FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (Oct. 3, 2011) Troy and Theodora Polamalu, faithful Orthodox Christians, have joined FOCUS North America to “tackle” poverty.

 

The online and texting TacklePoverty.org campaign, which runs from Sept. 26, 2011 to Feb. 5, 2012, hopes to inspire 10,000 people to take action and help those in need.

 

“We’ve kicked off to a solid start in an effort to reach 10,000 now let’s go further,” Troy Polamalu said. “Together we can tackle poverty!”

 

Here’s how it works: Visit TacklePoverty.org to learn about the many ways FOCUS NA is working to help the poor nationwide. Watch Troy and Theodora’s video messages, make a donation, and put together a team of friends to tackle poverty. Tacklers will win cool prizes while creating much needed awareness about the plight of the working poor. Get 25 friends to donate and win a Tackle Poverty T-shirt. Inspire 43 friends to donate and get a signed Polamalu poster. With 100 friends donating, you get a signed Polamalu jersey (#43) and have your name put in the drawing to win Steelers home game tickets! You can also text “Troy” to 52000 to make a $10 donation.

 

You can see the Tackle Poverty campaign on Troy’s Facebook and Twitter sites. Check in with Troy each week as he reminds fans of the importance of this worthwhile effort to help the poor. With over 1.8 million Facebook fans and 275,000 Twitter followers, the response could make a huge difference in the lives of working poor individuals!

 

"This is a great opportunity to inspire friends, coworkers, and others you know to join with you in helping the poor at a time when 15% of our neighbors in America are below the poverty line,” FOCUS NA Executive Director Fr. Justin Mathews said. “If you have a heart to help the poor, you can inspire others too.”

 

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Visit TacklePoverty.org to start making a difference!

Volunteers are impacted as much if not more than those they serve. This week Everyday Icons talks to a volunteer and how he has been touched by serving through FOCUS North America.

 

On Thursday September 1^st, FOCUS ReEngage was donated 500 pieces of business attire from Men’s Warehouse. “We received over 150 suits, 72 sport jackets and 90 plus pairs of slacks. We also received dress shirts and ties,” ReEngage director Rodney Knott said.

 

 The amount of articles came as a shock to Knott as he was originally only expecting 75 pieces. But in the final week leading up to the donation date, articles just started flowing in, “over the week folks just started donating,” Knott said. And just like that, God provided, and 75 pieces turned into 500 pieces.

           

The purpose of the suits is to be a gift given to men who graduate from Knott’s Man Class. “[It’s] to provide interview clothes for men who graduate and go on to pursue employment,” Knott said.

           

The goal of the class is to take men off the streets and out of hopelessness, leading them to have hope for their future. The suits are one more step of the process to help the men do that. 

           

Though 500 pieces came in, Knott explained that more is still needed, especially in the way of dress shirts and ties. The class is growing and with that growth there are more graduates and a greater need for suits.

           

Currently, with the help of three volunteers, Knott is in the process of sorting, separating, and sizing the items from Men’s Warehouse in anticipation for the next class. 

           

Sarah and Bart came to the FOCUS center in St. Louis without jobs. Through having access to the computer and technical help, they both gained employment and computer skills. Bart even went on to enroll in online school for computer technology!

FOCUS North America’s ReEngage program is fighting for hopeless and hurting men who have lost a vision for their lives. The Man Class is a component of ReEngage that is laying the foundation to begin that fight. Get an explanation for what the Man Class is and what it is seeking to do. ReEngage Director Rodney Knott gives his insight into the beginnings of the class and outlines its goals. With your support this class can expand to several FOCUS centers and take the fight nationwide, instilling hope and a future for the men of America’s urban core.

 

FOCUS North America’s ReEngage program is fighting for hopeless and hurting men who have lost a vision for their lives. The Man Class is a component of ReEngage that is laying the foundation to begin that fight. Get an explanation for what the Man Class is and what it is seeking to do. ReEngage Director Rodney Knott gives his insight into the beginnings of the class and outlines its goals. With your support this class can expand to several FOCUS centers and take the fight nationwide, instilling hope and a future for the men of America’s urban core.

 

DALLAS, TX [OCA]

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Dmitri, 87, retired Archbishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South, fell asleep in the Lord at his home here at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning, August 28, 2011.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, and many priests and faithful had kept vigil in Dallas during Archbishop Dmitri’s final days.  The Metropolitan was to have traveled to the Czech Republic with a delegation from the Orthodox Church in America, but remained in Dallas to be with the Archbishop.

Funeral services will be celebrated at Dallas’ Saint Seraphim Cathedral—the parish Archbishop Dmitri founded as a mission shortly after his ordination in 1954.  Days and times will be posted at oca.org as they are received.

May His Memory Be Eternal!

Read more on www.OCA.org

Chris and Triana tell their story of job loss, having a baby while living in their car, and finding FOCUS Orange County. Through you generous support, Chris and Triana have found a safe place to start over. Please pray for this young family as they seek out employment and stability.

Often it is our young people who inspire us to be better at welcoming a stranger, give more freely of our belongings, and take more time for those in need.

 

Tegan Salaris, an eight-year-old girl from St. Louis, is just such a person.

 

When Tegan approached her parents with the idea to do a collection of items for FOCUS Gateway City in St. Louis, they were interested in her idea and excited by her enthusiasm. Tegan called FOCUS Gateway City Director Eric Shanburn and asked what supplies he might need for the many homeless and working poor individuals who frequent the weekly community meal at the Center.

 

"Tegan wanted to do a collection for FOCUS," Fr. Steven Salaris, Tegan's father, said. "Her mother and I just let her go for it."

 

And Tegan did. She decided she would enlist the help of her school summer camp at Chesterfield Montessori School. She worked out the collection details with her school and with Shanburn.

 

Fr. Salaris said Tegan did most of the work herself, including making and distributing flyers and arranging for notes to be sent home to parents explaining her project. At the end of the two-week drive, Tegan had motivated her fellow students to overload two large bins with socks, toiletries, underwear and other necessities.

 

"We are so proud of her," Fr. Salaris said. "This project came out of her own desire to help others and it is a testimony also to our mission and their support of FOCUS." All Saints of North America Antiochian Orthodox Mission in St. Louis is Tegan's home church and they have been very supportive of FOCUS Gateway City.

 

The best part of the whole project, Fr. Salaris said, was when Tegan got to deliver the items to the FOCUS Center.

 

"People lined up to receive the items and they were very grateful," Fr. Salaris said. "Tegan got to see that the stuff she had collected was really needed and would be put to use. It was a great experience for her."