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This issue of Street Smart is sponsored by:
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RELATED NEWS: Representative Mark Walker (R-NC-6) plans to reintroduce the Universal Charitable Giving Act (UCGA) on the floor of the House on GivingTuesday. If the bill becomes law, it would create a charitable deduction to provide non-itemizers the same sort of benefits and incentives for their donations as the current tax code now provides to itemizers. This is vitally important to all organizations that are funded by donations. To help move this forward, please consider having your organization send a brief letter to Rep. Walker in support of the UCGA. You can use this letter from Brian Walsh for background information and basic directions. Oregon Member First to Register for 2020 Conference Jo Saxton Added to San Antonio Program
Buckeye State to Host Board Performance Acceleration Program in February 2020 Not Much Time Left to Register Your Comments with HHS Alternative Online Rating Service Could Help with Potential Donors Looking Down the Street
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Nonprofit Organizes Hockey Tournaments to Help the Homeless in Canada
Since 1996, Hockey Helps the Homeless organizes and hosts 14 Pro-Am and Collegiate hockey tournaments across Canada to raise awareness and financial support for the homeless. Their efforts focus on education, fundraising, and partnering with solutions-based local homeless support agencies in the communities where they play. Individuals and/or teams can register to participate in any one of 12 Canadian cities and must fundraise for a required minimum to play. All the registered players enjoy meals and games alongside hockey legends on the day of the tournament, and more than 15,000 donors combine to provide over $2,000,000 annually. One event just wrapped up in Vancouver on November 29, 2019, and another tournament will begin with a puck drop on December 6, 2019, in Winnipeg. Citing pressure from the current administration to step down, Matthew Doherty, executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), tendered his resignation two weeks ago, according to a slate.com report. Director Doherty did not reveal specifics related to his departure, but those in the industry consider this the next move in the presidential administration’s approach to the issue of homelessness in the United States. While Mr. Doherty considered the best approach to dealing with the homeless to be “housing first,” Richard Cho, deputy director to USICH from 2013–16 expressed the possibility that the next director would focus more on “law enforcement” as a way to deal with our nation's unhoused. Popular Food Network Show Features ‘Thanksgiving Heroes’ A recent airing of one of Food Network’s most popular shows, Chopped, showcased “Thanksgiving Heroes.” The four amateur chef contestants were chosen because of the various food-related services they provide in their communities: a police officer who started her own nonprofit to bundle weekend meals for food-insecure kids when they leave school on Fridays; an elementary teacher who cooks creatively in the classroom to inspire her students; a FoodCorps volunteer; and a women’s day shelter kitchen manager and chef. Provided with select offbeat ingredients for each of three courses, Chopped chefs compete against each other in creating an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert for a panel of three judges. These four “heroes” had opportunities throughout the episode to tell the audience about how they uniquely serve in their hometowns. The contest winner took home a $10,000 prize, and each of the contestants received a gift card as a token of gratitude for their sacrifices and efforts on behalf of their communities.
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More than 50,000 people around the world will be sleeping out for a cause this coming Saturday, December 7. It will happen in more than 50 major cities around the world, from Times Square in New York to Trafalgar Square in London, as well as on campuses and in backyards. In partnership with UNICEF and the Institute for Global Homelessness, the goal is to raise a minimum of $50,000,000 to fund projects that provide sustainable change to help one million people out of homelessness and put the issue at the center of the political spotlight globally. Events around the world will feature performances from leading musicians and "bedtime stories" from A-list actors. Registration is required. Fundraising is encouraged, but not required. For more information about the event, click here. Family Structure Plays Large Role in School Conduct Recent research by the Institute for Family Studies reveals that a student’s family structure has a bigger effect than racial disparities or socioeconomic factors in school conduct and discipline. Growing up in a chaotic, single-parent, or non-intact family often affects the level of attention, affection, stress, conflict, and discipline students experience. Those environments typically have less money, impacting their neighborhoods and peers, which can lead to delinquent and disruptive behavior. According to the data, the rates of student misbehavior nearly doubles when students live with separated or divorced parents versus those living with stably married parents. As many as 72 percent of black students live apart from their married birth parents, compared to 37 percent of white students and 26 percent of Asian students. Controlling for family structure, the researchers found a 55 percent reduction in racial disparities, whereas controlling for socioeconomic status only reduced the racial differences by 38 percent. This would indicate that some of the racial differences in school suspensions and discipline may come from actual, not just perceived, differences in behavior. Consider: How can your people and programs pour into youth whose families have not provided them with the attention and support they need to thrive? Chick-fil-A Will Stop Donating to Charities with Anti-LGBT Views Since the last issue of Street Smart, many news outlets have reported that Chick-fil-A will restructure their charitable giving, beginning in 2020. Previously, their donations to numerous charitable organizations included large, multi-year commitments to the Salvation Army (SA) and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), which sparked highly publicized criticism from the LGBT community because of those organization’s stances against homosexuality. Starting next year, the Chick-fil-A Foundation will shift to annual grants for charities in three categories they believe are critical in the communities where they do business: education, hunger, and homelessness. However, they have not said that faith-based charities will be eliminated, but rather that their stance on LGBT issues will be a factor. Many conservative groups and commentators have pushed back at Chick-fil-A, with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckaby saying they “surrendered to anti-Christian hate groups and betrayed loyal customers.”
