Orleans to consider contributing a gift to our work. I am so grateful for the wonderful support that you all have shown to Volunteers of America. You are amazing in what you have given both in terms of your individual resources and treasures and in all of the work that you do for the people that we are called to serve. 

When we conduct New Employee Orientation every month, I admit to the new employees that I am biased about this, but I believe this is a great place to work. I think the reason it is a great place to work is because of the people who are called to our mission and stay with our mission. That is all of you. I am amazed at the love and the caring that you provide to our consumers and I am further amazed by your giving to support the work of Volunteers of America. 

In our New Employee Orientation we show a brief video that was developed by our national office. In it, our national director says that Volunteers of America is in the love business. I think that is a perfect description of what Volunteers of America does. Through its people, you, our staff, and our volunteers we show love for our fellow men and women, and we heed the command of the gospel to reach out and uplift people’s lives. I am so very proud and happy to serve with you in this movement we call Volunteers of America.

Until next time, take care and God bless. 

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Thank YOU for Your Generosity!Thank You

Thanks to your contribution to the 2015-16 Keeping the Faith Staff Campaign supporting Volunteers of America Greater New Orleans, we were able to achieve our goal of raising $10,000 to support our community programs! Thank you so much for giving. Your work and your giving changes lives.

 



Tanyaka Cline

Employee Honored for Work With Homeless Veterans

Tanyaka Cline, Outreach Supervisor with our Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, was recently presented with the "Spring 2015 Outstanding Navigators of Homeless Veterans Award"  for her work moving veterans and chronically homeless people off the streets, out of shelters and into permanent housing. Thanks to dedicated staff members such as Ms. Cline, Volunteers of America remains at the forefront of helping to address veteran homelessness in our community. 

(Pictured: Tanyaka Cline (center) and HUD Representatives, Lisa Hill and April Mitchell)



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Minister's Message by Minister Jim LeBlanc

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will see me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13

I am sorry to say that I am not an expert at studying the bible. As a matter of fact, when I grew up in the Catholic tradition, we learned more about the Baltimore catechism than about the bible. But, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when we all wondered whether the City of New Orleans would continue to exist and whether our world would ever be the same again, I kept thinking of this verse from Jeremiah. I didn’t remember it word for word but I remembered the part about “for I know the plans I have for you…plans to help you and not to harm you.” That was a wonderful anchor for me in that storm and its aftermath. I just kept knowing and believing and praying that God had a plan for all of us.

Have you ever thought about some things that happened in your life and you say wow, this is great? Or have other things occurred in your life and you said oh my God, how am I going to get through this? I know I have on many different occasions. But I think the verse from Jeremiah is relevant at all times. Life is full of ups and downs, of good and bad, and successes and failures. The one constant is our belief in God. Our prayers to Him are said with the full knowledge that He is listening to us.  Of course this doesn’t mean that we get everything that we ask for, but my faith tells me that we are all part of God’s plan and when things may not go as exactly as we had hoped or they are going very badly, somewhere in that is God’s plan for us. We have got to remember that He is in control of the plan and we must continue to pray, to call upon Him and He will listen.

My wife Sheryl and I often times talk about this verse and what it meant to us back in that post-Katrina period. And we talk about what it means to us each and every day. We see our children and our grandchildren and we know that God is in control of their future and has a plan for each of them. We pray every morning and each evening that God keeps them safe. We know that God has a plan for them and we know that it is a plan to prosper them and not to harm them.  I hope that when things may be difficult for you that you remember this message and to pray to the Lord knowing that He will listen to you when you seek Him with all your heart. And, when things are going well, which is wonderful, don’t forget to thank God for the blessings and the grace that he has bestowed upon you. May you continue to seek the Lord!



Golf Ball Heart

St. Tammany Parish Suicide Awareness Inaugural Golf Tournament

Saturday, July 25 @ Oak Harbor Golf Club in Slidell

Love to golf? Round up your friends and sign up to play in the St. Tammany Parish Suicide Awareness Inaugural Golf Tournament. A portion of the tournament proceeds will benefit Volunteers of America's Crisis Response Program, which provides critical services to persons facing acute emotional and mental health difficulties in St. Tammany Parish. 

Hosted by The St. Tammany Parish Deputies’ Association in conjunction with St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office Reserve Division, the purpose of the event is to help raise awareness of the programs available for the prevention of suicide.



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Folgers Resilience Run/Walk

Saturday, August 29 in New Orleans

To commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina and honor the resilience of the people of our community over the last decade, New Orleans Track Club will host the 2 mile Folgers Resilience Run / Walk. Proceeds will benefit several local nonprofits that contributed to the recovery of our city–including Volunteers of America Greater New Orleans.

Runners and walkers of all skill levels are encouraged to participate, and the entry fee is only $15. Sign up to be part of this meaningful event!


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