VOH Running Club Enters HB Half Marathon

They call themselves Hope's Heroes. Their training began last November 1 when 20 Village of Hope students greeted the sunrise at 6:30 as they wiped the sleep out of their eyes. Their leader, Steve Tierney, who only two years ago had zero prior running experience, figured that what worked for him could work for them, too.

Inspired by a Franklin-Covey seminar in 2007, Steve came to the conclusion that setting some goals would be good for him and that running a marathon would be a good place to start. Because he had no choice, he started slow with just five minute jogs. Eventually, he worked his way up to 30 minutes, and finally, to full marathons.

Last summer, Steve read an article about a Philadelphia woman who is training rescue mission residents to take part in marathon running events, and began to ponder how he might set up a similar program in Orange County. After talking it over with his business partner, Paul Nienow of Nienow & Company, LLP, Steve submitted a proposal to start a running club at the Orange County Rescue Mission.

Steve's vision for the Rescue Mission residents was based on some of the benefits he himself reaped during his initial training:

• Provide a physical outlet
• Give a sense of accomplishment
• Inspire self-confidence
• Foster teamwork
• Demonstrate a competitive equality of opportunity (regardless of experience or skill, everyone has the same goal: to finish the race!
• Enter and complete the Surf City Half Marathon!

After gaining approval, Steve posted a sign-up sheet at the Village of Hope in September. Beginning November 1, 20 students began meeting four mornings a week to prepare for the half marathon. By the date of the event, there were still 12 runners ready to participate. What happened in between was just what Steve had hope for.

Of his own experience as a new runner, Steve says, “I found the benefits to myself were just amazing. Some of the things I noticed were more confidence in my job and feeling good about myself. Every week I could tell myself I'd done something I'd never done before.” These were just the kind of things he was hoping the students of the Village of Hope would experience, and just the kind of things that occurred. Steve excitedly reports, “I've had students tell me, ‘If I can run 10 miles, I can get a job. I can do this!’”

The Surf City Half Marathon was held in Huntington Beach on February 7 and all of the 12 Village of Hope students participating completed the course. The next day at the Village of Hope, some of the runners asked Steve when they could begin training for the next event! “God deserves all the glory,” Steve says. “There's no way something like this could be accomplished without Him.” Congratulations, Hope's Heroes!

And thank you, Steve, for your hard work and dedication in forming and organizing the “Hope's Heroes” running club. And thank you, Nienow and Company, for your ongoing support of the Orange County Rescue Mission. God bless you!

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Volunteer Spotlight: Gwen Stanga

Gwen Stanga lives in Anaheim with her husband and her four-and-a-half year old son. When her son began pre-school she was bored with sitting around the house during the daytime. As she was an academic secretary at Biola University prior to becoming a stay-at-home mother, she thought she could use her skills to further the work of God among those in need.

Like so many others, Gwen used the Internet to search for the opportunity to serve God and her community and found the Orange County Rescue Mission web site. She knew this was where God wanted her to be and arranged an interview to investigate the various volunteer options available.

Although her initial intention was to use her secretarial skills in the office, Gwen rapidly rethought her plans when she discovered the great need for volunteers in the Child Development Center. She says, “At first I was reluctant, having only just sent my son off to pre-school, but I've been really blessed by making the decision to serve here."

Her loyalty and diligence paid off when, last fall, the CDC opened a toddler room and she was appointed as the first “Toddler Room Coordinator.” Gwen has served at the Rescue Mission for the past 11 months, every week from Monday to Thursday.

She says that her greatest blessing from volunteering at the CDC is the thankfullness of the moms who are relieved knowing that their children are being well taken care of and educated; therefore, they have more time to resolve their own problems and get their lives back on track. She says, “I really appreciate how they feel, being a mom myself.”

Gwen is convinced that you don't have to do great things to serve God and others. “Just doing the small things can really make a massive difference,” she says. She adds that volunteering for the Orange County Rescue Mission has enlightened her understanding of issues relating to homelessness. Hearing the stories of the moms has forever changed her stereotypical views and made her a far more compassionate person. She now has a greater appreciation of the many blessings God has given her and the vastness of His love for those in need.

If you are considering volunteering your time for the Rescue Mission, Gwen says, “Just bring your skills and interests and volunteer for the Rescue Mission; you don't need much to help out and there are endless opportunities to volunteer here.”

Thank you, Gwen, for your time and service at the Orange County Rescue Mission!

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Foundation of the Month

Sometimes our donors prefer to not give their names. Recently, a generous OCRM foundation provided funding to support the Emergency Food Project. The Emergency Food Project (EFP) is a collaborative effort between the Orange County Rescue Mission and Second Harvest Food Bank, supported by funding from another generous funder, the Dhont Family Foundation. In November of 2009, Second Harvest Food Bank began supplying 1,000 food boxes a month to the Mission to help alleviate hunger to almost 50,000 individuals annually!

Thankfully, this anonymous foundation joined the collaborative effort in January of this year, providing the funds necessary to recruit a newly created Care Coordinator position to direct recipients of the food boxes to additional help and resources. With food boxes distributed through our own outreach programs, as well as to 15 partner shelters, churches, and other community organizations, there was a great need for additional assistance for those in need. Those participants, in the majority of cases, struggle not only with a lack of food, but also with unemployment or underemployment, a lack of health care, and unrelenting poverty and homelessness. The Care Coordinator will be able to provide an essential role in linking Emergency Food Project participants to other community-based services they might need. This position will be able to help to provide increased opportunities for stabilization to 1,400 indivudals through this anonymous grant. Our deepest thanks to this wonderful OCRM partner for their contribution to the Mission and for their broad impact on the problem of hunger in Orange County. Orange County’s neediest populations will feel the impact of this generous gift in a very tangible way.