GRACE Ministries of the United Methodist Church in northern Virginia is a community outreach program serving low income families from many nations. Founded in 1999 by Rev. Ileana Rosas, the program has grown from one location at Culmore UMC to seven United Methodist churches including Arlington UMC and Mount Olivet UMC in Arlington County; St Stephen s UMC, Floris UMC, Centreville UMC and Culmore UMC in Fairfax County, and Crossroads UMC in Loudoun County. Every month, each of the seven church sites offers a distribution of food, clothing and diapers for families in need. In addition to these basic necessities, health information and resources such as free clinic information is provided. Many volunteers from each church and their local community work together each month, collecting donations, bagging food and sorting clothes in preparation for the distributions. In order to encourage self-sufficiency and help people find employment, GRACE Ministries offers job training programs in high demand occupations. Two of the job training programs are for students who would like to begin a career in the health care field. Personal Care Aide (PCA) training classes prepare students to become home health care aides for the elderly and for individuals who are disabled. Our 10 th PCA class was offered last fall with 26 students graduating on November 19, 2011. Our first Arlington PCA class started February 28 th at Arlington UMC. Graduation will be on May 19, 2012. Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) training prepares students for future work in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, hospitals and home health care. Our third CNA class started classes on January 19, 2012. Graduation will be June 16, 2012. Both the CNA and the PCA training classes offer ESL instruction in addition to nursing instruction. Looking ahead, we are very excited about starting CNA classes Aug. 4, 2012 at Arlington UMC. GRACE Ministries also offers Commercial Drivers License (CDL) training for low income students to become Fairfax County Public School bus drivers. This program is made possible through a partnership with Skill Source, Adult and Community Education and Fairfax County Public Schools Transportation Services. Students receive both CDL training and ESL training during this six month training program. While students are in the class, they work as paid school bus attendants every morning and afternoon. The sixth CDL class started training in October 2011and 13 students graduated on March 26, 2012. Our greatest joy is to see our students graduate and find employment. Our summer intern, Patricia Nicastri, had the opportunity to speak with Cecelia Estrada, one of our recent
graduates. Cecelia shared that she started her journey to America in 1999 when she traveled to the United States from Santa Ana, El Salvador in search of a better life for her and her children. After living in New York for a while, Cecilia relocated to Virginia and later learned about the GRACE Ministries food and clothing distribution at Floris United Methodist Church in 2004. She began attending the distribution each month. In 2007, Cecilia heard about the PCA program from a church member and applied to take the spring PCA class. Three years later, she took the first CNA course offered through GRACE Ministries and graduated in the spring 2010. Cecelia came by the church a few months after graduation to let everyone know the wonderful news that she now works as a CNA at Caton Merchant House, an Assisted Living Facility in Prince William County. Cecelia shared, "I really enjoy work as a CNA because I love helping people," Cecilia said. She looks forward to more training to become a medication aide, who is not only responsible for caring for each patient but can also give them medicine. Cecilia is very happy to have full time work to support her family. She has three daughters, Melena, Gisela and Leslie, ranging from ages 8 to 11. We were very happy to hear Cecelia s good news! It is our prayer that GRACE Ministries can help more families and individuals each year. As we look to the future, we will continue to address the immediate needs of families without losing sight of our long range goals of self-sufficiency and empowerment. Our GRACE Ministries monthly distribution sites will provide places where families can experience Christian love and hospitality in the midst of this recession. The job training programs can help individuals learn the skills they need to find employment. We are very thankful for all the support we receive from the churches in the Arlington District churches, the Alexandria District churches and the Virginia Annual Conference. This support provides us with the resources we need to serve our community. Thank you and God bless you! In Christ, Rev. Martha Real From left to right, Dr. Heisung Lee, Cecelia Estrada, Caryl Welsh MSN RN, Rosanne Sheehan, ESL Instructor Nurse Aide Class &instructors at Nursing Center
GRACE Ministries Network Locations GRACE Ministries currently has 7 locations across Northern Virginia where food, clothing and diapers are distributed once a month. For more information, contact the site director at the location nearest you. Volunteers are always welcome! For more information, contact the GRACE Ministries Coordinator, Ana Maria Lopez, at (703) 979-7527 or (703) 979-1650 x306 Culmore UMC Grace Ministry Site (first Saturday of each month) Doors open at 6:00am Distribution is from 7:00am to 10:00am 5901 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22041 Site Director: Ana Maria Lopez (703) 979-7527 or (703) 979-1650 ext. 306 Email: AnaMariaL869@gmail.com Arlington UMC Grace Ministry Site (third Saturday of each month) Doors open at 6:00am Distribution is from 7:00am - 10:00am 716 South Glebe Road Arlington, VA 22204 (703) 979-7527 or (703) 979-1650 ext. 306 Site Director: Ana Maria Lopez Email: AnaMariaL869@gmail.com Floris UMC Grace Ministry Site (first Saturday of each month) Doors open at 6:30am Distribution is from 8:00am - 10:00am 13600 Frying Pan Road Herndon, VA 20171 Church Phone: (703) 793-0026 Site Director: Courtney Brown Email: courtneynicolebrown@hotmail.com
Crossroads UMC Grace Ministry Site (third Saturday of each month) 6:00pm - 8:30pm 43454 Crossroads Drive Ashburn, VA 20147 Church Phone: (703) 729-5100 Site Director: Rev. Flor Norris Email fnorris@ecrossroadsumc.org Mount Olivet UMC Grace Ministry Site (third Saturday of each month) Doors are open from 4:30pm - 7:30pm 1500 North Glebe Road Arlington, VA 22207 Church Phone: (703) 527-3934 Site Directors: Marilyn Traynham, Email: mtraynham@mtolivet-umc.org Jim Coates, Email: jim.coates@comcast.net Monte Campbell, Email: eslim@earthlink.net Centreville UMC Grace Ministry Site (second Saturday of each month) Doors open at 7:00am Distribution is from 8:00am - 10:30am 6400 Old Centreville Road Centreville, VA 20121 Church Phone: (703) 830-2684 Site Director: Barb Shaiko Email: bshaiko@centreville-umc.org St. Stephens UMC Grace Ministry Site (fourth Saturday of each month) Doors open at 7:30am Distribution is from 8:00am - 11:00am 9203 Braddock Road Burke, VA 22015 Church Phone: (703) 978-8724 Site Director: Rev. Melissa Porter-Miller Email: Pastormelissa@ststephensfairfax.org
Grace Ministries of the United Methodist Church Job Training Classes Thank you for your support!
