Volunteers Provide Nourishment
for Hearts and Bodies
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Community Resource Center Food and Nutrition Program
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Two shifts of Mission Circle volunteers work enthusiastically every Friday at the Community Resource Center (CRC) Food & Nutrition Center on 2
nd
Street in Encinitas. The first shift
is 10 am to 12 pm and the second is 12 pm to 2 pm. Both crews, says CRC volunteer Ann Daigle, provide the warm-hearted smiles and the high-spirited greetings that nourish the souls of their customers as much as the fres
h food strengthens their bodies.
“It is really a small market,” says Pierre Godefroy, “that is open five days a week and staffed by Mission Circle on Fridays.” Other volunteer groups staff CRC Monday through Thursday. Mission Circle volunteer ‘personal shoppers’ such as Denise Billheimer, Anna Tran, and David and Cynthia Reagan help low-income clients of CRC augment their food budget with fresh fruits, vegetables, regular and low-salt canned goods, fresh and frozen meats, dairy products, breads, and sweets. The Center helps everyone from needy young families and cash-strapped senior citizens to those suffering homelessness and various disabilities.
Mission Circle Volunteers such as Craig and Debbie Gallagher also clean, organize, and keep the Food & Nutrition Center running smoothly says Daigle. Ninety-one-year-old Bill Fields flattens boxes and puts them out to be recycled. Walt Birchall organizes and unpacks boxes of food donations. Marty Proctor checks out supplies in the large walk-in freezer. All the volunteers, Nansiatta Stein concludes, are richly compensated in satisfaction and generous blessings.
New volunteers are always welcome
for both shifts. For more information or to volunteer, contact Mission Circle’s coordinator for CRC volunteers Pierre Godefroy at
peteg732@gmail.com
.
JOIN US ON FRIDAYS!
(
Read more about this in the president's letter)
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Take a Look at Mission Circle’s NEW Website!
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The Mission Circle website has a new look for the new year and is now live!
The link is
https://missioncircle.com
. Many thanks to all the volunteers who managed, edited, and designed this new website. Special thanks go to the chair of the project, Dale Burchby, and to Nancy Wesseln who shared her Word Press skills with us to create what we envisioned. Take a look and let us know what you think!
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Help Needed for
Casa Eudes Girls Home
Kitchen Improvements
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Installing new exhaust system, refinishing the walls,
and repairing floor tiles...the work continues!
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The Casa Eudes kitchen before removing the wall.
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Volunteers Alex Almeida, Jeff Sturgis, Steve Bath, and Walt Birchall after the kitchen wall was removed.
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Do you have construction skills or want to learn some?
Mission Circle volunteers have been hard at work bringing the kitchen at Casa Eudes in Tijuana up to local code. A new kitchen exhaust system is required for the safety of the girls and Sisters who live there. A wall has been removed from the kitchen. Now volunteers are needed to help finish the walls, install the new exhaust system, and repair the floor tiles. Volunteers of all skill levels are always welcome! If you have questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Walt Birchall at
mwendasolanabeach@sbcglobal.net
or Jeff Sturgis at
jeffsturgis@me.com
.
O
ur next workday is
Saturday, Feb. 8th
.
Regular workdays are the 2
nd
and 4
th
Saturdays of each month
.
A valid US passport or passport card is required to cross the border.
With 30+ girls and the Sisters residing at the Girls Home, there is always something that needs to be fixed!
If you would like to join the work team or help with a donation, water heaters and plumbing repairs are the next projects. Donations can be made online at missioncircle.com or mailed to Mission Circle, P.O. Box 1376, Solana Beach, CA 92075.
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Dancers, a Feast, and 3 Kings Bearing Gifts!
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Epiphany Celebration at Casa Eudes
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Thanks to our many generous “donor elves,” the girls, staff, and Sisters who live at Casa Eudes in Tijuana, Mexico had a festive, fun Epiphany celebration. The girls danced for the guests; enjoyed a home-cooked lunch of roast pork, scalloped potatoes, and ice cream sundaes; and received gifts from the Three Kings. Smiles and grateful hearts were all around! All in attendance agreed that it was hard to tell who had more fun…the girls or the Mission Circle volunteers! Many thanks to all who made this special celebration a huge success, especially the donors who provided the gifts and the chairs of the event Mary Larkin, Judy O’Connor, and Maggy Hillenbrand. Watch the bulletin and this newsletter in November for details about next year’s Epiphany Celebration and don’t miss out on all the fun!
