Stories of Doing Good
It’s what we’re here for.
“It was a God thing.”
Lilian and Cameron share how ClearView and friends came through for them in a time of need.
The Forgiveness Project
$2.3 MILLION OF LOCAL MEDICAL DEBT ELIMINATED
In Fall 2020, we challenged our members to raise $15,000 to go toward local and currently-owed medical debt. Around the country, 42.9 million people have unpaid medical debt, including many of our friends and neighbors in Shreveport-Bossier.
The impact of having medical debt beyond your ability to pay plays out like ripples in a pond. First there is the stress of bills piling up and constant calls from debt collectors. Next comes a drop in your credit score and perhaps even personal bankruptcy – medical debt is now the number one reason. Most with unpaid medical debts postpone future medical care, creating greater health risks. Most also report increased symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Not only did we meet the goal, we exceeded it! The Forgiveness Project raised $18,500. In partnership with RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit medical debt buyer, this has allowed us to abolish debts for 987 recipients in our area, totaling $2,361,594.76 forgiven. Recipients were notified via mail that their debts were forgiven in Jesus’ name and that the debts were removed from their credit scores as well.
All In for Purchased
OVER $15,000 RAISED DURING ALL IN FOR PURCHASED!
Purchased: Not For Sale, a ministry of The Hub, is a two year trauma-informed residential recovery program for women coming out of the sex industry and victims of sex trafficking. Those served are given access to education, spiritual direction, and professional counseling.
But The Hub had a vision for Purchased to accomplish even more. In 2019 they purchased a building that, with renovation, could serve as the site for all that Purchased currently offers plus a new social enterprise that would provide on-site job training and employment opportunities for graduates of Purchased.
When we heard the idea, we had to jump in. ClearView members gave $15,143, enough to frame and drywall the interior, jump-starting their Phase 1 goal of getting the building renovated and ready for use.
In partnership with Rhino Coffee, the new building is now Shreveport’s premier coffee roasting facility. In time, they hope it will also become a commercial bakery.
Ending Modern Day Slavery
There’s a little boy forced to do dangerous work on a fishing boat on Lake Volta in east Ghana. It’s been 2 years since he saw his family.
There’s a family forced to work in a brick kiln to pay back a small loan. Every day they get further behind.
There’s a little girl in a brothel, stolen by traffickers who’ve turned sexual violence into a business.
These are examples of modern day slavery. It’s estimated that 27 million people are enslaved today. And each of these victims has a name, a face, a story. They are known by God, loved by God, and made in His image.
In October 2018 we felt called to a new campaign of generosity and justice on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable. In 3 weeks, we raised over $12,000 and partnered with International Justice Mission to fund two investigations, raids, and rescues. Justice is worth fighting for.
After the Storm (& the next one)
No one wants a disastrous storm, but there is something holy and sacred about helping one another clean-up. We hope that our showing up is a reminder of God’s love and ongoing work of restoration.
After Hurricane Harvey we sent two teams of relief workers to Houston and Beaumont and donated over $2,000 to families starting over.
That same year, after Hurricane Maria, we partnered with Convoy of Hope to help those in Puerto Rico.
Locally, we’ve had opportunities to help after flooding, and in 2019 we cleared downed trees following back to back tornadoes in Ruston and Bethany.
We all face storms. Sometimes they’re literal. Either way, we’re called to do unto others as we’d want done to us. Showing up after a storm is a holy act.
More stories of doing good
Even Kids Make a Difference
One of the most joyful things we do each year is called Summer Serve. As a shared experience, kids and parents decorate flower pots and fill them with beautiful plants. Then we deliver these as gifts for residents at a local senior living center. It’s hard to say what the seniors love more – their unique gift or the super-cute kids making the delivery!