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Camp Director, Central Union Mission, Washington, DC Camp Maintenance Manager, Central Union Mission, Washington, DC Care Support Specialist, Light of Life Ministries, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA Career Learning Center School Administrator, Orlando Union Rescue Mission, Orlando, FL Controller, Good News Rescue Mission, Redding, CA Controller, Light of Life, Pittsburgh, PA Cook, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Development Director, Open Door Mission, Glens Falls, NY Development Director, Home of Grace, Vancleave, MS Development Manager, Bread of Life Mission, Seattle, WA Director of Communications, Citygate Network, Colorado Springs, CO Director of Development, City Mission of Schenectady, Schenectady, NY Director of Marketing and Communications, St. Matthew's House, Naples, FL Director of Men's Shelter Services, Union Gospel Mission, Spokane, WA Director of Operations, Fairhaven Rescue Mission, Covington, KY Distribution Center Assistant, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Executive Director, The City Mission of Findley, OH, Findley, OH Executive Director, Campus of Hope, Conroe, TX Executive Director, Fairhaven Rescue Mission, Covington, KY Guest Services Associate (FT, PT, On-call), Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Guest Services Supervisor, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Major Gifts Officer, Union Rescue Mission, Wichita, KS Men's Case Manager, Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission, Shreveport, LA Nonprofit Management Department Chair (online), City Vision University, Kansas City, MO Outreach Specialist (Mental Health), Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Program Administrator - Bridge Street Mission, Bridge Street Mission, Inc., Wausau, WI Residential Coordinator_Cornerstone Manor Facility, Buffalo City Mission, Buffalo, NY Senior Human Resources Generalist, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Shelter Supervisor, Open Door Mission, Glens Falls, NY Social Ent. Bus. Coor. & Exec. Assist. to COO, John 3:16 Mission, Tulsa, OK Social Work/Clinical Manager, Denver Rescue Mission, Denver, CO Street Outreach Lead, 2nd Shift, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA Vice President of Development, Career Cross Training, Colorado Springs, CO Vocational Training Manager, Shreveport-Bossier Rescue Mission, Shreveport, LA Welcome Center Supervisor, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, Seattle, WA
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“Rest” or heschazo in the original language is defined as, “to rest, to be quiet, to be still,” and is all over the Old Testament, but when I found it in Genesis 4, my mind raced to understand its use.
The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downward? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
—Genesis 4:5-7
But I think it translates better,
“If you do what is right/heschazo (if you are resting, if you are quiet, if you are still), will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right (if you are not resting, are not quiet, are not still,) then sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
It shifts the idea of rest from a ‘time-out’ to a weapon I can use in my war against sin. Could God be inciting me into a rhythm where He is my deep breath? Could time in rest fortify me for the world I am fighting against and the life He has called me to? Could rest in Him be a sign not of weakness or tapping out, but of strength and gearing up? Could rest be about not a lack of activity, but instead a still heart? I want to say yes to still, which isn’t the same as “stop.” It is yes to purpose and priority, over bustle and busy.
Reprinted with permission from the author, Beth Guckenberger.
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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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