Greetings From The Appalachian Poverty Project February 2008
TheGreetings
January/February has brought about some
exciting changes for us. We have now collected over 200 appliances. We have long considered this to be the
milestone that would indicate our ability to endure ‘the long haul”. I believe
that we are here to stay.
We are partnering with other ministries in
supporting Appalachian missions. Already, eight to ten local missions are
sharing a warehouse and shipping facilities. More join us each month. We will
soon have a tractor/trailer on the road and are looking for more trailers.
The “prom dress” and the “cars for diplomas”
programs are underway and we are confident that they will help combat the 75%
HS dropout rate.
Water test kit is in hand and we will use
that to test drinking water for heavy metal contamination. I have not yet been
able to find a way to test for bacterial contamination. In Jenkin-Jones, WV, I
personally saw a plastic water supply line that was on top of the ground and
within three feet of an open sewer pit. The entire community gets their water
from this above ground pipe – each house connects to the pipe and runs water
backwards into their outside faucet. The water is not treated in any way.
We’ve been working on a new website for the
School For Life – the mission that we support in WV. For information about
their work and mission opportunities please visit http://www.schoolforlifeinc.com/
(Update—Jim Golden is taking over maintenance
of SFL’s website. Jim does this work professionally and has a server to host
the site, thereby saving money.)
For those of you that shop ‘online’ please
consider registering with IGIVE.COM. It costs no more and our project will
receive a percentage of your purchase – generally 1%-2% plus a one time $5
reward for registering and using igive.com. With many stores, like Sears, you
can pre-order online and pay the lower internet price when you pickup at the
store. You can also deduct from your
taxes the amount of the donation we receive. Year-end accounting is provided.
It’s a good deal for everyone. Please use this link to register - http://www.iGive.com/AppPovProj
When you register, we will be notified of
your support.
So far, only three people have registered and made purchases. Our total receipt from igive.com is $14. If our friends would register and use igive.com, the Appalachian Poverty Project would be assured adequate operating funds. (Another update. You can save $15 dollars on dinner at hundreds of local restaurants and donate $1 to APP at the same time. Register with igive.com and I’ll show you how) http://www.iGive.com/AppPovProj
WE NEED HELP!! Volunteers please step forward. Two gentlemen
have been helping on a regular basis. One is now scheduled for coronary stents
and the other needs surgery to repair cervical vertebrae. That leaves only my
wife and I. Surely there are some
retired men that can help out a few times a month. Please contact me ASAP if
you can help. Please don’t assume that someone else will do it – they won’t -
we need you!
The administrative burden increases. If we could keep up
with it, we could function much more efficiently. We are eligible for office space
at the Non-Profit Center in Westminster, but without any help it’s not worth
the cost of getting a desk to put there.
We need dog sitters. The cost of boarding two dogs is
currently $60 to $80 a day. I plan to
spend 4 weeks in WV this year, but cannot do so without some help. In the past,
Marie has had to stay behind to care for the dogs – this just isn’t right. If
someone will care for our dogs (or one of them) for a week at a time, it will
make it possible to us to make these trips as a couple.
So long for now. God bless you all.
Les and Marie Schaub
Blessed is he that considereth
the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will
preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and
thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will
strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his
sickness.
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