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This issue of Street Smart is sponsored by:
Looking Down the Street…
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Veggie Van Tours Columbus Food Deserts With so few grocery stores around Linden, Ohio, it's especially difficult to find fresh fruits and vegetables. So this month, Local Matters launched the Veggie Van, a mobile market that sells fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. They even accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The Veggie Van visits different neighborhoods over the weeks, spending Tuesdays in Linden, Wednesdays and Thursdays in Franklinton, and Fridays on the East Side of the city. Research shows these neighborhoods have the city’s highest rates of food insecurity. According to an article from WOSU Radio, the Columbus Veggie Van is a part of a nationwide study from the University of Buffalo to measure the fruit and vegetable intake in communities that have similar programs. A total of nine such vans launched this year, including in Athens, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; Holyoke, Massachusetts; and Long Island, New York. A Fresh Spin on Helping Homeless People A Vancouver chaplain and his brother plan to cycle 2,448 miles to help break the cycle of homelessness. Mark Roskam and his brother Mike, are planning to bike from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, via the historic Route 66. The two hope to leave on September 4, finish by October 11, and raise $66,000. Mark said that he has been involved in cycling all of his life. His brother took up cycling after giving up golf because he was not good at it. He said that cycling gives him everything he is looking for—time to be active outdoors. “Mike brought the idea to me, and it seems like it was almost an instant yes.” Mark said that every penny donated will go directly to Open House Ministries. According to an article in The Columbian, none of the donations will go toward paying for the trip that the brothers estimate will cost $10,000. People Struggling with Mental Illness Face Stigma and Blame Like clockwork, mental illness has become the focal point for blame following America’s 255th mass shooting this year. According to an article by Advance Local, people with mental illnesses are 10 times more likely to be victims of violent crimes, and only 3 to 5 percent of violent crimes can be linked to mental illnesses, according to national statistics. Using broad terms like “mentally ill" in situations of great harm and devastation can have a significant impact on those who suffer from depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses, said Greg Vander Wal, executive director of the counseling center at the University of Alabama. “It can ultimately turn people away from seeking out help or coming to terms with their issues,” he said. “Generally speaking, you are linking mental illness to evil, crime, and murder.” |
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Half of People Living in Poverty In Cleveland Are Working, Report Finds Cleveland is the second-poorest city in the United States, just behind Detroit. Now, a new report by local researchers aims to identify the challenges those living in poverty face—and what can be done to break the cycle. The study was conducted by the Center for Community Solutions, a Cleveland-based think tank. Currently, data shows the poverty rate in Cuyahoga County is at 18 percent—above what it was at the height of the Great Recession in 2008, at 15.6 percent, according to a report by ABC News. “There are about 220,000 people in Cuyahoga County who are living in poverty and about half of those are working so it’s really about earnings. People can still work and just don’t earn enough to be able to get by,” researchers said. It means that while unemployment is low, people are still not earning enough to make ends meet. New York Leads Nation in Nonprofit Jobs and Wages New York state leads the nation in nonprofit jobs and the wages they support. According to information released Tuesday by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, New York had more than 1.4 million nonprofit jobs, paying more than $78 billion in 2017. According to a report by The Associated Press, nonprofit organizations employ nearly 18 percent of the state’s private-sector workforce, the third highest percentage in the nation after Vermont and Maine. Nonprofits employee 10 percent of private-sector workers nationally. In some areas of New York, including the Mohawk Valley and the Southern Tier, nonprofits make up nearly one in four non-public sector jobs. Nonprofits Stack Up Well in Email Nonprofits enjoyed higher-than-average email open rates last year compared with other industries but were in line with other email metrics, according to a survey of millions of campaigns in 2018. Campaign Monitor analyzed more than 30 billion emails sent across 4.2 million campaigns in 2018, breaking out specific industry averages overall as well as by day of the week, as part of its “Ultimate Email Marketing Benchmarks for 2019: By Industry & Day.” According to an article in the Nonprofit Times, nonprofits were one of only two industries among the 22 in the study that had open rates of better than 20 percent. The other was agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (20.13 percent). The lowest open rate (14.53 percent) was found among consumer-packaged goods.
