Traveling Mercies - The Mountain Spirit Fall/Winter 2018

IN THIS ISSUE

nn Goods for Good nn Thinking Outside the Box nn BuildUP nn Preserving History

Vol. / WINTER 2018 Vol.XXXVII XXXVI No. No. 2 2 FALL Fall / Winter 2017

TRAVELING MERCIES

DONORS AND PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS HELP CAP DELIVER HOPE TO APPALACHIA A Publication of Christian Appalachian Project A Publication of Christian Appalachian Project

editor’s letter

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rowing up I loved the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. The aim was to connect actors to Kevin Bacon through movies and actors that they had in common. The idea was that no actor was more than six movies away from Kevin Bacon. The game was based on a theory proposed by Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy in 1929. He believed that everyone in the world can be connected by friends of friends in six steps or fewer.

The work done by Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Operation Sharing feels a lot like six degrees of separation.

It reminds me how close we all are, and how the acts of service that we perform, directly or through donations, connect us.

In reality, our participants are very rarely separated from donors by more than one or two steps. Even people in large corporations who load surplus books onto a truck are only a few loving hands away from a child in need who receives that book.

Our Operation Sharing trucks carry the message “We Deliver Hope” printed on their sides. And that’s what we do.

CAP delivers hope throughout Eastern Kentucky and far beyond through our programs and with the help of local organizations and volunteers. Hope is never that far away for those who receive services through CAP. Although we may think that geography separates us, we are fewer than six steps away.

The stories in this issue bring to mind 1 John 3:17 which urges those with material possessions to think of those in need, and 1 John 3:18 which urges us to love through action and truth. Operation Sharing connects CAP directly to our mission and allows us to build hope, transform lives, and share Christ’s love through service in Appalachia.

With gratitude, Sarabeth Brownrobie

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

(on the cover) Wesley Howard drives about 50,000 miles per year delivering goods for Operation Sharing in Corbin, Ky. 2

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Spirit OUR MISSION

Building hope, transforming lives, and sharing Christ’s love through service in Appalachia.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sarabeth Brownrobie CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tina Bryson, Clay Lester CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Tina Bryson Sarabeth Brownrobie Lora Smith Jonathan Piercy jeff burchett CONTACT US

By phone: 859.269.0635 Toll-free: 866.270.4227 Email: publications@chrisapp.org Website: christianapp.org Mail: Christian Appalachian Project P.O. Box 55911 Lexington, KY 40555

SUBSCRIPTIONS

The Mountain Spirit is published twice a year.

The suggested donation is $20.00.

Subscription requests and other correspondence should be sent to: The Mountain Spirit Christian Appalachian Project P.O. Box 55911 Lexington, KY 40555

Copyright 2018, Christian Appalachian Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Christian Appalachian Project is a nonprofit Christian service organization operating throughout Appalachia. Christian Appalachian Project is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and is qualified to receive tax-deductible contributions.

Contents FAITH

6 Journey of Faith

Trace the path of donations from donor partners to CAP’s recipients.

9 Goods for Good

Operation Sharing turns surplus goods into blessings for small organizations in Appalachia.

12 Thinking

Outside the Box

Breathitt County partners distribute books in local parks to encourage literacy.

14 Reaching

Out

Operation Sharing Tennessee helps CAP extend its reach.

SERVICE 18 BuildUP

A one-day housing blitz in Appalachia brings together community members.

20 A Promise Kept

A donation contributes to CAP’s expanded impact in Appalachia.

23 A New Hope

Hope City’s drug rehabilitation program faithfully serves women battling addiction.

COMPASSION 26 Community Partners

CAP works with Water into Wine Food Pantry to expand service to families in need.

ARTS AND CULTURE 29 Back to the Future

Appalachian food movements look to the future while honoring their roots.

33 Preserving Heritage

The Laurel County African American Heritage Center saves local history before it is lost.

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News CHAMPIONS of Appalachia The 2018 Champions of Appalachia Award honors Hindman Settlement School. “The Christian Appalachian Project Board of Directors offers the Champions of Appalachia award on an annual basis to recognize individuals as well as organizations that have had significant and meaningful impact on the Appalachian Region,” said Vice President of Philanthropy Phyllis Caudill.

Champions of Appalachia is sponsored

by Netgain Technologies.

ANNIE F. DOWNS

CAP partnered with best-selling author, Annie F. Downs, to provide books for preschoolers in Rockcastle, McCreary, and Jackson Counties through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

The TOTAL raised was $21,765! WOW! Listen to Downs’s interview with Camp AJ coordinator Mike O’Brien on her “That Sounds Fun” podcast at: bit.ly/AnnieAndCAP.

Virginia Underwood, who nominated the school is impressed by “Hindman Settlement School’s record of strong leadership and of dedicated, noteworthy, and talented staff who have responded to the evolving needs of the region in creative and innovative ways while remaining true to its mission.”

SAFETY DAY

CAP values safety in the workplace and on worksites. Every year CAP dedicates a day to review best practices in the areas of ergonomics, worksite safety, safe lifting, and auto maintenance. Employees and volunteers across the organization gather together to learn from experts. CAP’s Risk Management Team’s vigilance ensures that CAP is caring for our participants and volunteers in the best way possible.

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HUNGER WALK

The annual Hunger Walk to raise awareness about food insecurity in Rockcastle County collected 2,690 pounds of non-perishable food items to be distributed through CAP’s Grateful Bread Food Pantry. Students from Rockcastle County Public Schools, community members, and the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles were among nearly 1,000 walkers this year.

NOVEMBER 2

CAP recognizes Terry and Marion Forcht for their generosity to the people of Appalachia.

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Journey OF Faith “I

t’s been a blessing,” reflected Ray Dean on the 20-plus-year relationship between God’s Temple Outreach in Barbourville, Ky. and Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Operation Sharing. “Through their support and the goods they’ve provided our ministry, literally thousands of people in need in our community have been blessed. It’s made such a significant difference in all of our lives.”

donated goods to children, their families, and the elderly throughout the Appalachian Region. For more than 30 years, this model of mutually beneficial generosity and support has delivered hope to millions of people in need.

