Our Work
FAMILIES HELPING FAMILIESTM (A DIVISION OF MISSION AIR SERVICE)
You Can Make a Difference to a Family in Need by Providing a Family Food Box!
Who we help:
Needy families in the local San Diego area. This includes the homeless, unemployed, single-parent families, senior citizens, etc. Every person or family whor eceives a box from us has been personally recommended to us by one of our family food captains or by trusted acquaintances.
Why we help:
Due to the current economic crisis, the needs in our community have risen at a much greater rate than we have seen in decades, perhaps in our lifetime. Juxtaposed tothe increased need is a decrease in charitable donations because of more limitedresources. We want to reach out to these hurting people who often feel lonely, unneeded,unloved, and abandoned. This is a tangible way to help and to show we care.
What we do:
Distribute a box filled with food and supplies
Distribute children’s gift bags
Include a note of encouragement in everything we distribute
Ways you can help:
Have a Food Drive. Mission Air Service will supply your church, school, business, or organization with food boxes, food collections containers, and other materials needed for your food drive.Purchase food to pack a box on your own from our list of standard items: cereal, canned corn, green beans, fruit, chicken soup, macaroni and cheese, toilet tissue, powdered milk, and tuna.Donate money, and we will purchase the food.
$45.00 will purchase food for a family food box. Some items included in the boxes are donated by corporations; others are purchased in bulk at wholesale prices with significant savings
$8.00 will provide a gift bag for a child. The look of joy on the face of a child receiving a gift bag is a wonder in itself. We have even seen children take the gift bags to bed with them – it is something to call their own.
We sincerely ask for your prayers for these people, who are in desperate need of support, love, and hope for the future. Thank you for your caring and support during this current economic crisis.
When we partner together, miracles happen!
MILITARY FAMILY ASSISTANCE
Who we help:
Military families who are left behind while their loved ones are serving our country, wounded military personnel at Naval Medical Center –San Diego, and Fisher House (the military version of Ronald McDonald House), and women who become new moms while their husbands are overseas.
Why we help:
We live in an expensive region of the United States. Sometimes, military families on the low-end of the enlisted pay scale struggle to pay rent and utilities. As a result, they have little left for food. We try to provide extra support around the holidays since this can often be a time of loneliness when far away from home.
What we do:
Distribute family food boxes to families determined by military personnel
Give children’s gift packs to children at special military events
Provide a “New Mom’s Homecoming Package” to women who have babies while their husbands are overseas (We give these at the Homecoming celebration.)
Give a shoebox sized gift package to Wounded Warriors, patients at Naval Hospital, and those at Fisher House
Involve military families in helping us pack emergency supplies in response to disasters at home and around the world
Ways you can help:
$45.00 will purchase food for a family food box. Some items included in the boxes are donated by corporations; others are purchased in bulk at wholesale prices with significant savings.
$8.00 will provide a gift bag for a child. The look of joy on the face of a child receiving a gift bag is a wonder in itself. We have even seen children take the gift bags to bed with them – it is something to call their own.
$12.00 will provide a gift box (the size of a shoebox) for Wounded Warriors, patients at Naval Hospital, and those at Fisher House.
$35.00 will provide a Homecoming package given to the wives of personnel returning from overseas who became new moms during the deployment.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM
Our ability to respond to emergencies is an important facet of this ministry. We go into a community, assess the immediate needs, and formulate an action plan of practical assistance to meet those needs. In the past, we have ministered to communities devastated by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, floods, famine and over-thrown governments – as well as at school shootings.
Our Response Team is comprised of:
Volunteers who are specialists in the fields of:
Pastoral care (adults, youth, and children)
Education
Counseling
Special needs (e.g. homelessness, medical, hunger, transportation, etc.)
Volunteers who have demonstrated the ability to deal with local issues before being exposed to the trauma of emergencies in other communities.
We have discovered that at the time of tragedy (or even joyous celebrations), people pull together and experience an emotional/spiritual connection that transcends the normal experience. Once back in the humdrum of daily existence, the connectedness falls by the wayside and people often stumble or plunge emotionally and/or spiritually. To this end, we help establish on- going ways of connecting with others that stabilizes the fall subsequent to periods of intense emotion. Our goal is to be there for the long haul, not just for a short time following the trauma.
"…So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contribution to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." ~ Romans 12:5-8
As people with varied gifts, we seek to work together and combine these talents to bring glory to God and service to our neighbors.