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Shelter Provides Comfort
of Warm Beds and Homemade Dinners
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Huge Thanks to our Volunteers
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Imagine spending even one night outside or trying to sleep in your car because you do not have the means to pay rent or get a motel room. Unfortunately for many in our community, this is a daily reality they struggle to escape.
Each winter our Parish partners with the Interfaith Shelter Network, a rotational shelter program, to transform the Parish Hall into a temporary shelter for homeless families and individuals who are working toward independence. We sincerely want to thank our volunteers who made it possible for seven men and women to have a warm, dry place to sleep and enjoy three meals each day. A special thanks to
Barbara Meyers
who chaired the shelter program this year along with
Deacon Peter Hodsdon
, the ten parishioners who stayed overnight as
hosts
, the eighteen
cooks
who prepared homemade dinners each night, and the
Young Adults Group
that made quick work of setting up and taking down the cots and privacy screens. Thank you for volunteering with your hearts and generously giving your time to make an impact for our neighbors in need.
If you are interested in volunteering to help organize the shelter program next year or to support it through donations, please contact
Deacon Peter Hodsdon at deaconpeter@stjames-stleo.com.
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Read more about the
Community Resource Center (CRC) Food & Nutrition Center
in the President's Letter...
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Is your new year’s resolution…
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- To get more involved helping others?
- To encounter and grow closer to Jesus by serving the poor & marginalized?
- To put your faith into action by helping to make the world a better place?
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What is your passion?
What is God calling you to do?
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Mission Circle can help you connect with like-minded people to make a difference!
or
Visit us
at
missioncircle.com
and contact the chairperson
of our programs and events.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
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Want to Make a Difference?
~ VOLUNTEER WITH US ~
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On-going Volunteer Opportunities
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Casa Eudes Girls Home Kitchen Project
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Saturday, Feb 8
& 22
(on-going project 2
nd
& 4
th
Saturdays)
Casa Eudes, Tijuana
Volunteers needed to help finish walls, install a new exhaust system, and repair the floor tiles in the kitchen. A valid US passport or passport card is required at the border. Call to reserve your place in the Mission Circle van!
Contact:Walt Birchall, mwendasolanabeach@sbcglobal.net
or Jeff Sturgis, jeffsturgis@me.com
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Books Needed for Tutoring Program
Gently used or new children’s books, from Dr. Seuss to young adult, needed for the Tutoring Program’s library. Please place books in a bag marked TUTORING and leave in the social room at St. James. Our students and tutors GREATLY appreciate your donations!
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Peanut Butter & Jelly
Donations Needed
Every Week!
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It takes a lot of peanut butter and jelly to make
1,000 sandwiches each week to feed the prisoners and homeless in Tijuana. Please leave your jars of creamy PB & any flavor Jelly in the social room under the sink at St. James.
Contact: Stephanie Kowack,
stephkowack@yahoo.com
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Travel Size Toiletries
Please save the travel-size toiletries
f
rom your hotel stays and leave them under the sink in the St. James social
room. The prisoners in the Tijuana jail will greatly appreciate them
.
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MC General Meeting –
Monday February 10
7:00 – 8:00 PM
St. James Church Gathering/Reading Room
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Mondays & Wednesdays
After-school Tutoring Program:
T
eens to retired adults, needed to assist pre-k to 8
th
grade students with homework and reading practice Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00-5:30 pm at St. Leo Mission. Tutoring schedule is flexible to accommodate our volunteers. Come for a visit and tour!
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Thursdays
Make PB & J Sandwiches for Prisoners & Homeless in Tijuana
10:00 AM – noon
(or until all sandwiches are made)
St. Leo kitchen –
Come join us! Drop-ins Welcome!
Contact: Stephanie Kowack,stephkowack@yahoo.com
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Fridays
Food Distribution at Encinitas
Community Resource Center (CRC)
New Volunteers always welcome!
2 shifts: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM & 12:00 – 2:00 PM
Encinitas Community Resource Center
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Maintenance & Crafts at Casa Eudes Girls Home,
Tijuana, Mexico
*
7:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Come join us!
Meet in St. James Parking Lot to carpool in the church van
Contact:
Jeff Sturgis,
*Must carry a valid US Passport Card (not a passport)
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“
Repurposing with a Purpose” work party!
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9
:00 – 11:00 AM
Teens, Young Adults, Adults
Need service hours? Volunteers ALWAYS welcome!
Donation Sheds – St. James parking lot. Join us as we organize donations for upcoming building and home furnishing projects.
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Saturdays March 14 & 28
Kitchen Project at Casa Eudes Girls Home, Tijuana (on-going
)
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