“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it for Me.” Matthew 25:40 ESV
There are a number of great nonprofits in Athens who are doing amazing things to make a difference in our city. From a pregnancy center to shelters and ministries to homeless and needy, to recovery ministries, and much more… God has called folks to go after the last, the lost and the least! This month we are focusing prayer on different nonprofits in our city. I realize this is a huge, long list. And I could have included more! Please don’t be deterred by it. Instead skim over it and read wherever the Lord would grab your attention. Then use this as fuel for your prayers. Some don’t have any specific prayer points. For these (and actually for all of them) pray as the Holy Spirit leads you! Feel free to explore their websites for more prayer fuel! May the Lord stir you to stand with some of the very amazing works going on in our city!!!
Btw, we are posting a different one each day on our Facebook page… https://www.facebook.com/groups/1423907481169281/
Action Incorporated
Our Mission:
To help individuals and families break the cycle of poverty and achieve their greatest potential.
Primarily, our goals are to help individuals break the barriers they experience and which hinder their ability to successfully move forward. We have found that poverty is an overall state that has many, many factors creating this situation such as lack of affordable childcare, transportation issues, lack of training and education opportunities, and a history that has included choices that have led to incarceration, drug abuse, etc. Also, while there are extenuating circumstances involved, the greatest is the lack of a support system, low self-esteem or self-confidence, and the belief in the ability that success can truly be a reality.
Prayer points:
* Pray for our employees to maintain the commitment and heart for our Mission and, especially, individuals in the greatest need.
* Pray for ACTION to be able to expand our services in terms of both program expansion and the number of individuals with whom we work.
* Pray for there to be more awareness of ACTION and our Mission, including how we have changed over the past eight years.
Point person: Lisa Gautreaux – lgautreaux@actionincorporated.org
For more info: https://actionathens.org/
Action Ministries
Action Ministries mobilizes communities to address the challenges of poverty by focusing on hunger relief, housing and education. We envision communities throughout Georgia where passionate volunteers serve their neighbors in need together, ending hunger, ending homelessness, and bridging achievement gaps.
Prayer points:
* Pray for all the needs and demands that Actions Ministries have as they face helping folks over the coming winter months.
* Pray for their End Hunger program that is going on right now
* Pray for the staff and volunteers as they serve those in need in our community.
Contact person: Katie Phillips – kphillips@actionministries.net
For more info: https://actionministries.net/
The Ark
The Ark provides emergency financial assistance, financial education, and asset building programs to low income working families when they are faced with an unexpected financial crisis. It is our vision to provide help, hope, understanding, and advocacy for our neighbors in financial crisis, helping them move toward self-sufficiency and stability. The Ark is a safety net for Athens-Clarke county area residents who are just able to make ends meet until an unexpected job loss (through no fault or decision of their own), reductions of hours, or unexpected medical or auto expense puts them in danger of being evicted and /or losing utilities.
Contact person: Lucy Hudgens – arkumoc@msn.com
For more info: https://www.athensark.org/
Athens Area Homeless Shelter
Athens Area Homeless Shelter provides collaborative, comprehensive services to homeless individuals and families working toward sustainable independence.
Prayer points:
* Ask God to give those at Athens Area Homeless Shelter everything they need during this season to effectively do what they have set out to do! Ask God to bless the staff and volunteers. Ask God to bless their many programs over these coming weeks.
* Pray for the homeless, poor and hungry people in Athens. Ask God to meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Pray also that God will give them the strength and ‘will power’ to find the support mechanisms (such as AAHS) they need.
Contact person: Shea Post – director@helpathenshomeless.org
For more info: https://www.helpathenshomeless.org/
Athens Community Council on Aging
At the Athens Community Council on Aging, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to age well. Our programs and services ensure that older adults have access to basic needs such as food and transportation and opportunities for personal fulfillment achieved through social connections, life-long learning and meaningful contributions to the community. With more than 50 years of experience, ACCA is an essential resource to help people navigate and celebrate life’s second half.
ACCA’s Mission Statement:
To promote a lifetime of wellness through engagement, advocacy, education and support.
Prayer points:
* Pray for the older adults that we serve.
* Pray for the families who are caring for them.
* And for a community to provide the resources needed for them to live safe, healthy and independent lives.
Contact person: Ellen Everitt (Volunteer Coordinator): Eeveritt@accaging.org or 706-549-4850
For more info: https://www.accaging.org/
Athens Land Trust
Athens Land Trust conserves, empowers and sustains communities through responsible and visionary land use.
Contact person: Heather Benham – heather@athenslandtrust.org
For more info: https://athenslandtrust.org/
Athens Pregnancy Center
More than anything, we appreciate & need prayers. APC is completing our first year of independence after operating under Prince Avenue Baptist Church for 30 years. As a result, we are pleased to report that in the midst of much change, the organization is thriving. Primarily, this is due to God’s people being intensely unified in our passion for Jesus & Life!