For example, if a corporation wanted to donate 500 chairs, it would be difficult for a small nonprofit to be able to absorb the costs associated with delivery and storage. In addition, most nonprofits wouldn’t be able to use 500 chairs. Through Operation Sharing, those 500 chairs are distributed in more manageable numbers to several organizations.

That first load of books was valued at $4 million and now, 33 years later, Operation Sharing has received and distributed over $1.8 billion worth of donated goods throughout Appalachia. Considering numbers like this, one might expect the warehouse to feel sterile, but the reality is quite the contrary. This work is personal and spiritually fulfilling for the volunteers and employees who are driven by CAP’s mission to build hope, transform lives, and share Christ’s love through service in Appalachia.

“The first donation was all about books,” explained Jeff Burchett, long-time director of Operation Sharing. “Now we have a wide variety of donations – food products, drinks, clothing, shoes, furniture, building supplies, and Dean’s ministry is one of more than 1,400 partner paper products. From year to year, we never know what organizations throughout all 13 Appalachian states, we’re going to get, but we find a way to coordinate it all Missouri, and Arkansas who benefit from the donated for the organizations with whom we work.” goods distributed by Operation Sharing. Organizations on the small scale of God’s Temple could not exist with- The books to which Burchett refers are the 29 truckout CAP’s Operation Sharing Program. Even though loads of books donated to CAP in 1986. At that time the goods are donated by corporate partners, the cost Vice President of Development Bill Begley, determined to ship and deliver the donations is prohibitive for most to find a location to house, manage, and distribute smaller nonprofits, particularly in Appalachia. Because that donation, established the initial iteration of what of the generosity of CAP donors Operation Sharing is would become known as Operation Sharing. Those able to incur these freight costs and has the facilities, first truckloads of books were eventually distributed to infrastructure, and equipment to transport these goods communities, families, and individuals in greatest need, directly to partner organizations. and the trucks haven’t stopped running since.

The scope of what Operation Sharing is able to achieve is due entirely to the generosity of corporations, businesses, and large-scale donors. CAP, in turn, relies on organizations like Dean’s to distribute the vast amounts of “When you have somebody that is so moved that they can’t talk because they are breaking down crying, and Jamie Dopl, forklift operator, can move as many as 4,000 pallets of donated you’re crying, and they ask if they can hug you before they leave – that impacts you,” explained Danny Lewis, goods that arrive at Operation Sharing in Corbin, Ky. every month.

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I am glad that we have the opportunity and capacity to receive things that can be used by the churches for people reaching out for help.

We try to spread the love as far as we possibly can.

Joyce Dailey who works in the warehouse. “I get to see that sort of onto a fleet of tractor trailers and driven directly to thing daily.” schools, churches, prison ministries, and a host of other charitable groups throughout the Appalachian Region A relatively new partner organization, Hopewell Baptist and the Ozarks.

Church in Columbus, Miss., is utilizing donated goods from Operation Sharing to impact a wide range of CAP’s two main warehouses in Corbin and Paintsville, local ministries, churches, prisons, and agencies in their Ky., along with an affiliate warehouse in Oneida, Tenn., area. Joyce Dailey, an organizer maintain high levels of invenat Hopewell, receives deliveries Service tory and turn over year-round. from Operation Sharing and Every August, at the end of the Area NY then coordinates the distrinonprofit fiscal year, all goods bution of commodities like remaining from the previous PA toiletries, personal items, food, 12 months are distributed OH diapers, and even some building and both of CAP’s Kentucky MD WV MO VA supplies and furniture. “I am warehouses are emptied. In KY glad that we have the opporpreparation for the coming TN tunity and capacity to receive holiday season, the space is NC AR things that can be used by the cleaned and made ready to reSC MS AL GA churches for people reaching ceive new donations and will out for help,” Dailey said. “We be fully restocked by the end try to spread the love as far as we of September. possibly can.”

Operation The spirit of compassion that Sharing Just as in 1986, books remain a envelopes the entire enterprise popular item in any Operation that is Operation Sharing, Sharing delivery. “We received from corporate donors and or Appalachian States a shipment of books, so I went ganizational partners to truck  Ozark States to the local elementary school drivers and warehouse staff, and set up a sort of free book fair,” Dailey added. “The imbues a value on basic goods that cannot be measured children seemed to have enjoyed that to the highest in dollars. Somewhere in the process, these donated degree. Letters of appreciation began to roll in from the items become something more than just commodities; teachers, parents, and some of the children, and they they are agents of change. And as long as Operation were all blown away by the generosity of the donation.” Sharing exists, its mission will always be to deliver hope.

The day-to-day procedures at Operation Sharing have been refined to create an efficient, multifaceted system of distribution. Throughout any given day, representatives from nearby partner organizations drive into the warehouse, load up their trucks and SUVs with donated supplies and essential items that suit the needs of their community, and are back on the road in 20 minutes. The majority of goods, however, are loaded 8

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“It’s so inspiring because Operation Sharing recipient organizations have a heart for what they do,” Lewis remarked. “When you see them get excited about what we are giving them and they tell you about a particular family, how many people there are in the house that are sleeping on the floor, without an income or food – you know that you’re about to make a difference in someone’s life.” n

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Goods FORgood

he Operation Sharing model of gift-in-kind distribution is the direct result of compassionate partner organizations and the relationships they have built with Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) over the past 30 years. While the impact of the program is most evident on the distribution side, where families and individuals in need are connected to essential goods and commodities, it would not be possible without the gift-in-kind donations of partner organizations whose missions align with CAP. Gifts-in-kind are donated from a number of organizations and corporations, but

a handful of long-time partners from across the country are some of the most reliable sources for donations.

Operation Sharing became a partner with Feed the Children in January 1988 and has received over 127 million pounds of product since becoming an active partner. In addition to working with partner agencies like CAP to provide food and essentials in the U.S., Feed the Children’s other work includes a homeless education and literacy program, five “Teacher Store” locations (each offers free school materials and books to FALL / WINTER 2018 | christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive

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(previous page) Pat Griffith, manager of Camp Shawnee and Family Advocacy, distributes shoes and clothing from Operation Sharing through CAP programs to children in need. (above) Pallets of goods at the Operation Sharing warehouse await pickup by partner organizations.

educators in Title I schools), a summer food and education program, and disaster response. Internationally, they work in 10 countries around the world, employing a child-focused community development approach.