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Chief Development Officer, Jubilee Ministries, Inc., Lebanon, PA Breakfast Cook, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Care Support Specialist, Light of Life Ministries, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA Controller, Light of Life Ministries, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA Development Advisor, Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities, Saint Paul, MN Development and Database Coordinator, Union Gospel Mission, Dallas, TX Development Director, Open Door Mission, Glens Falls, NY Development Director, Home of Grace, Vancleave, MS Development Manager, Bread of Life Mission, Seattle, WA Development Vice President, Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities, Saint Paul, MN Director Integrated Marketing, Union Rescue Mission, Los Angeles, CA Director of Development, City Mission of Schenectady, Schenectady, NY Director of Operations (Gateway Center), Holland Rescue Mission, Holland, MI Director of Development, Modesto Gospel Mission, Modesto, CA Director of Programs, Open Door Mission, Rochester, NY Director of Women's Ministry, John 3:16 Mission, Tulsa, OK Domestic Violence Advocate, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Donor Services Representative, Union Rescue Mission, Los Angeles, CA Executive Director, Campus of Hope, Conroe, TX Extended Care Program Manager, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Grant Writer, Phoenix Rescue Mission, Phoenix, AZ HR Director, Rescue Mission Alliance, Oxnard, CA Life Change Program Manager, Jubilee Ministries, Inc., Lebanon, PA Major Donor Representative, Union Rescue Mission, Los Angeles, CA Major Gifts Director, Union Gospel Mission, Dallas, TX Manager, Men's Addiction Recovery Program, Open Door Mission, Rochester, NY Marketing Project Specialist, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Men's Case Manager, Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission, Shreveport, LA Program Administrator - Bridge Street Mission, Bridge Street Mission, Inc., Wausau, WI Protestant Prison Chaplains, Jubilee Ministries, Inc., Lebanon, PA Residential Coordinator_Cornerstone Manor Facility, Buffalo City Mission, Buffalo, NY Search and Rescue Specialist, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Senior Director, Development, Nashville Rescue Mission, Nashville, TN Senior Director, Women and Children's Ministries, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Shelter Supervisor, Open Door Mission, Glens Falls, NY Thrift Store Supervisor, Rescue Mission Alliance, Oxnard, CA Vice President of Development, Career Cross Training, Colorado Springs, CO Vocational Training Manager, Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission, Shreveport, LA VP, Human Resources, Union Rescue Mission, Los Angeles, CA Women and Children's Program Manager, Hope Gospel Mission, Eau Claire, WI Women's Program Manager - Laura's Home, The City Mission, Cleveland, OH
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Love Exemplified
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8, ESV).
Can you come up with a definition for love (that accurately describes what love is) in two or three sentences? It’s not an easy task.
No matter how we define love, our definition always seems to be lacking. Trying to define love can be like describing chocolate to a tribesman in sub-Saharan Africa who has never heard of nor tasted chocolate before.
We may have trouble defining it, explaining it, and even finding it, but we know deep down inside that we need it.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul wrote one of the most famous descriptions of love. Notice that he does not give a dictionary definition, but instead a description of love displayed. The love Paul describes values:
Scripture is clear. You can see this love displayed in patience, kindness, humility, forgiveness, integrity, and ongoing perseverance. This kind of love survives and stands the tests of time and tribulations.
Does this describe the love you’re seeking? More importantly, does this describe the love you desire to share?
Devotional used with permission of Daily Devotionals, shortdailydevotions.com.
To contribute: If you would like to write a devotional thought for StreetLight, please make it about 200 words and include at least one Bible verse or passage, and submit via email.
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All Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, unless otherwise noted. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
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