Our vision is to encourage our community to choose sexual integrity, to value life, and to see lives transformed through the gospel.
Our mission is to be a lifeline for women experiencing unplanned pregnancies by offering emotional, spiritual, social, medical and physical support while advocating for life. We provide resources regarding pregnancy options, healthy pregnancy and childbirth, parent education and post-abortion care.
APC provides free medical services for the initial pregnancy diagnosis through options education including abortion, adoption and parenting. APC does not refer for or do abortions. Support services are offered internally and referred, as appropriate, based on her choice.
Prayer points:
* Pray for more girls/women in our community who are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy to make/follow through with appointments
* Pray for men/women who choose to parent to have receptive hearts to the teaching they receive about parenting
* For God’s protection to remain over APC as the cultural environment is intensifying in regards to life
Volunteer Inquiries: info@athenspregnancycenter.org or 678-753-3180
For more info: https://athenspregnancycenter.org/
Athens YMCA
The Mission of Athens YMCA is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all.
Contact person: Tammy Langford – tammy@athensymca.org
For more info: https://athensymca.org/
Bethel Haven
Mission:
Bethel Haven counsels a hurting community by giving help, hope & healing.
Vision:
A world where every person seeks counseling as a meaningful part of emotional health.
History:
Bethel Haven is a Christian non-profit started in 2007 by one woman who saw a need for a ministry of counseling to care for the hurting and broken. The vision began with counseling just a few children. Just as a tree, the branches of Bethel Haven have grown. Bethel Haven now provides counseling to over 120 individuals of all ages and needs: premarital and marriage counseling, grief and trauma, play and equine therapy and support for the entire family unit.
Bethel Haven also provides counseling to other non-profit agency clients such as Downtown Academy, Mercy Health Center and Extra Special People.
Who we serve:
Bethel Haven serves all of our community in an effort to make counseling affordable.
It costs Bethel Haven $93 per session and 67 percent of our clients pay $35 or less per session. These clients many times call us in a hopeless place because they have called other counseling offices and are not able to afford session fees. We are honored to work with our clients to find a fee that works for their budget.
Prayer points:
* Pray for wisdom in the timing and of pace of growth for Bethel Haven. Our offices are full, so we need wisdom to navigate and expand into the future.
* Pray that we find ways to break down barriers of why people do not pursue/talk about counseling and how much it is needed for physical, and relational health.
* Pray that the community would understand and that BH learns to communicate that even though someone can not physically volunteer their time to help that their dollars are having significant impact. No matter the amount.
Contact person: Jackie Jones – jjones@bethelhaven.net
For more info: http://www.bethelhaven.net/
Bigger Vision of Athens
The mission of Bigger Vision is to provide a safe and comfortable place for those in homelessness in Athens, Georgia, as they navigate the path towards sustainable housing.
Prayer points:
* Pray that Bigger Vision would operate exclusively in line with God’s plan for those experiencing homelessness in the Athens area
* Pray that God would show favor on this ministry that we may do more
* Pray God would bring God-fearing men and women to Bigger Vision’s board of directors to better guide and direct this ministry for the glory of God
Contact person: Andrew Wilkin – director@bvoa.org
For more info: http://www.biggervisionofathens.org/
Books For Keeps
Books for Keeps works to improve children’s reading achievement by addressing barriers related to the accessibility and appeal of reading material. We give books to children whose reading opportunities outside of school might be otherwise limited due to geography, income, or other factors.
Contact person: Leslie Hale – leslie@booksforkeeps.org
For more info: http://booksforkeeps.org/
Brightpaths
Our mission:
Brightpaths (formerly known as Prevent Child Abuse Athens) is a non-profit, community-based organization dedicated to preventing child abuse in all of its forms through education, support and public awareness. We serve families in Clarke, Jackson, Madison, Oconee and Oglethorpe counties.
What we do:
All new parents can use some support, so the programs at Brightpaths range based on the need of the family. All services are free and voluntary for families. 1. First Steps is our universal support program that visits new parents at the hospitals in Athens and provides information and links to resources available in the community. 2. Our Healthy Families program is a home visitation (in-home education) provided to families during the first 5 years to help make sure that the child is ready for school. The home visitors meet with the parent(s) one on one and provide information, activities, support, encouragement, assist with achieving their goals, help navigate services, etc. 3. Our other program is our parenting support classes. These classes are offered to other agencies, to churches, and to the community and consist of 10 weeks of parenting support/education. All services/programs are offered in English and Spanish.
Prayer points:
* Pray that families would be receptive to services.
* Pray that families would have the support they need to be successful.
* Pray for the safety for our staff as they travel to individual homes around 5 counties.
Point person: Jennifer Henderson – jhenderson@pcaathens.org
For more info: https://brightpathsathens.org/
Butterfly Dreams Farm
Our mission at Butterfly Dreams Farm is partnering with horses to empower and serve the community through equine-assisted therapy. (We provide hippotherapy and therapeutic riding to children and adults with special needs.)