“Our shared mission and values, as well as great collaboration and communication, has made our partnerships tremendously successful,” said Gary Sloan, Feed the Children’s chief operations officer. “We believe that collaboration is the only way to end childhood hunger.

Because Operation Sharing has a network of more than 1,400 partner agencies in 15 states, they have the ability to serve many children and families in need.”

“Their broad network, responsiveness, and detailed record keeping allows us to be a one-stop-shop to many donors who otherwise might not contribute product to World Vision,” Osmonson explained.

World Vision, a partner of Operation Sharing since the mid-90s, is an organization primarily focused on addressing the causes of poverty in the developing world.

A large part of their ministry is also carried out in the U.S. Echoing a sentiment from other partners, CAP’s mission makes it a perfect fit for a faith-based organization like World Vision. “Our organizations both understand that we are part of God’s holistic (spiritual, relational, and material) ministry to the children and Operation Sharing’s capacity to both receive and dis- families in need in our world,” said Osmonson. tribute large quantities of goods is an attractive feature for many partners. “Operation Sharing has a large One of the largest donors to Operation Sharing is recipient partner network that allows them to accept Operation Compassion. After having been a recipient many donations that other domestically focused orga- of Operation Sharing commodities for a few years, the nizations cannot,” described Wade Osmonson, gift-in- organization quickly grew into an international and kind partner agency manager for World Vision. domestic humanitarian organization, providing critical 10

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faith aid and relief work to more than 25 million people each year. Operation Compassion is now able to provide CAP a variety of aid products, including food, water, clothing, shoes, blankets, hygiene items, baby care products, medical supplies, and building materials, to meet a broad spectrum of needs.

“We highly value the number of people served, in a variety of ways, through the work of Operation Sharing. Efficient distribution is important to us and Operation Sharing gets it done,” explained David Lorency, president of Operation Compassion. “The long-term partnership that we both have enjoyed is a great story of how organizations can collaborate and provide solutions to people struggling with poverty in America. Our missions have synchronization – we both are working to build hope and transform lives through service to people in need – and we share common values, such as accountability, stewardship, and the preservation of the dignity of life.”

Typically, private and corporate donors contact organizations like World Vision, Operation Compassion, and Feed the Children offering to donate some kind of product. These organizations determine whether they can use the donation(s) for their own work and coordinate with partners like Operation Sharing to ensure that all donated products will reach the hands of the people who need them most. According to Sloan, “We have the highest confidence that the products we provide to Operation Sharing will be distributed directly to children and families in need. Because of our longstanding partnership, we are able to count on them for pilot programs, special projects, and normal day-to-day offers.”

(top) President of Feed the Children, Travis Arnold, helps load books donated by the organization that will help a school in Breathitt County. (middle) Corporate partners donate a variety of items including crutches and other medical supplies. (bottom) Donated building materials are used throughout the year in CAP’s Housing Program.

CAP recognizes the value of these partner agencies, without whom a program like Operation Sharing could not exist, nor would many of the smaller organizations to whom CAP distributes goods. “It is because of lasting collaborations with generous, like-minded organizations that we are able to deliver hope on such a large scale,” explained Guy Adams, CAP’s president/CEO. “Friends of CAP like Feed the Children, World Vision, and Operation Compassion, just to name a few, have made a significant impact in the lives of people in need throughout Appalachia and we cherish their continued support of the work we’re doing.” n FALL / WINTER 2018 | christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive

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THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

uthor Anna Quindlen was the beginning of Operation once wrote in “How Sharing, now CAP’s largest and Reading Changed My farthest-reaching program.

Life,” “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are Books are the the destination, and the journey.

They are home.” Nan Herald, plane, and the train, a 10-year-veteran of Breathitt and the road.

County Public Schools understands that sentiment and has They are the worked to bring those experiences destination, and to readers, young and old alike for the past five years through Box the journey.

Library.

“We give out over 250,000 books per year,” Herald said. “Through Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Operation Sharing we get to deliver these books for free to our community.”

Books were the beginning of Operation Sharing. In 1986, then Vice President Bill Begley received a call from a friend for a donation of 29 truckloads of children’s books. CAP’s board approved an unbudgeted $50,000 to store the books and within a few months had distributed thousands of books to children in Appalachia. That first storage and distribution operation

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years old. The distribution is simple. Notify the public. Place large boxes brimming over with books for anyone to take. From the perspective of a child, Westin asked her, “Mommy, is this the Box Library?” and the name stuck.

The Breathitt County Literacy Team takes the lead to coordinate this annual event about twice a year. They receive support from the local Jackson Fire Department, Jackson Parks and Recreation, as well as local pastor John Bunn They are home. who promotes Box Library on his Anna Quindlen radio program. Family and friends publicize the event on social media “Box Library is a community as well as the local newspaper. thing,” said Herald, a family resource coordinator at Breathitt “All of the counties surrounding us County High School. “Everyone participate in Box Library,” Herald takes time to organize the event said. “All ages are welcome to take which provides boxes of books for books and they do: kids, adults, anyone who would like to take senior citizens. Sometimes it’s just them home. We also distribute people visiting the park where we other needed items that we get hold the distribution. They can from Operation Sharing such as take time out and get free books.” food, clothing, shoes, school supplies, and hygiene items.”

According to Dr. Robert Cooter, reading researcher and former dean Herald’s son, Westin, named the of Bellarmine University’s School project when he was just three of Education, in a Kentucky Youth

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(above) Box Library distributes 250,000 books every year.

Advocates article, literacy is critical to opening up additional opportunities for children that lift them out of poverty.

“We know ensuring that children can read and write on grade level is essential if we are to increase the number of kids [that are] college and career ready and do well in life,” Cooter said. “Research has documented that children who read proficiently by the end of third grade are more likely to graduate from high school, are less likely to fall into poverty and crime, and are more likely to find a job that can adequately support their families.

We also know that children from poverty and near-poverty enter school three or more years behind their peers from better off families.”

