Banquet Time Again!

It's hard to believe but it's banquet time again!  Last year's banquet was a great success and we believe that this year will be even better. 

Our banquet this year is being held in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Imperial at RTP on the evening of October 24th.  The banquet will be a ticketed event with our Table Hosts handling those tickets.  If you are interested in serving as a Table Host this year we would love to hear from you. 

Our Table Hosts will be responsible for filling their table of 10 and serving as an ambassador of Emergency Chaplains.  If you would consider partnering with us to raise awareness and funds please contact me today.  I would love to hear from you. (Table Hosts will also be considered for partial tables if we have enough space.)

If serving as a Table Host is not for you but you still want to attend the banquet, there are a couple of other ways that you can be a part of the celebration on October 24th:

• ·         Contact our office and we will connect you with a Table Host who has space at their table

• ·         We will also need several volunteers to help with greeting and hospitality.  If you would like to volunteer to help please let me know today.

Again this year, the cost of our banquet will be paid for by our Banquet Sponsors.  Would you consider being one of our sponsors this year?  Would you ask your church, civic club or a local business to also support our Hometown Heroes Banquet as we recognize our First Responders for their service and seek to raise awareness and support for the ministry of Emergency Chaplains?

Each Banquet Sponsor will be listed in our Banquet Program.  Gifts may be made in memory of, or in honor of a loved one.  Gift levels for our banquet this year are:

Bronze Level: Banquet Sponsorship of $50 or more

Silver Level: Banquet Sponsorship of $100 or more

Gold Level: Banquet Sponsorship of $200 or more

Platinum Level: Banquet Sponsorship of $500 or more

Diamond Level: Banquet Sponsorship of $1,000 or more

The ministry of Emergency Chaplains continues to grow.  Right now, we have 38 volunteers, serving 19 agencies, in 10 counties across central North Carolina.  Our chaplains now offer our services and care to over 2,000 First Responders.  We continue to press on toward our goal of having a chaplaincy presence in all 100 counties of our state.

Another goal that we have is to expand the services of our Crisis Response Team (CRT) here in Durham and establish CRTs in the other counties that we serve.  This is a vital part of our ministry where we serve side-by-side with our First Responders to care for citizens who are in crisis.

A goal that we have talked about often but still have not been able to establish is our Grief Ministry Team (GMT).  We envision dozens of volunteers taking part in this ministry to those in our community who are grieving the loss of a loved one.  Individual and group counseling, an annual memorial service and immediate care and assistance during a time of loss are just some of the ideas that we have for the GMT.

In order to establish these new ministries and maintain our current ministry growth we need to raise an additional $60,000 annually to pay salaries for one full-time and two part-time employees. 

Our goal is to partner with 200 new Monthly Comforters by the end of 2014.  (A Monthly Comforter is one who donates $25 or more each month.)

Would you consider becoming a Monthly Comforter to help us establish and expand these ministries?  If you are already one of our Monthly Comforters, would you encourage others that you know to join you in partnering with Emergency Chaplains in our efforts to turn those in crisis towards Christ?

Emergency Chaplains does not receive financial compensation or support from any of the agencies that we serve.  We are a faith based ministry dependent upon the support of God's people to carry out this ministry to First Responders and citizens in crisis.  Several of us, banded together by our desire to serve and love others in Jesus' Name, have the potential to touch thousands of lives each year through our service and our giving.  Please pray about how the Lord would have you partner with us!

Thanks for taking time to read this.  Thank you for your support and encouragement.  Together we are making a difference in the lives of many.  Blessings to you!  

Serving Jesus Together,

 

www.echap.org

e-mail: ralph@echap.org

Phone: 919-280-8908

Emergency Chaplains

PO Box 14762

Durham, NC  27709

HOMETOWN HERO: AMBER HALL

They are there when you need them.  A calm, cool, collected voice on the other end of the line.  911 Communicators are usually the first, First Responders in times of crisis...expertly accessing the situation, keeping callers focused and providing instruction…often in life-threatening situations.  It’s not an easy job and not everyone has what it takes.  Amber Hall has what it takes.  She is good at her job.  She is well-liked and respected by her peers.  But the reason she was nominated for the hometown hero award is for something she does above and beyond the call of duty.
 

In 2011, Amber Hall founded a non-profit named  “Lovie Central”.

Lovie Central loves on the children who live at the Urban Ministries shelter in downtown Durham.

For those of you who don't know....that's the Homeless Shelter.

Most of the kids at the shelter have lived all their lives in places where domestic violence, drugs,  and gang activity are an everyday fact of life.  Their trust has been violated.  Love and acceptance always has strings attached.

That's where Lovie Central comes in.

Twice a year, sometimes more, Lovie Central throws a party at the shelter.  Each child receives a stuffed animal that has a handmade security blanket, a hat, and even a scarf and other extras. They also give them care packages that includes personal hygiene products and even a toy or two.

Through Amber and others who participate in “Lovie Central” these young children learn that there are nice, giving, and loving people who care about them.

Amber gives abundantly of herself and her own resources to love on these kids.  She accepts donations but most of the money to pay for the work of Lovie Central comes straight out of her pocket.

She considers it a small price to pay to be able to go and love on children who so desperately need to know that they are loved.

It is for this reason that Emergency Chaplains is delighted to present the Hometown Hero Award to Amber Hall.  Thank you Amber for everything you are doing for our community and most of all for the unconditional love you show these children.

CELEBRATING OUR TELECOMMUNICATORS!

Each year, the second full week of April is dedicated to the men and women who serve as Public Safety Telecommunicators.  This year it’s April 13-19.  (In Durham, you can send letters of appreciation to Durham Emergency Communications Center, 505 West Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC 27701.  If it is easier, you can e-mail notes to 911week@echap.org and we will forward those to the center.)

Telecommunicators probably have the least glamorous job in Public Safety.  They are seldom heard by the public and never seen.  Day after day they answer the phones and dispatch help with little fanfare.  The only time they get media coverage is when they make a mistake—and the news hounds jump on that like a dog on a ham bone.

The training process for a new telecommunicator can take up to a year and each month requires a full day of continuing education training.  It’s a lot to learn and a lot to keep up with.

It’s a very stressful job, too.  When answering incoming calls, a telecommunicator is often expected to be psychic—to take screamed, unintelligible words and somehow magically make a police car, ambulance or fire truck show up at a location that is unknown even to the caller.

Chaos is a word well known to every telecommunicator.  It happens most every day.  Sometimes several times in a day.  Some days it happens all day long.

Even a minor wreck on the interstate can cause chaos in the center.  Imagine that 50 people witness a wreck on I-40.  All 50 people call at one time.  25 of them are headed East.  25 are headed West.  None of them know exactly where they are and most don’t even know their own direction of travel. None of the callers currently on the line stopped to check on injuries.  When the ones who did stop and get a chance to call they can’t get through because all the lines are tied up with people telling the communicators what exit they are passing three miles down the road.

On one side of the room there might be several call takers trying desperately to get useful information simultaneously about the same event.  On the other side of the room there might be Police, Fire and EMS units yelling for more information about the location of the very same event the call takers are still working on.

It all happens fast.  One minute things are under control and the next minute it seems as if the world is coming to an end.  But it doesn’t.  The telecommunicators always get the job done and help always arrives.  They never get the thanks they deserve but we at Emergency Chaplains want to give a shout out to our Telecommunicators—our 9-1-1 Operators—they are the best in the world.

We love you guys!  Thanks for being the first in line of our First Responders and THANK YOU for always answering the calls and making sure that we get the help we need, when we need it and where we need it.