Prayer points:
* Pray for healing of our riders
* Pray for the strength for our parents
* Give thanks for the support of the community
Contact person: Benita Nelson – benitadnelson@gmail.com
For more info: https://butterflydreamsfarm.org/
The Campus Kitchen at UGA
The Campus Kitchen at UGA is the student-powered hunger relief program of the UGA Office of Service-Learning. We exist to spotlight sustainable solutions to hunger and food waste and to showcase a mutually beneficial university-community partnership.
Campus Kitchen runs a weekly food recovery and redistribution enterprise led by UGA student volunteers. Student leaders and volunteers together transform unused food from grocery stores and farms into meals and groceries that are delivered to older adults and human service agencies in Athens, Georgia.
Contact person: Brad Turner – ckuga@uga.edu
For more info: https://www.ckuga.org/
Chosen For Life Ministries
The mission of Chosen for Life is to help churches, communities, and families care well for foster and adopted children. The vision is that everyone will find their role in caring for foster, adopted, and vulnerable children.
Prayer points:
* Pray for the children currently without the safety and care of a loving home.
* Pray for the foster families in our community as these families continue to care for children from our community.
* Pray for families currently going through the process to adopt, as they navigate the coming transitions for their family.
Contact person: Anna Bearden – abearden@chosenforlifeministries.org
For more info: http://chosenforlifeministries.org/
City of Hope Athens
Bringing Hope to Athens
Vision & Mission:
Bringing hope to those who feel there is no way up or out by meeting:
❖ Physical needs of food, clothing, and job training
❖ Emotional needs by showing people they are valued, loved, and important
❖ Spiritual needs by sharing the hope of Jesus
❖ Empower and enable men and women to make a better life for themselves
❖ Show children that there is a bright and better future for them
Bringing relief to the needy and the homeless by:
❖ Providing meals for the homeless
❖ Providing warm clothing for the homeless
❖ Providing meals for school children during school breaks
Prayer points:
* Wisdom and insight to continue to serve the overlooked and ignored in Athens.
* Van – we are in desperate need of a cargo van for the distribution of food and clothing to the schools and on the streets of Athens.
Contact person: Geoff Rushing – cityofhopeathens@gmail.com
For more info: www.cityofhopeathens.org
Downtown Academy
Downtown Academy provides an excellent and rigorous, Christ-centered education that instill knowledge, character, and purpose.
Vision: what we hope to see
Downtown Academy serves as a division of Downtown Ministries, which seeks to bring personal, family and community renewal by reaching Athens youth and their families with the Christian gospel and equipping them for a life of meaning, purpose and joy.
Prayer points:
* Pray for academic, spiritual, and emotional growth of our children that brings hope grounded in the confidence that they are image-bearers of The Almighty.
* Pray that the Spirit’s work through Downtown Academy will have a deep and lasting impact on the children, their families, and the city of Athens.
* Pray that we will develop authentic and enduring relationships with the families we serve.
Contact person: Patrick Ennis – Patrickennis@downtownacademy.org
706-353-8996 (work) or 706-380-9595 (cell)
For more info: https://downtownacademy.org/
Food Bank of Northeast Georgia
Our mission is to work toward ending hunger as part of an overall community effort to alleviate poverty.
Contact person: Arya A. – volunteers@foodbanknega.org
For more info: https://foodbanknega.org/
Mercy Health Center
Through a community of volunteers, Mercy provides quality, whole-person healthcare in a Christ-centered environment to our underserved neighbors. Mercy has been providing FREE Medical, Dental, Pharmacy and Health Education to the low-income uninsured of Clarke, Barrow, Jackson, Madison, Oglethorpe & Oconee counties for more than 17 years. We are able to carry out our mission and serve almost 3,000 patients with the help of more than 700 volunteers and generous donations.
Contact person: Angie Johnson – angie@mercyhealthcenter.net
For more info: https://mercyhealthcenter.net/
Potter’s House
The Mission of The Potter’s House is solving relational poverty and building community. “We are helping to end addiction through relationships, one friend at a time.”
Main prayer point:
Please pray that each person that comes here for help can find fulfillment in Christ and has the courage to continue their recovery.
Contact person: Wes Wood – wes.wood@atlantamission.org
Manager of Partnerships – The Potter’s House
Atlanta Mission, 655 Potter House Rd., Jefferson, GA 30549
Office: 706.354.5561
For more info: https://atlantamission.org/
Salvation Army
The work of The Salvation Army in Athens, GA is a proud tradition of serving the community in Christ Jesus name, and we look forward to breaking new ground spiritually as well as physically for the Kingdom of God. The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
Contact person: Erik Henry – erik.henry@uss.salvationarmy.org
For more info: https://salvationarmygeorgia.org/athens/