Box Library continues to be instrumental in putting books into the hands of children and their families in Eastern Kentucky. Herald, a social worker by training, understands the need.

“I worked with the Cabinet for Families and Children and CAP provided many needed services to hurting families,” Herald added. “Box Library is a special event.

I simply want to see people enjoy reading, to have resources to read to their children. The best thing about Box Library is that it is free. Everyone has the opportunity to find a great book to treasure.”

Dr. Seuss said it best. “You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.” n

NOW SEEKING VOLUNTEERS: ALL AGES Whether a person is 18 or 108, steaming clothing or climbing onto roofs, committing to a year of full-time service or devoting a few hours a week to serving our communities – each volunteer is necessary to the mission and ministry of CAP. We firmly believe that volunteers who serve with CAP are called

by God to do so. We know that each of them and all of their gifts are exceedingly valuable.

Opportunities are available for people of all backgrounds, experiences, ages, and availabilities.

Christian Appalachian Project

christianapp.org volunteer@chrisapp.org 800.755.5322 FALL / WINTER 2018 | christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive

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REACHING OUT

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dirt floor. No running water, except for what was leaking from the gutters.

Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) first warehouse in Tennessee was inadequate, and CAP was soon looking for a sturdier warehouse that could be used to expand the services of Operation Sharing further into the mountains.

The vision began to take shape in 2008, when Dwayne King, the first chair of the board for Operation Sharing Tennessee (OST), and a group of friends approached the owner of wholesale grocery distributor H.T. Hackney in Oneida, Tenn. The distributer was closing its warehouse and King, inquired to see if the owner would be willing to work out a plan to make the space affordable for OST. “It was a Godsend,” said King, who helped close the deal to move into the Hackney warehouse. “He believed in our vision and leased the building to us for $1 a year. Overnight, we went from not having an adequate facility to having a wonderful warehouse to help in meeting the needs in Appalachia. We wouldn’t be here without CAP’s desire to expand programs into Tennessee. The test was whether we could start something that glorified God. Rev. Beiting’s legacy was that he built something that has lasted.”

Now, the satellite warehouse serves 425 partner agencies from Knoxville and Gatlinburg, to McCreary County, Ky. OST receives 100 loads per year from Operation Sharing in Corbin, Ky. and distributes $10 million in donated goods to children and families in need every year.

Kathy West, the first secretary of the OST board, is now executive director of Appalachian Life Quality Initiative (ALQI) which partners with the community to provide programs for underserved children in Scott County, Tenn.

“Being there from our very humble, but optimistic, beginning and seeing where OST is today makes me very proud,” West said. “There were times when we struggled, but there was a determination in all of us that we would not let it fail.”

Dawn Ellis also has a long history with both organizations. Ellis started as a volunteer in the warehouse, but was later hired by CAP. In 2012, when OST became independent of CAP with its own 501(c)(3) status, Ellis became an OST employee. She was recently promoted to manager of OST. “You might not be able to imagine that there are people that don’t have basic needs, such as a bed or food, but for some, those things are almost considered a luxury,” Ellis said.

“When you don’t have anything, everything goes a long way.”

Ellis has facilitated OST delivery of school supplies to local teachers, new books to librarians, as well as food for weekend supplemental backpacks to address food insecurity in elementary-age children.

King, West, and Ellis would agree that it is impossible to measure the impact that OST has had in the region, specifically in Oneida.

(opposite) Mrs. Tennessee Christy Ginn, pictured with Ricky Vann, volunteers as a way to give back to her community.

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“Dawn messaged me about coming to volunteer.

I came and tried it and I loved it. ”

Today, as a happily married mother of two, she spends one day a week at the warehouse as a way to give back to the community. In 2018, Ginn was crowned Mrs. Tennessee and she uses that platform to educate community members about issues relating to intimate partner violence.

“Dawn messaged me about coming to volunteer,” Ginn said. “I came and tried it and I loved it. Then I came back again and I loved it. I kept coming back. Now, Dawn “We’ve been able to provide goods to survivors of domes- and I do outreach events together in the community.” tic violence as they start new lives, as well as needed help to families who have lost their homes and possessions in Ellis and Ginn are the embodiment of what CAP and fires,” Ellis added. “It’s a blessing to be able to help them.” OST represent everyday – partnerships that create opportunities to expand impact.

Christy Ginn, a friend of Ellis, is an example of someone whose life was impacted by good from OST. Ginn “That’s what our mission is – to get goods out to where was abused by her first husband who later took the lives they need to go,” Ellis said. “It’s about giving and helpof their two children. OST helped her get a new start. ing. That’s what we do.” n Christy Ginn, Mrs. Tennessee

MISSION TRIPS

SHORT-TERM TRIP LONG-TERM IMPACT Week-long (Sunday-Friday) mission trip opportunities for church, school, and corporate groups, ages 14 and up. We need your help to make homes safe, warm, and dry for people in need.

Your group will transform lives, including your own! contact us at 16

groups@chrisapp.org

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Share our posts to help us spread the word!

See a post you like? Make a difference by helping people find out about all the exciting things happening at CAP! find us at:

@ChrisAppProj

Christian Appalachian Project

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IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

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hat do we mean when we talk about “neighborhood”? Is it a place identified by streets and landmarks, where members of the community know one another and are quick to respond when a need arises? Or is it a commitment to loving another as yourself, and to recognizing that your “neighbor” may not always live right next door.

The example set by Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) BuildUP event, held on Aug 4, 2018, shows that “neighborhood” can mean all of these things.

blitz. CAP’s Housing Programs arranged for projects to be done in Rockcastle, Floyd, and Johnson Counties on a Saturday, enabling volunteers living in those counties and as far as Illinois and South Carolina to participate.

As with all Housing volunteer opportunities, no previous experience was required – only the hands and heart to get the job done.

Three counties, seven homes repaired, and 51 volunteers, and 408 volunteer hours later, BuildUP had brought together employees, volunteers, church partners, and BuildUP was created to make it easier for individuals liv- community members to share Christ’s love through ing in CAP’s service areas to serve with CAP by offering service in Appalachia. What an incredible example of what an opportunity to participate in a one day housing repair “neighborhood” can be. n 18

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A PROMISE KEPT

homas Teneralli grew up desperately poor and while he was stationed in Japan, after the end of World War II, he saw firsthand the devastation of Japanese cities. He witnessed poverty and hunger that reminded him of his childhood and he would often take food scraps discarded by American soldiers and share them with starving Japanese families and their children.

