I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
From Psalm 121
Help for those in need comes from the Lord.
CCC Local
Outreach ministry partner First Glance has many committed staff people and
volunteers devoted to providing help for young people in need in Akron’s
Kenmore area. Some come to the First Glance youth center in need of clothing or
food. Because these are recurring needs, First Glance staffers began thinking
about the long term potential of these youth.
God’s people can lift up others by encouraging them to lift up their
eyes to the Lord.
Perhaps
you’ve heard this saying:
Give a man a fish and
he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.
This is the
principle on which First Glance affiliate organization FG Solutions was
founded. FG Solutions creates job and
training opportunities for those students and young adults who need help in
Kenmore – those who need to learn how to earn a living. FG Solutions also gives
them Christ-focused emotional and spiritual support in that learning
process. They learn to live out Psalm
121.
An FG Solutions worker converts bulk goods into salable SKUs, or stock keeping units
The Lord has provided.
In its
first year, FG Solutions provided roughly a quarter of a million dollars of
income to 77 employees as they have learned how to earn a living. FG Solutions does contract packaging – work
that is outsourced by local companies. And, it does 'Packaging with a Purpose' - helping its students and young adults get prepared to earn a living.
Just as with First Glance, FG Solutions is all about the long term relationships formed
And there is more to be done.
The
ultimate goal of FG Solutions is to train people up with experience, and then
help them gain employment beyond FG Solutions.
So, FG Solutions, with about one year of experience under its belt, is
looking for companies that need to hire workers with experience in just-in-time
packaging services.
Likewise,
FG Solutions would like to expand its base of contract packaging customers.
This would allow more people to benefit from the training and life skills
counseling offered by FG Solutions administrators Tim Beck and Rob Abel. It
would also allow those customers to reduce their packaging costs while enjoying
24 hour turnaround. One firm had several
thousands of dollars of ‘dead money’ inventory in bulk shipping pallets, but no
staff to repackage it. FG Solutions converted the inventory to salable goods by
quickly and cost-effectively repackaging it into retail packaging, ready to be
shipped and billed.
Furthermore, FG
Solutions is constantly looking for more efficiency in its operations. For
example, any donations of the following types of equipment would help the
organization be competitive yet employ more people.
A bagging machine with a level of
automation
A foot-operated bag sealer
Wire racks
Where might I come in?
Perhaps you
have some ideas on how FG Solutions might gain additional customers or acquire
more equipment. Or, ultimately, how you
might be able to offer employment to recent FG Solutions graduates. If you
would like to learn more, please contact:
CCC's Local Outreach team at barbara.ammirati@ccchapel.com or
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