We have many volunteers at Cornerstone, and God uses them mightily to accomplish His plans. Sheila Daniels, who volunteers with New Creations and The Promise House, wrote this and we wanted to share it with you as National Volunteer Month comes to an end.

First, I thank you, Lord, for everything you have done in my life- especially in the last three months. Thank you for always being there for me in good and bad times. Your faithfulness is why volunteering my time to help others is so important to me.

I’ve never before felt so strongly that I was in the right place at the right time. God is so good for bringing Coyletta Govan back into my life as my mentor. Her spirit works overtime for everyone, especially for women- which is perfect, because Coyletta is the Housing Coordinator for The Promise House, a loving home environment for women released from prison.

Since Coyletta came back into my life, I’ve begun volunteering at The Promise House and I cannot say enough about it. The women who live there are changing their lives and working hard to better themselves. I’ve learned much each of them, and through God they have stolen my heart. Every woman is different, but I love them all. I am excited to say they are well equipped in God’s word, which is very important.

After church one Sunday, we went to The Promise House and had dinner with the ladies before painting most of the house. What a wonderful afternoon filled with love and laughter! My spirit led me to go to work the next day and take off the rest of the week to help Coyletta and Lori wherever they needed me. So I did. I would get there every morning as early as possible and stay until it was time for all volunteers to leave. Let me tell you, I enjoyed every minute of cleaning, painting, cooking, and making sure the women had transportation to get around. I’ve never felt my spirit jump up so high because of the joy in my heart. God has shown me my purpose in ministry and in life is working for Him as a volunteer at The Promise House. I love volunteering to help anyway God leads me to do so.

Thank you, Father God, for the week I had with my sisters at the Promise House. It was truly amazing. I love every woman in the house with all my heart. I know that The Promise House is just the beginning of what God is getting ready to do through Cheryl, Kelly, and my mentor, Coyletta Govan. The power she has in women’s ministry is God-sent. I am happy to be a part of the new creation of the Promise House. I give God all the glory.

Sincerely,

Sheila Daniels

In honor of National Volunteer Month, we want to highlight Janet Powers, the Site Coordinator for Cornerstone Christian Women’s Job Corps (CCWJC). She is a full-time volunteer and is making a huge difference in the lives of many women. Read her thoughts about her journey with Cornerstone below.

My original thought was to fill some time in my week through volunteerism. I had volunteered many times over the last 40 years but it was hit and miss with no real commitment. When I came to Cornerstone, I thought volunteering would just take up some of my time in a very slow commercial real estate market. What I immediately felt was a calling to do more- and I was willing. What I did not expect was a direct call from God asking me to turn toward Him and follow the path He was laying out for me. I began to read to gain further understanding about the clients we serve. I knew instinctively this calling was real and I felt so comfortable changing my entire life to fit His design. I brought with me lots of skills- none of which I saw a need for within CCWJC, and the skills I thought I needed to lead CCWJC, I did not think I had. But as I learned, God equips those he calls. So I trust my voice to reflect His direction, and while I have struggled with how to do this exactly right, I have been open to the changes and ideas He lays on my heart. It truly is an evolving process to be a committed volunteer. There is an ethic to volunteerism; the same as a work ethic. The best volunteers are those who recognize it’s not about filling their time; it is about taking their time and committing it to being a disciple for Christ- the reason we exist.

-Janet Powers

I had an elderly woman come in seeking utility assistance. Her husband passed away several years ago, and she's been having a difficult time keeping everything in order regarding her electricity bill. Due to the numerous snow days, her current and past-due charges amounted to nearly $1000! Although we couldn't cover the entire amoung, we offered 50% assistance if she would be able to cover the rest. One of this lady's personal friends advocated significantly for her and was able to obtain pledges for the necessary funds through several other agencies. Due to this heroic effort, I was pleased to make a pledge for the final amount. It was a blessing to behold God's provision for this lady in the form of a true friend who did a wonderful job of advocating!

A single father of one just started the new hire process for a full time job with overtime availability. This has been a big answer to prayer, as he has been discouraged in his search for a job for quite some time. He was also able to secure a new vehicle after a wreck in February.

One of our program participants is learning how to set boundaries with extended family members. She is recognizing the importance of putting her own family first and providing for the needs of her children. It's exciting to see the changes this is bringing about in her immediate family.

Each Warm Fuzzies post is a compilation straight from our case managers, telling the amazing things God is doing at Cornerstone in the lives of those we are privileged to serve. To God be all the glory!

One of our ladies has been working to get back on her feet for the past few months. Her children had been sick, causing her to miss work, and the snow days of early February took a toll. She was in a cycle that she was unable to break on her own. Cornerstone was able to help and kept this single mom and two kids in their apartment.