“With his incredible act of generosity, which will impact hundreds of individuals in need in Appalachia, I refer to Mr. Teneralli as “Tom Terrific.” All of us at CAP thank God for Mr. Teneralli’s thoughtfulness and generosity,” said Guy Adams, CAP’s president/CEO. “This gift will enable CAP to continue our work in helping participants with basic needs, as well as repairing and rebuilding substandard homes.”

“I made a stock gift to Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) because it fulfilled a promise I made to God when I was a young man,” Teneralli said. “I promised God that if I ever made it financially I would help children who struggled with poverty daily.” On Aug. 14 the Marion and Thomas Teneralli Housing and Family Advocacy Building was dedicated at CAP headquarters in Paintsville, Ky. The building is the home to programs that serve children and their families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities in Johnson, Martin, and Floyd Counties.

Last year, 1,543 individuals received critical, emergency, and family-oriented community service through the Family Advocacy Program and 327 homes in Appalachia were repaired through CAP’s Housing Program. The naming of the building will honor Teneralli and his late wife Marion. Gifts, like those made by Teneralli, will contribute to CAP’s expanded impact in Appalachia for years to come.

Teneralli never forgot his humble upbringing and in the later years of his life he hopes his gift will inspire young people that are wrestling with poverty in one When he was a child, Teneralli’s family lived in a factory of America’s poorest regions. “I would tell them town and he worked on his grandparents’ farm. He was don’t spend a lot of time looking down at your feet,” a house-framing carpenter by trade, but later founded Teneralli said. “Look up toward the horizon. It’s not a successful company. He honored his promise to God where you start from in life that matters, but where by giving CAP the largest stock gift by a living donor in you want to go and how you want to get there that its history to meet the needs in Appalachia. is important.” n 20

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What Will Your Legacy Be? MAKE THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME

as a living donor, or by creating a charitable estate plan.

Including charitable gifts in your long-range estate and financial plans can be a wonderful way to leave a legacy to Christian Appalachian Project.

After first providing for the needs of family, friends and other loved ones, you may wish to consider one or more methods to make what could be your gift of a lifetime to Appalachians in need.

âœ

Have questions? Call:1-866-270-4CAP (4227)

Please send me more information on how I can include CAP in my estate plans.

Name (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss) ___________________________________________________________ Address___________________________________________________________________________ City_______________________________________________ State____________Zip_____________ Telephone (_______)________________ All information provided is confidential.

Please Complete and Return Form to:

Christian Appalachian Project, Planned Giving, P.O. Box 55911, Lexington, KY 40555

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A new hope

ith a twinkle in his eye, Scott Phipps will tell you that it all started the day a preacher sold him his convertible. The top leaked and there happened to be a red leather Bible in the back seat laying right in the path of the water. Scott’s wife, Tammie, didn’t go to church but she had just enough fear of God that she was afraid to let anything happen to that Bible.

She called her aunt (a regular churchgoer) and asked her for advice about how to repair the water damage. Her aunt told her to lay the Bible out and turn the pages as it dried. As Tammie dried out the pages, she started reading them and began to call her aunt with questions. Her aunt relayed these events to her friends at church and they 22

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all started praying for Tammie. In hopes that her aunt would stop asking her about attending church, Tammie planned to go to just one service in order to deliver the Bible. When Tammie came home that night, she told Scott, “Jesus saved me, I don’t want drugs anymore, and I love you.” Scott began to see that if he wanted to stay married he had to change. More importantly he realized that he needed what his wife had received. He sought answers at a nearby church, chose to follow Jesus Christ, and his life took a dramatic turn.“I thought I was living life and enjoying myself, but looking back I can see how miserable I was,” Scott recalled.

service

Now in the 15th year of their recovery, the Phipps’s have continued to share the healing love that they found in Christ. Initially, they ministered through a small country church, and more recently they have led North Main Community Church in Barbourville, Ky. It was through the children’s outreach at North Main that the Scott and Tammie first connected with Christian Appalachian Project (CAP). When the church extended their outreach to serve young women seeking to recover from addiction, CAP’s Operation Sharing was an integral part of that expansion. Beds, wardrobes, tile, and lighting were all used in creating a place where women could heal.

(previous page) Scotty Phipps visits the office where Brittany Mills, a long-time member of North Main Community Church, and employee of Hope City (in the gray), and Genevieve Viscusi (in the purple), are working. Viscusiwho graduated the program a year ago and is now an employee while she attends Union College where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Substance Abuse Counseling. (top) Hope City uses goods from Operation Sharing to furnish transitional housing for its participants. (bottom) Kara, a program graduate, is seated on the first new bed she has ever owned. The bedding and furniture were provided through Operation Sharing.

Hope City Transitional House was created to give women a way to begin their journey to recovery.

A lot of the women that Tammie was ministering to in detention centers were eligible for rehabilitation programs but had no way of paying for services, or no access to transportation to those services, before Hope City came along. When the first class of women got ready to graduate and leave Hope City, another set of needs became evident. Tammie realized that many of the women had no place to go home to. Hope City expanded yet again to include apartments, houses, and trailers that support the graduates as they pursue certifications, college degrees, and jobs in the community.

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service Meghan is another one of Hope City’s success stories.

She lived a long life of addiction after leaving home at age 13, but has been sober for three years now. She has been reunited with her youngest child, attends nursing school, works at Hope City, and does motivational speaking throughout Kentucky.

“Hope City changed my life in every way,” Meghan said. “Not only did they tell me what I needed to do to be the person I needed to be, but they showed me through real action. All of the people that volunteer and work at Hope City love God and love people. They live this mission out every single day of their lives through serving others and teaching them to do the same.”

Operation Sharing provides many of the toiletries and household essentials used at Hope City, saving money on these goods allows Scott to allocate more of their funds towards services.

“Every girl that comes in, you can see when they begin to understand the life that God meant for them to have, and that’s when the change starts,” Scott explained.

