“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” John 20:21
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Jesus’ first post-resurrection words to his disciples were, “Peace be with you.” He repeats it and says, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” He then breathes the Holy Spirit out onto the disciples and instructs them about forgiveness. Forgiveness is about letting go of the past – all the wrongs against us, all our old ways of doing things, all our mistakes – and living into our new life. BCM is a place of new life. It is a place of redemption and renewal; a place where one’s past does not dictate one’s future. In addition to lives renewed and families restored, you will read in this addition of
The Way
stories of the ministry letting go, evolving, and living into a new life where we are being sent to new horizons to share the redemptive power of God’s love.
Happy Easter season!
Keeva Kase
President and CEO
Buckhead Christian Ministry
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It was with tremendous sadness that long-time BCM volunteer and Peachtree Road United Methodist Church member, Bill Walker, passed into the hereafter. Bill served with dedication and humility, quietly performing unglamorous tasks such as data-entry. His service to BCM, however, was critically important. Ensuring that BCM’s data was accurately inputted in a timely fashion allowed the professional case management staff to be better able to deliver BCM’s first-in-class services. For nearly a decade Bill served along with his wife Tricia. Bill will be missed by all of us at BCM, but we know he is with his Lord, “present and accounted for.” Bill’s obituary can be found
here
.
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A true story of a life renewed at BCM: “Melissa” is a working mother of 3 children. Despite having her master’s degree, she had trouble gaining employment in her field, so her income was simply too low to cover her household expenses. She and her children wound up homeless for four months. They came to BCM looking for help. Thanks to the investments of many of you this past year, BCM doubled the capacity of our housing program, so we had the capacity to onboard Melissa into the Foundation 3 program back in September. Through Foundation 3, Melissa gained childcare, which allowed her to focus on improving her skills and searching for employment in her field. BCM’s weekly case management taught Melissa how to budget for her household, which drastically decreased her expenses. Melissa gained assistance managing her credit and debt which led her to paying all her outstanding debt in February. And since December, Melissa gained two additional certifications that are generally requested by employers in her field.
In March, Melissa received an offer letter for a fulltime position in her field. The job pays over $50K along with comprehensive benefits and retirement. Praise God!
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In February, a Clayton County judge issued an abatement order against the owners of the West Cove apartments in College Park due to environmental violations related to spilling sewage into an adjacent creek. The tenants, who were not at fault, were nonetheless forced to vacate their homes within 48-hours. Although many of them were able to rapidly relocate with family or friends, ten families, made up of 34 individuals including 24 children, were going to become homeless. BCM was able to rapidly re-house the 10 households in a matter of days, just as we were able to do at the Darlington Apartments in Buckhead last summer. None of the families wound up homeless.
Click
here
to watch the CBS news story on the displacement.
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New Media Spotlights BCM’s Work
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BCM has been hard at work in the community responding to incidents such as the Darlington and West Cove mass displacements of our poorest neighbors and also working to reassure diverse communities that everyone is welcome at BCM. This has resulted in the growth of our media presence where we can share BCM’s mission with new audiences. Here are some of the stories that were covered in the last three months:
·
In
this clip
, BCM’s President and CEO, Keeva Kase, speaks to Rose Scott on NPR/WABE’s
Closer Look
. Following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Dr. Bernice King, Keeva’s interview begins at 23:47.
·
BCM was recently featured on the cover of the most widely distributed Spanish language newspaper in Atlanta,
Mundo Hispanico
, in which Keeva shared that BCM welcomes people of all backgrounds and has its materials in Spanish and boasts bilingual case management staff.
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Financial Literacy Gives Hope for Georgia’s Future
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Governor Kemp recently signed a proclamation making the month of April
Financial Literacy Month
for the state of Georgia. The proclamation exhorts all Georgians to “take personal responsibility for our long-term financial health and acquire financial skills that can improve the quality of our lives, contribute to positive change in our communities, and benefit the economy of this state.” BCM is a member of the GA Consortium for Personal Financial Literacy with
Budget for Life
. BCM’s Director of Financial Education, Michelle Ramirez, helped with the proclamation, and can be seen with the Governor in this photo (
far right
) when the proclamation was signed.
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Reimaging BCM’s Facilities
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If you are a regular at BCM you may have noticed a few new features and updated environs. Upstairs, we replaced 15-year-old carpet in the offices and interview rooms. The old file room, which housed 2,200 active case files, has been converted into a private three-person call center to better handle our call volume. (A big thank you to Gold Star Girl Scout, Emma Mayfield, for scanning in those 2200 paper files as we transitioned to a tablet-based system. And again, we want to acknowledge the Bob and Ann Holder for investing in BCM’s technology upgrades, which include the call center, tablet-based data collection, and much more). You may have also noticed the pantry. The cosmetics of the place are night and day – from the freshy painted walls and electric-BCM-blue floor to the addition of three new offices, a staff break room, and glass doors. Most importantly, we’ve begun the process of switching over to a “client-choice” pantry, meaning BCM’s guests will be able to select the food they want instead of receiving pre-selected items. And, down the street, the THRIFT
ique
is undergoing its expansion of more than 4,000 square feet. More on that soon.
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2019 Seeds of Change Society
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Click
here
to renew your sponsorship/membership for BCM’s women’s giving society –
Seeds of Change.
While there are several Seeds-exclusive volunteer opportunities throughout the year, the primary event is the annual member luncheon, held this year on April 24, at 11am at Westside Warehouse. Other opportunities to serve include the Budget for Life Graduation Celebrations in June & December and neighborhood coffees/happy hours.
Come join this group of dedicated women leaders!
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Save the date:
Tuesday, June 4
th
at 5pm
BCM will host a food truck rodeo in our parking lot to bring the BCM family together and engage the community in our work. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information on this and other upcoming events.
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Shop at Buckhead THRIFT
ique
to directly support BCM's Programs!
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Shop AmazonSmiles and Earn Donations for BCM
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BCM has partnered with Keller Williams "A Happy House".
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Give back to BCM while grocery shopping for your family!
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