Spreading Christmas Cheer
Every Christmas we do something to help others and push past the materialism of the holiday season. In recent years, we’ve had the opportunity to bless local families in need, we’ve dressed up as Santa more than once, and we’ve sent hundreds of gifts around the world through Operation Christmas Child. What better time of year for parents to teach their children that it’s better to give than to receive?
Socktober
Since 2017, we’ve been part of Socktober each – you guessed it – October. Socks are one of the most needed, least donated care items at shelters around the country.
It’s a small way to do good, but little things add up. We’ve collected and donated over 1,000 pairs of socks for local partners.
Sevenfold Giving Campaign
In October 2017 we identified 7 areas of critical importance and announced the Sevenfold Giving Campaign. We were celebrating our 7th birthday as a church and thought it appropriate to turn the milestone into additional blessings to 7 organizations that we’d previously partnered with, one making a real difference in each area.
The end result was incredible. Over $9,000 was given in just 3 weeks to fund everything from a clean water project around the world to helping the homeless in our own downtown.
I Was Hungry and You Fed Me
Did you know that Louisiana has the 3rd highest food insecurity rate in the country?
This is what poverty looks like in our own backyard – 1 of every 5 children, families, and seniors in our community cannot say with certainty that they will have enough food for the week.
In January 2016, we were able to partner with hunger-relief organization Numana, several area churches, universities, and community groups for a meal-packing event called FeedSBC.
In one day, volunteers at LSUS and BPCC packed over 100,000 meals for the hungry in our community!
The Refugee Crisis
Millions of refugees have been forced from their homes in Syria.
Recent media attention has heightened awareness about a problem years in the making: the worst refugee crisis since WWII. Hospitality is one of the greatest Christian virtues, and great is the opportunity to love these orphans, widows, and vulnerable families, many of whom will be encountering Christianity for the first time.
In late 2015, we raised and donated funds for 2 refugee families – resettling in Europe and being ministered to there by a local church – to secure new housing and a new start.
The Gospel for a War-Torn Country
Robert and Teague Meyer, and their boys Efesson and Biruk, serve on a church-planting team in Angola. 2002 marked the end of over 40 years of war in Angola and the beginning of rapid growth and development.
The Meyers arrived in 2011, and we’ve been blessed to support their work prayerfully and financially since then. It’s a great work – equipping Angolan Christians to plant and lead urban churches – and we’re glad to call them friends.
How Peanut Butter Makes a Better World
Did you know that malnutrition kills 4 million children every year? That’s more than die from malaria, AIDS, and tuberculosis – combined.
Thank God for peanut butter (seriously). When mixed with vitamins, peanut butter makes a perfect ready-to-use-therapeutic food (RUTF).
This “peanut butter on steroids” is the best answer yet to severe acute malnutrition. Three packets per day for about a month cures 94% of kids forever. In September 2013 we worked to raise awareness throughout the community. In 4 weeks, we were able to raise over $5,500, enough for 13,000 packets of RUTF and 100 lives saved!
Sugeries that Restore Life
CURE International is a nonprofit that operates hospitals around the world, providing life-changing surgeries for kids with physical conditions like cleft lips, club foot, and untreated burns. In 2012 we were able to raise $10,000 for CURE, enough to transform the lives of 10 kids and families. And along the way we got to meet these kids and share in the joy of their healing. Pictured above are 2 of those kids, Lilo and Brian.
Chickens, Cows, and Goats. Oh my!
During one of our first restoration projects, we partnered with Compassion International, to provide farm animals for families around the world in need of food and income. The final count was 7 cows, 10 goats, and 15 chickens.
A Boy and His Dog
When we found out about Zachary, a boy who suffers with seizures, and his family’s effort to pay for a therapy dog, we just couldn’t resist. We made a significant contribution that pushed their fundraising efforts over the top!
The Tip of the Iceberg
God’s presented us with opportunities to do good in all kinds of ways. We’ve been known to give away cars, furniture, and appliances. We’ve gotten to encourage other church plants and even build a water well in Burundi.