Change doesn’t stop when women finish the Hope City program. Many women go on to complete the coursework to obtain their Adult Peer Support Specialist Certification. The certification is offered on-site and several women have pursued it after finishing the rehab program. Kara recently graduated from Hope City and went on to become an Adult Peer Support Specialist.

“People have always been drawn to me to talk and I love being able to help others. I’ve always felt like something has been missing from my life, and this is the missing link.”

Additional educational opportunities include Alcohol and Drug Counselor Certifications and college degrees.

“We’ve been blessed because we have 11 girls in college,” Scott bragged. “President Obama designated our county as a Promise Zone – people may not know this, but 12 of the poorest counties in the United States are in Kentucky. The Paths-to-Promise initiative provides access to a free associate degree, work-study at minimum wage, transportation, and child care. The Readyto-Work program pays for a bachelor’s degree for women with children. It’s been a real blessing, because the 30 hours that they are required to work, they can work right here.”

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The program has been a tremendous success – every participant that was separated from their children has been able to have custody returned to them upon graduation. The recidivism rate (the rate of re-offending or being re-arrested) for Kentucky averages nearly 40 percent, while Hope City’s recidivism rate is under 20 percent.

“We have several girls that have come to us when people thought there wasn’t any hope. We credit all of their recovery, naturally, to the Lord,” Scott explained.

Stacy, for example, was found living in an abandoned house with her children and was 82 pounds when she arrived. After going through the program she has been reunited with her son and daughter and they are living together in a Hope City house. Like many women, Stacy has also become part of the staff.

“A lot of the women have had a tough life,” Scott reflected. “People wonder why they stay in these abusive relationships – we know they’re looking for love, they’ve just never found real love. Unconditional love. And that’s the love of God.” Tammie agreed. “The Lord delivered me from addiction and drastically changed my life almost 25 years ago. I want to give others the same opportunity that I was given to know Him and His delivering power and love.” n FIND OUT MORE To get help with a drug addiction, call 833-8KYHELP (833-859-4357). More information can be found at www.dontletthemdie.com

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contact us at

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Christian Appalachian Project

compassion

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tornado destroyed the only food pantry in Magoffin County in 2012, and church member Ladale Stephens would say that was when God provided an opportunity for Water into Wine Food Pantry to fill the void.

“I told them that our small church just wasn’t big enough for the vision that God had given me,” Stephens said. The long-time resident of Salyersville, Ky. had for many years reminded her church, Lakefront Church of God, that God had more in store for them.

When the old Middle Fork Elementary School came up for sale, she knew it was time for the church to trust in God’s vision for their future. Lakefront Church of God relocated to the renovated space in 2012. Its outreach ministries grew to include a health clinic, thrift store, job training center, as well as the Water into Wine Food Pantry.

“Magoffin County is among the poorest counties in the country,” said Val Inzer, director of the food pantry. “When the only food pantry in the county was destroyed,

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Community Partners we opened Water into Wine as a response to the wide- to helping Water into Wine extend the impact of the spread destruction.” pantry and its ability to meet the needs of children, their families, and seniors living with food insecurity Lakefront has been a community partner with Christian in the county.”

Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Operation Sharing for more than 10 years. They receive goods that are uti- Inzer agreed, “The partnership with CAP has helped us inlized by a variety of ministries at the church including crease the variety of goods we provide through the pantry household and healthcare items, furniture, and build- and increase the number of items we have to give away.” ing supplies.

Christian Appalachian Project provided more than CAP’s longstanding relationship with Lakefront through financial resources. Several of CAP’s long-term volunits Operation Sharing Program positioned the two teers assisted with renovation of the facility. Staff who organizations to expand their partnership in 2017. have managed CAP’s pantry for over a decade assisted Although CAP has operated the Grateful Bread Food with strategic planning and logistics. Operation Sharing Pantry in Rockcastle County since 2007, CAP was helped coordinate and transport goods. seeking opportunities to address hunger insecurity in other Appalachian counties.

“Sometimes we would spend hours on the road driving as far away as Lexington and Morehead to pick up pro“It had been a plan for CAP to open another food pantry duce and meat,” Inzer recalled. “Since we didn’t have a or partner with a local organization and we are pleased to forklift, we would have to unload about 30,000 pounds see this partnership move forward,” said Anita Seals, vice of food by hand roughly three times a week.” president of CAP’s human service programs. Seals and others reached out to Chuck Young, community devel- Thanks to their partnership with CAP, Water into Wine oper with God’s Pantry Food Bank in Lexington, to assess received a Community Grant which funded the entire where the need was greatest. Young identified Magoffin renovation of their existing pantry, including a loading since they had only one food pantry in the entire county. dock. Jeff Tackett, community outreach and admissions coordinator at the pantry, secured additional funding Young elaborated, “The volunteers at Water into Wine for coolers. The pantry can now provide dairy products serve over 500 families a month. They were doing to their clients. Paul Marsillett, a friend of the pantry, awesome work, but they had limited resources. I was coordinated the donation of a forklift from Back’s sure that a partnership with CAP would help provide Plumbing in Nicholasville, Ky. which was towed to additional assistance to increase much needed services Salyersville by LeMaster Towing at no charge. in Magoffin County.”

Modernizing the food bank also required new thinking.

Seals also understands the benefits of the partnership. Although cell phones might not seem like important “We are excited about the partnership and look forward equipment, Tackett, who also oversees communication FALL / WINTER 2018 | christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive

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(previous) Staff from Water into Wine, Gods Pantry, and CAP celebrated their partnership with a dedication. (above) Johnny Lovely, a decon at Kernie Free Will Baptist Church picks up food from the pantry and delivers it to residents in his community west of Salyersville.

for the pantry, saw their potential. He capitalized on a federal government program that provided cell phones to residents in low-income areas in order to help distribute essential information to participants.

“One of our satellite partners is Kernie Free Will Baptist Church which is west of Salyersville,” Tackett commented. “Recently, a deacon from Kernie picked up produce and drove up and down the road to deliver food and visit with residents as he did so. Satellite “We can do all of our registrations online and schedule distribution allows the food to make it into remote pickups of emergency food items,” said Tackett, who communities so that those in need do not have to uses the cell phone system to send out mass text mes- travel so far for assistance.” sages when fresh produce and meat arrive at the pantry.

