November 2020 letter of thanks from IOA Executive Director, Shawne Farmer
Click here to read the letter!
First Presbyterian Church was a founding member of Interfaith Outreach Association when it began at its roots of Kum Bah Yah in 1982. Aside from annaul financial support, FPCLY participates annually in the IOA Thanksgiving Dinner program help shop and deliver Thanksgiving groceries to a family connected to IOA and by collecting toiletries and bed linens or towels. There are many other ways below that you and your family can serve alongside Interfaith Outreach.
Interfaith Outreach was birthed out of the old Kum Bah Yah which started as a recreational and tutoring program for inter city youth. In 1991, Interfaith Outreach became the new name in an effort to represent the multitude of faiths joining together to serve the community. IOA serves populations in the city of Lynchburg as well as Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell counties responding to needs of our neighbors through programs of education, guidance, and support. They have 5 key program areas
- Emergency Assistance—help to provide financial assistance with those in need of utility terminations, evictions, first month’s rent, security deposits for utilities, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and holiday assistance
- Interfaith Rebuilds—Interfaith Rebuilds provides simple home repairs for financially needy homeowners who are usually elderly and/or disabled. Many times these modifications, which include ramps, are necessary for needy individuals to be able to stay in their home. All of our work is done by volunteers so we are unable to assist with “emergency” repairs because projects are scheduled well in advance.
- Furniture and Furnishings—provides furniture and furnishings to families in need for a variety of reasons including a house fire or disaster that keeps them from their home
- Progreessive Release Program—The Progressive Release Program “educates and advocates.” It begins while clients are detained in the Blue Ridge Regional Jail and continues after their release. The program develops essential life skills, including anger management, employment training, personal finance and relationships and parenting, while acknowledging the difficulty of applying these skills in the real world. The program also offers Life Skills classes and Job Readiness classes and consultations helping ex-offenders locate, secure, and retain employment while addressing other outside challenges to employment.
- Vision Information and Programs—providing support and transportation to the visually impaired in the Central Virginia Region
- Heating Assistance for the Elderly
If you'd like to learn more about Interfaith Outreach Association or get involved, please contact
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
- Assist with the organization, maintenance, and operation of the furniture warehouse
- Volunteer to assist with life skills classes in the jail or assist with writing letters of hope to those who are incarcerated
- Volunteer to drive individuals who are blind to medical appointments and the grocery store
- Be a mentor to adults leaving jail who have graduated from our Progressive Release program; training is provided
- Help prepare mass mailings in our office — 3 or 4 times per year
- Organize a work crew to build a ramp or volunteer to work on simple home repairs for our Rebuilds program
- Donate items
- Good, usable furniture — especially mattresses, box springs, dressers, and kitchen tables
- Household cleaning supplies (i.e. sponges, disinfectant cleaners, buckets, brooms, dustpans, mops etc. — to be given to clients when they receive furniture)
- Individual (local) bus passes for clients released from jail
- Stamps and #10 envelopes to help with monthly mailings
- Toiletries for our client hygiene bags (shaving cream, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap)
- Copy paper, post it notes, pens, tape, staples, paper clips, 3 tab file folders, white-out, binder clips, garbage bags, Clorox wipes
- Home items (cutlery, new or gently used bed linens or towels)
MINISTRY CONTACT INFORMATION
- Website: https://www.interfaithoutreach.org/
- Executive Director, Shawne Farmer