A family was recently referred to us by one of our partner churches. The husband had been diagnosed with cancer and had required surgery to have a tumor removed. The thousands of dollars in medical bills led them to the brink of eviction. HPRP at Cornerstone was able to step in and get them back on their feet.

One of our clients was hit with a huge electric bill. She paid it, but was unable to meet her rent. Cornerstone was able to help with short-term rental assistance to help her get back on her feet quickly and avoid further trouble.

Each Warm Fuzzies post is a compilation straight from our case managers, telling the amazing things God is doing at Cornerstone in the lives of those we are privileged to serve. To God be all the glory!

Health Services...to serve the patient needs with dignity and love in a way that God is glorified in the service given. That has been the spirit of the clinic for many years.

And now God has gifted the clinic with the resources to reach more patients. Due to the generous grants of Tarrant County Indigent Care Planning Committee (TCICPC) and AstraZeneca Foundation, the clinic is now in rapid expansion mode. One of the first actions taken was the hiring of a Director of Health Services, Lorene McCoy. Lorene comes to CAN with a lengthy background in sales and marketing in the pharmaceutical industry. In her previous role, she had extensive experience in administration and policy development, qualities that are essential for laying the ground work of an expanding medical clinic.

The grant from TCICPC will allow Cornerstone to expand services and reach more patients. The AstraZeneca Foundation grant will allow the development of cardiac care for our patients. Serving a largely Hispanic community, we will develop a sustainable cardiac and diabetic clinic complete with nutritional education and exercise programs. This program will partner with the soon to be completed commercial kitchen.

Aside from all the administrative changes taking place, you will see a new look to the Medical Clinic. The Cataract Procedure Room, made possible by the generosity of Alcon Labs, is nearly completed. With the completion of the procedure room, CAN will be the first (and maybe only) free cataract procedure facility in Texas. Possibly for the first time, uninsured patients with severe cataracts will now be able to see and function more independently. What a blessing to restore sight.

There are many pieces of the puzzle needed to complete the expansion of the Medical Clinic. One important piece of the puzzle is the official designation of Dr. Rebeca Mayol-Sharp as the Medical Director of the clinic. Dr. Sharp has been functioning unofficially in that role for 8 years and was recently approved by the Board to that position.

Another integral piece will be obtaining malpractice insurance for all the volunteer staff. The application process for Federal Tort Claims Act Malpractice will be submitted shortly and will provide free malpractice insurance for all volunteer staff and paid employees. Finally and most importantly, volunteer medical professionals and bilingual office personnel are needed. The clinic needs additional volunteer physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Physican’s Assistants, nurses and medical technologists. As we continue to expand the clinic, more administrative personnel will be needed. These volunteers should have computer skills and preferably be bilingual. If you have an interest in serving in the Health Services Division, contact Lorene at 817-632-6000.

Lorene McCoy
Director of Health Service
817-632-6000

It was a very productive year at the New Life Center. Two of our residents graduated college this year. One graduated from Tarrant County College with an Associate Degree and the other graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from TCU and finished #1 in his class. He will be attending graduate school this fall at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Several clients established new relationships with mentors. Two were baptized. One celebrated six months sobriety for the first time in his life and an average of 9 clients attended a monthly Bible study at the NLC for 5 months. We are looking forward to several more graduations in 2011. Please pray that God will continue to move at the New Life Center this year.

Mark Boerger
New Life Center
mboerger@canetwork.org

My new role as Director of Network Development gives me the opportunity to assist local churches and organizations with the resources they need in order to better meet the needs of those that God sends their way. Please contact me if you’d like to learn more about becoming a Network Partner, the services we provide, or to set up a tour of Cornerstone’s offices and Ministry Center.

Jesse Vasquez
Director of Network Development
817.632.6012

Has God given you a heart to serve others? Are you looking for a place to plug into ministries
designed to help people in need? Do you want to use your gifts, talents, knowledge, and experience to bless others?

Cornerstone Assistance Network may have just the place for you! In 2010, we saw over 700 individual volunteers provide over 10,000 hours of volunteer service throughout our ministries. In 2011, we hope to exceed those numbers significantly as we see more and more men and women following God’s call on their lives to build His Kingdom on earth by serving others.

Please take time to check out the volunteer page and prayerfully consider whether the Lord is calling you to fill one of these needs. For more information about ways volunteers are making a difference at Cornerstone or to schedule a tour of our facilities for yourself, your family, or your small group, please contact me. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Kristen Horton
Director of Volunteers
817.632.6022

For the Cornerstone Housing Development Corporation, 2010 has been a year of sowing for a harvest. We not only received final approval to build our first 3 homes, we have almost completed the process to start building our next 3 homes. 2011 will be a year where we will reap the harvest of our hard work. We anticipate that we will build 8 to 10 homes this year for low-income families. It is exciting to see what God has in store for this new ministry at Cornerstone.