“It has helped us communicate our mission to the On any given distribution day, the pantry has about community and to be better stewards over what we 30 volunteers that show up from the church and the receive. When people buy into that mission, it helps community to serve their neighbors. They have a traus expand our impact.” dition that keeps them connected to each other and their work.

Another partner agency that has helped Water into Wine is Farms to Food Banks. They provide fresh, “When you come, there is work to do here all the time,” healthy produce at no cost to Kentuckians in need said Vicky Fletcher, pantry treasurer. “When you’re through the food bank network. During the summer doing inventory during the week, you can sometimes months, Water into Wine was able to utilize commu- forget how great the need is in the community. When nity partners to get the produce where it was needed we do distribution, we shut down for an hour for our most. Farms to Food Banks obtains food from Water lunch break. It’s important to us to have time to break into Wine and then delivers to churches that take the bread together. It has brought us closer together and produce to their local communities. reminds us of our mission to serve the least of these.” n 28

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Back Future to the

“I

t’s that time of year in Appalachia where friends begin to make social media posts begging for information about where to find ripe pawpaws. Private messages are exchanged and secret locations are disclosed. Timing is critical because the fresh fruit only lasts a few days, perhaps a week, if they’re refrigerated. You won’t find them stocked in grocery stores, or in many places outside of the region.

Farmers markets and friends are your best bet.

superior product to one you’d buy at a grocery store,” Castle continued. “There’s an exquisite flavor that we can get that’s completely unlike anything you’d find if you leave the mountains. I absolutely cannot buy beans that feed my ‘mountain-ness’ anywhere other than up where they grow.”

Tom Colicchio, head judge on the popular culinary competition show “Top Chef ” and Kentucky Chef Edward Lee, a guest judge on the show, agree that this Many of Appalachia’s finest foods are like the pawpaw. regional food focus is a trend that they are seeing across They are best consumed at the right time in the place where they were grown. Sheri Castle, food writer and the United States. cooking teacher, points toward the French term terroir to explain this mystery. Loosely translated, terroir “America is rediscovering its regional roots,” said Colicchio while in Kentucky filming an episode of the means to taste the earth in the food. show which has incorporated regional cooking this sea“When you go out to your yard and pick a tomato or son. “Whenever we film in a city or a state, that place pepper that was meant to grow right where you live, almost becomes a character in itself. In the past couple and was allowed to stay in the garden until it was ripe of years we’ve really tried to tease out the particular and ready to pick, that’s going to be a very different and food cultures in those states and areas.”

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arts & culture Lee, author of “Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef ’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine,” believes that the reason nationally televised shows are exploring the region has a lot to do with the resurgence of small farms.

processing, and serving of our food can be a piece of a new multi-faceted economy going into the future,” said Lundy, the James Beard Award-winning author of “Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes,” and founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance.

COURTESY OF BRAVO MEDIA

“The agriculture of Kentucky keeps getting better. It helps chefs like me do what we do. Kentucky’s small Lee continued, “There is a spirit to Appalachian food. farms are basically the bones of the restaurant industry,” There’s a reason why some of this food is passed down Lee said. “It’s the restaurant infrom generation to generation. dustry in Kentucky that is creat- “America is rediscovering Appalachians are stubborn people. ing this movement which is why When they migrated from the its regional roots. ” you see “Top Chef ” coming here, east through the mountains, they and why you see the Appalachian were supposed to pass through Chef Tom Colicchio Food Summit, and chefs like them to places that were friendliKristen Smith in Corbin, Ky. doing really cool things. It’s er to agriculture. The people that did settle tended to be not just Louisville and Lexington anymore. There’s a lot very hardheaded, very strong people. Everything they of attention being paid to Appalachia.” did, for good or bad, those traditions survived. That’s the core of Appalachian food.”

Nationally-known food writer Ronni Lundy elaborated saying, “What I’m most excited about right now is how That Appalachian stubbornness can be found in the people in the region are reclaiming their identities, their food itself. One example? The beans. “As a trained stories, and their futures from those outsiders who have chef, a food writer, and a hillbilly, I can tell you that historically, and continually, appropriated and distorted if you were to go to a grocery store in Kansas City, or them for personal gain.”

Savannah, or San Francisco and buy yourself a bag of those skinny little beans that are grown to be cooked as “The study of our food and foodways is a big part of writ- a fresh vegetable – you’re obviously not going to cook ing an accurate history of the region; and the producing, them for an hour, they’d be overcooked,” Castle added.

(previous) A photo from “Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes” (above) Chef Edward Lee and Chef Tom Colicchio enter Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. for a taping of and episode of Top Chef Season 16.

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arts & culture SHERRI CASTLE’S DO NOT MISS LIST

1. Sour corn. It’s just one of the most delicious things in the world, and a revelation. Light tangy corn - it can be eaten as a relish or side dish. It retains its crispness, and has a wonderful salty briney twang.

2. Stack cake. A true stack cake takes a week to make.

Don’t settle for imitations.

3. Appalachian corn bread. It’s like bbq in the south – very specific to households and communities. Corn bread has fierce loyalties. It’s almost never bad, and it’s usually wonderful.

4. Beans of some sort. Any of Appalachia’s regional varieties.

5. Chow chow. When I try to introduce people to garden textures sweet and spicy all in one dish, I serve them chow chow.

She continued, “In Appalachia you go to a farmers market, your granny’s backyard, or a local roadside stand you’ll be buying some greasy beans or half-runners or one of our hundreds of varieties of beans. Our beans are grown not as a fresh spring vegetable but as a source of protein. You have got to cook those beans until they are tender and nutrient available. It’s not overcooking beans, it’s cooking them until they’re right.”

Proper preparation of Appalachian foods is essential.

Castle and Lundy agree that preservation is one way that Appalachia stands apart from its neighbors in the Deep South.