GRACE Ministries 2012 Job Training Programs Personal Care Aide (PCA) Training Program 10-Week certification training program for home health aides Program trains students on how to care for the elderly and/or disabled Two-part training: PCA training and ESL training based on the Virginia PCA curriculum Classes meet Thursdays,7-9 pm and Saturdays 9 am 3 pm (9 am Noon for PCA and 1-3 pm ESL) Training topics include: Personal Care, Infection Control, Body Mechanics, Feeding, Overview of Aging, Dementia, How to take blood pressure and other vital signs, How to work with people with disabilities, Doing necessary documentation, End of Life care and Nutrition. Training includes writing resumes and job seeking skills Training provides class members American Heart Health Care Providers CPR Great first step to more advanced training in the medical field. Many go on to take Certified Nursing Assistant training and other medical skills training. Classes are Sept Nov at Floris UMC, Herndon, VA, and Mar - May at Arlington UMC, Arlington VA, Pre-registration contact Ana Maria Lopez Multicultural Nurse Aide (CNA) Training Program 18-Week, 130 hour certificate training program Graduates can work in nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities and home health care agencies Two-part training: CNA training and ESL training based on CNA curriculum Classes meet Thursdays, 6-9 pm and Saturdays 9 am noon (CNA class) and 1-3 PM (ESL class) Training includes 2 week clinical practicum (24 hours/week) Classes includes resume writing and job seeking skills Training topics: Cultural Aspects of Care, Workplace Safety, Basic First Aid and Emergency Care, Vital Signs, Personal Care Skills, Caring for Clients with Special Needs, Healthcare System and preparation for certification test. Great first step to more advanced training in the medical field. Class are Jan June at Floris UMC, Herndon, VA, and Aug Jan at Arlington UMC, Arlington Pre-registration - contact Ana Maria Lopez Commercial Driver s License (CDL) Training 16-week training program to prepare to take the Commercial Driver s License Test and become school bus drivers for Fairfax County Public Schools Meets five days a week, two hours a day between bus runs (10:30am-12:30pm) Three days are ESL classes based on CDL requirements Two days are CDL classes based on bus skill requirements Students are hired as a school bus attendants by the school system while taking the class Students are paid for the time they are in class Must pass CDL Permit test while in class School system provides additional behind the wheel training after the class Once CDL license test is passed, students become school bus drivers School bus drivers for Fairfax County make $17.07 per hour with benefits Classes at Floris UMC, Herndon & FCPS Transportation Training Center, Springfield Pre-registration is in July and August each year. Classes are held October - March Floris UMC address: 13600 Frying Pan Road, Herndon, VA 20171 Arlington UMC address: 716 South Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22204 Contact Ana Maria Lopez, 703-979-7527 or 703-979-1650 x306 or AnaMariaL869@gmail.com New in 2012! PCA and NA classes are offered at Arlington UMC in Arlington, VA 22204
Join Us in Serving Our Neighbors! SERVE...as a volunteer at a food and clothing distribution SUPPLY...funds to help us purchase food or clothes for one of our distributions SPREAD...the word by telling a neighbor about GRACE Ministries START...a new GRACE Ministry site at your local church. SHARE...by donating clothing, diapers or food for a monthly distribution. SPONSOR...a student in one of our job training programs. Our cost per person is... $550 for a 10-week Personal Care Aide Class $850 for a 16-week Commercial Driver s License Class $865 for an 18-week Certified Nurse Aide Class. SUPPORT...this outreach ministry through your financial gifts and pledges. GRACE Ministries of the United Methodist Church is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. A tax-deductible donation can be sent to: GRACE Ministries of the United Methodist Church 5001 Echols Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22311 United Methodists can also give at their local church by designating their donation for Virginia Conference Advance Special #935 (GRACE Ministries) For more information contact: Rev. Martha Real, Executive Director 703-793-0026, x112 mreal@florisumc.org Ana Maria Lopez, Ministry Coordinator 703-979-7527, AnaMariaL869@gmail.com Website: www.graceministriesumc.org