Philip Posey
Director of Cornerstone Housing Development Corporation
817.632.6014

Join us in welcoming Coyletta Govan, Women’s Reentry Housing Coordinator!! All of God’s Promises are Yes and Amen. March was an exciting month for New Creations Women’s Reentry Services. Promise House is now a reality. We will be transforming a property into The Promise House beginning in March with an open house to follow in a couple a months.

We are also starting to recruit the women at Dawson State Jail for the reentry mentoring program. If you are interested in serving as a mentor please contact us. (See our web site for more information.)

Please keep the New Creations Team and the women we serve and will serve in your prayers.

Kelly Purselley
New Creations Mentoring Director
817.632.6000

The Lord blessed us with more opportunities than ever in 2010 to help individuals and families in need! In 3CP (family transitional housing) we walked alongside 44 families as they moved towards self-sufficiency. The Homeless Prevention program was able to keep 65 families from becoming homeless by providing short term rental assistance. Our intake case managers sat down with nearly 800 individuals that came in seeking assistance and took over 8,000 calls providing referrals! Our goal in 2011 is based off of Romans 14: To help those in need see that it’s not about what “stuff” you do/don’t have, but to realize that true success is based on “what God does with your life as He sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy.”

Taryn Freeze
Supportive Services
817.632.6018

Spring 2011 Newsletter

20 YEARS!!!!!!!!! That is right; God is starting His 20th year of ministry through Cornerstone Assistance Network. I will start my 20th year on April 1, 2011. I am positive I never thought I would be writing to you mentioning starting year 20. I remember asking God (and Kay) on April 1, 1992, what do I do now? Cornerstone was brand new thanks to the vision of North Richland Hills Baptist Church (NRHBC). NRHBC put $30,000 in their budget to start Cornerstone as a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation beginning in 1992. That first year started without an office, assets, employees, or recognition, but with a $30,000 budget, and 5 clients. BUT GOD had bigger plans.

In 2011:

• We office in 50,000 square feet of beautiful office space that houses our programs, clients, cars, and trucks,
• We have a $2.3 million dollar annual budget, and a small endowment,
• 21 full-time and 9 part-time employees, yet maintain 9% administrative costs and never having had an audit finding,
• We are nationally recognized as one of the five most effective Faith Based Intermediaries in the United States (study by The Hudson Institute),
• In 2010, we served 4,479 new clients, with 47,484 units of service and were helped by 768 individual volunteers who provided 10,350 hours of their time, valued at $212,698 (based on the per hour amount allowed by the IRS.)

Please read the related blog articles ("What's going on at CAN with...") because you will be amazed at what God has and is doing through you and Cornerstone. Thank you for your continued support of His Work. Keep us in your prayers as we believe God to finish the final phase of His capital campaign. He will provide the final $1,800,000 to His Glory.

Serving Him Together,

Mike Doyle
CEO of Cornerstone

A married father of 3 totaled his newly purchased truck on the way to work during the ice storm. This was the only vehicle the family had and caused a major setback since one of his jobs is not on the bus line. He works two jobs and his wife works full-time as well. Transportation became extremely difficult and expensive without their truck. They were able to purchase another vehicle to replace the truck and are hoping to become more stable with their transportation in the future.

One of our ladies successfully completed the program she was in and has moved into an apartment within walking distance from her place of employment. She is committed to being successful and is utilizing all of the tools learned while in the program to get to that end. She expresses her thankfulness to God for increasing her strength, courage and confidence during this time in her life.

One of our men identified his struggle with addiction and has been admitted into treatment. He is in an inpatient Christian facility and will remain there until he has gained the coping skills necessary for his recovery. His plan is to become gainfully employed so that he can return to his family and be a productive example to his children.

A single mother of 2 earned a $.50 raise on her job which will allow her to continue moving forward since exiting our program in March.

One of our newer clients came into 3CP from a domestic violence situation and struggled with feeling hopeless and alone. In the past month, everything started to come together for her. She was able to find employment and has found friends and encouragement through several programs in her neighborhood church. She has been encouraging her daughter’s spiritual growth and at our last home visit they had made a scripture wall to look at whenever they needed encouragement. It’s been amazing to see God at work through the local church!

Each Warm Fuzzies post is a compilation straight from our case managers, telling the amazing things God is doing at Cornerstone in the lives of those we are privileged to serve. To God be all the glory!