“The reason that preservation is both necessary, and certain techniques of it possible in the mountains, is that unlike the rest of the south, the mountain south has a distinct winter season, and often a severe one,” explained Lundy who has been writing about the food, music, and culture of the southern Appalachians and the American South for more than 30 years. “That comes with a cool fall and spring, as well, which means that while our growing seasons are more limited, we have certain foods (apples, of which there were once well over a thousand varieties; forest foraged greens and mushrooms; and sweet sorghum) that are scarce or non-existent in the deeper south.”

and put up. I think that those flavors and techniques are what represent us most. I would say that we could go up against anyone on a world stage when it comes to preserving food.”

Appalachia’s food story is an amalgamation of the many cultures that have lived in the region. “The strong prevalence of German preservation techniques reminds us that the region’s first European settlers were anything but a mono-culture. Likewise, Cherokee or Native American cultivars (the candy roaster squash) persist despite both intentional and non-intentional histories that ignore their huge impact,” Lundy said. “The tremendous amount of hard work that goes into raising and preserving enough food to get a family through the winter, and the wisdom involved in knowing exactly how and when to do what belie the vile myth that mountaineers are inherently lazy or ignorant.”

Although Appalachian food honors the past, it isn’t married to it. It is always exploring new traditions as people move into the region. “I’m excited about the ways that younger chefs are building on the solid foundations of what is and has been distinctly Appalachian in taste, as well as tradition,” Lundy expounded. “That Mountain Umami I refer to can be enhanced/created in a number of ways that may make a traditionalist pause.

Part of the adventure is not just about satisfying your Castle added, “We are really good at preserving food. taste buds, but also in challenging your assumptions The ways that we pickle and ferment and dry and smoke about what Appalachia is, has been, and can be.” n FALL / WINTER 2018 | christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive

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PRESERVING HERITAGE

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n the late part of the 1800s, among the African Americans in the mountains of Appalachia was a group that called London, Ky. home. In 1898, some of them came together to build a house of worship. It was named First Colored Baptist Church, but in the late ‘60s, the name was changed to Mill Street Baptist Church. Wayne Riley grew up in that church, and when it fell into disrepair, he, along with others in the community, stepped in to save it.

“We already knew that at one time there had been a larger population of African American people here – when the coal mines were booming. We thought it would be easy to gather the history, but it wasn’t,” he said with a laugh. “It sounds easy to just find some history, but once you find it, you have to learn how to store it, how to catalog it, how to present it to people.”

In 2004, some family members joined with him, along with guidance from the Kentucky Heritage Council, to start the Laurel County African American Heritage Center.

“The younger people had left because there were no jobs, the older people were dying off, and the church was just sitting there empty,” said Riley, a lifelong res- “Over 100 years ago, there was a group of people who ident. “The city was going to condemn it and tear it started this church and paid for this land,” Riley said. down. Our goal was to save the building.”

“It doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the community.

We need to remember our history, what it takes to get Several others also wanted to save the building and they from a one-room school to what we have now. We want agreed that a museum would be the best way to pre- our young people to know our history that happened serve the history of the African American population in here. We need to teach them every step in the struggle.

Laurel County.

Everybody needs to talk to young people about history.”

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arts & culture

Riley’s most prized possessions in the museum are a doll A and teddy bear that are both over a century old. They have been passed down through his family and have been donated to the Heritage Center. The collection also includes several handmade quilts, and the uniform of Paul Carson, the first black police officer in London, Ky. Another unique part of the collection are graduation name cards from the 1951 class at Lincoln Institute which was an all-black boarding high school created by the trustees of Berea College after the Day Law outlawed racially integrated education at the college.

With the help of his friend, Ray Storm, who served as warehouse manager and later as assistant director of Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Operation Sharing, Riley was able to acquire fireproof file cabinets to store family genealogical records, as well as items to furnish the facility. CAP also provided floor tiles and light fixtures for the center’s renovation.

(previous page) Wayne Riley stands in front of the Heritage Center Community Commercial Kitchen with a fresh crop of tomatoes. (above top) Rows of photos acquired by Riley showcase African American residents from the area. (above bottom) This painting depicts the First Colored Baptist

The Heritage Center also initiated several outreach pro- Church in its original setting. grams to support the community. Operation Sharing supplied the nonprofit community partner with food for its pantry as well as clothing items and durable goods to carpenter by trade, Riley graduated from Laurel County help people in need in Appalachia. “We wouldn’t have High School and Laurel County Vocational School. been able to supply those needs without CAP,” Riley said. In the last few years, Riley helped to relocate a house 34

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arts & culture

(left) Delicious vegetables and locally sourced meat was served at a recent Black Soil Laurel County Farm Tour and Farm to Table Dinner held at the Heritage Center. (above) A sampling of the different foods being preserved in the new Heritage Center Community Commercial Kitchen which offers community members a professional kitchen where they can make jams, jellies, baked goods, canned goods, soaps and cosmetics to be sold through local farmers markets.

built in 1896 that became the addition to the Heritage Center. He also moved and renovated a building, donated by the city, which now houses a commercial kitchen where residents can preserve and market foods they produce.

commercial kitchen.

“The alignment between both of our agencies highlights marginalized people within the food sector throughout the state,” said Ashley Smith, co-founder of Black Soil.

“Though it was our first farm tour and farm-to-table dinner in the region, it will not be our last. The spirit of Appalachia, especially the work of people of color is rising strong and resilient like never before. And food is central to this catalytic energy.”

The last donation that Storm coordinated for Riley was a stainless-steel freezer. It was the perfect addition to their outreach program that partners with Grow Appalachia, whose mission is “to teach families in central Appalachia how to grow food for themselves and their families, cook the produce in heart-healthy ways, preserve excess Riley continues his work with the museum, but is for the winter, and sell at the farmers market.” expanding outreach activities that teach children and adults how to grow organic food. This includes Black Soil, based in Lexington, Ky., is a combination preparing soil, planting seeds, maintaining gardens, of farm tours, farm-to-table dinners, and workshops harvesting crops, and preserving food. Riley dreams of with the mission to reconnect black Kentuckians to offering other types of classes through the center as well their legacy and heritage in agriculture. The two or- as helping other small nonprofits get off the ground. ganizations recently co-hosted an event at the center’s FALL / WINTER 2018 | christianapp.org/MtSpiritGive

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