Status Update

We have to thank you all as a community for what you've done for us this year.

It's been a tough year, we must admit, with predictions mid-year of a $60,000 defecit. While we were proactive by cutting staff and expenses in anticipation of the shortfall, we'd also like to recognize those who stepped up to help close this gap, which has now narrowed to an anticipated $15,000.

In October, we received word that our Thanksgiving distribution to over 400 families was threatened. Our long-term supporter decided to shift focus to a local community, leaving our community to find alternative resources. You all stepped up, providing us with not only enough donations for this year, but some overflow to help lead us into next year as well.

As we look back on a year with such uncertainty, we cannot begin to thank you enough for all of you who have increased your giving. We had churches donate as much as 4 times the amount as last year. 3 churches designated $1500 to our programs (this is an increase from 2008 for all three), with another church conducting a special offering on Christmas Eve in our name.

And we cannot forget our individual donors, like the donor who called and let us know they would be sending us $2800 to support Thanksgiving programming and the countless other donors that dug deep to support us this year.

Thank you all for your teamwork, your efforts, your love, and your encouragement. We cannot keep our mission going without you.

Christmas program now completed!

Thank you to our community, we have now sponsored all families and children in our programs for Christmas.

The final numbers:
-868 children and 47 seniors served through our Stars program
-315 individuals served through our Family Sharing program

Thank you to all who stepped up in sponsoring our families in most need this holiday season.

Charlotte community comes together at Thanksgiving

We are thrilled to announce that the Charlotte community has pulled together to provide more than enough to feed 400 families in our community at Thanksgiving. We truly appreciate all you did to make this happen!

If you are still willing to donate, we would love for you to continue donating to our missions and education program in honor of Thanksgiving. This program provides for the educational needs of many, including afterschool tutoring and gang, drug, and alcohol education.

On a business note, we have literally been receiving donations faster than I can enter them in, so please give me 2 or 3 weeks to send out gift recognition letters. Know that we appreciate each one of your gifts so much, and want to give each one of you the special attention you deserve when thanking you for your endeavors!

Bethlehem Center Board Member takes top award with KPMG

Bethlehem Center board member Jim Geisel recently took home KPMG's Chairman's Award. The award is "the highest honor KPMG bestows on partners and employees who perform outstanding volunteer and ommunity service throughout the year," according to KPMG.

Only 26 individuals are selected for this award. These individuals are selected based on their actions holding out KPMG's "commitment to communities." As part of this award, KPMG donated $1000 to Bethlehem Center in Jim's honor.

Geisel joined the Bethlehem Center board of directors in early 2009.

Pictured below working in Ghana:

How every gift counts

Dear friends and readers,

I'm sitting here at 4 o'clock after a day that consisted entirely of entering gifts into the database. Something that I loathe and love all at once. Loathe, because it's about the most boring thing ever. Love, because it means that you all as a community have been generous to the Bethlehem Center and furthering our work here.

About 10 minutes ago, I was handed 3 checks that I feel are an amazing demonstration of how each gift given to the Bethlehem Center counts for so much.

One check was for $130,000, one for $1,000 and one for $20.

Each gift was designated for a different area, each gift making an equal impact on the areas they were designated to.

The $130,000 will be put towards a down payment on our new ministry center on N. Sharon Amity. We are hoping to open this as a fully functioning ministry center for 50 kids next fall. In addition to our afterschool programs, we are hoping to offer Bible classes and Christian summer camps for the kids.

The $1000 will go towards our general fund. This fund is important because it supports the administrative expenses and overhead that allow us to do what we do. Without the lights turned on or maintenance to the buildings done, we wouldn't be able to operate efficiently.

The $20 will go towards funding the turkeys that we distribute to the families in the area. We will be able to purchase each of those for around $5, so the $20 gift will help 4 families in need.

One of the reasons I (Amy) came to work here is the simple fact that every gift--and I mean every gift--makes a difference and has a purpose here. Your gifts are felt.

Our new online donation tool through justgive.org has a feature that I encourage you all to utilize. You can now give gifts monthly. Did you know that just a $50 gift every month would put you in our top 10 individual (non-corporate) donors? Please help us continue our mission of providing educational opportunities to our children in the community.

Volunteer Spotlight-Premier

Thank you to Premier for coming out on November 2nd. Volunteers sealed the wood on the playgrounds to bring them up to code and cleaned out our warehouse to consolidate two warehouses and save money on rent.

Speaking Engagements

Bethlehem Center representatives are available for speaking at your club, church, circle, or other group.

Here is the calendar through 2009:

November 17th-Rotary, Lake Wylie
November 18th-Aldersgate UMW
December 2nd-Rotary, South Park


If you would like to schedule a speaker for your event, call Amy at 704-371-7404 or e-mail ahutchison@bethlehemcenter.org.