Local Partnerships

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Engage WS No Bylines

God has called us to embody the good news of Jesus in Winston Salem. We do so by partnering with a number of local agencies that are serving our community (see our list of local partners below). In addition, we are introducing Engage Winston-Salem, an all-church initiative in which we will focus each quarter on a specific need in our community such as equitable education or homelessness. Engage Winston-Salem features opportunities to learn about our community and the challenges that many face, as well as hands-on ways (both short and long-term) we can join in God's work of healing. Our current focus is Housing and Healthcare.

ENGAGE WS FEATURED PARTNER:
Diaper Bank of NC

Diaper Bank of NC envisions a state where dignity, health, and quality of life are viewed as rights, not privileges. Our mission is to increase awareness of and access to essential hygiene items to promote dignity, health, and quality of life for the people of North Carolina.

Visit Diaper Bank of NC to learn more.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Diaper Bank of NC is in need of the following donations:

Diapers and Pull-ups, all brands, all sizes
Diaper cream
Baby Wipes
Infant formula, all types
Feminine hygiene products, all types
Adult incontinence products, all sizes

First Pres will be a collection site for donations throughout the month of March. Items may be dropped off at designated areas in the Fellowship Hall or in the Worship Center lobby. Donations may also be made through the Diaper Bank of NC Amazon Wish lists:

Baby Care Wish List      Feminine Hygiene Wish List

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

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Amani Children's Foundation

Amani raises funding and awareness for New Life Homes in Kenya. New Life Homes has four homes across the country in Nairobi, Nyeri, Nakuru and Kisumu that take in infants between birth and three months of age. The babies have been found abandoned in the most awful conditions and are lovingly welcomed into a home of the highest standards. By the age of two, nearly all of the children are adopted into a Kenyan family.
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Associates in Christian Counseling

Associates’ mission is to offer hope and healing through psychological and counseling services reflecting the love of Jesus and revealing God’s grace and compassion.
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City With Dwellings

City With Dwellings works to end the crisis of homelessness in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, providing a unique platform for volunteers across the community to connect and build relationships with individuals who are experiencing homelessness. First Presbyterian has a rich history of partnering with City with Dwellings in hosting an emergency overflow shelter each winter.

For seven years, City with Dwellings has provided winter shelter to many of our city’s most vulnerable neighbors. First Pres has been a vital part of Shelter by providing housing for up to twenty-six men in our Fellowship Hall from January – March. Due to COVID, City with Dwellings has restructured and will not be using churches for overflow this winter. While some things look different this year, the needs of our homeless neighbors remain.

Some of the needs include meal provision, laundry hosting, transportation, and much more. To view the different opportunities to assist City with Dwellings this season, please visit their website: https://www.citywithdwellings.org/wintershelter or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/citywithdwellings.

Cook Literacy Model School

Cook Literacy Model School is a Title 1 Elementary School in downtown Winston-Salem. First Presbyterian has been partnering with Cook for over ten years, and there are many opportunities to get involved.

Volunteer Opportunities: 

Reading or Math Buddy: Tutor the same student 30-45 min per week. The teacher will provide materials.

Lunch Buddy: Eat lunch with the same student one day/week and build a caring relationship - you can make a lifelong difference in a student’s life! Lunch periods are either 45 min (younger grades) or 30 minutes (older grades).

Classroom Helper: Serve in the same classroom 1-2 hours per week assisting the teacher, as needed.

Please contact Margaret Wray or Jane Aves for more information about how YOU can get involved at Cook Literacy Model School and make a difference in a student’s life!

Crisis Control

Crisis Control assists people in crisis to meet essential life needs and to become self-sufficient. They engage hundreds of volunteers to interview potential clients, serve families shopping in their food pantry, help fill prescriptions in their pharmacy, and more.

El Buen Pastor

El Buen Pastor is a Spanish-speaking New Church Development and long-standing partner of First Presbyterian Church. Under the leadership of their pastor Jorge Vasquez, El Buen Pastor seeks to live on mission to show and share Jesus in the Spanish-speaking neighborhoods of Winston-Salem.

Forsyth Jail And Prison Ministries

Forsyth Jail and Prison uses Christ’s love and forgiveness to transform lives and break the cycle of crime and punishment. It has helped thousands of incarcerated men and women discover the true meaning of Christianity, and what it means to live as a Christian.

Hawley House

Hawley House is a Women’s Substance Abuse Recovery Facility that houses women for a period of 9-12 months and offers 6 months of aftercare for women ages 18 and older diagnosed with the disease of addiction. They are the only state-licensed residential substance abuse program for women in Forsyth County

Love Out Loud

Love Out Loud has built strong relationships to form a collective of Christ-centered churches (over 80), groups & individuals living out Christ’s call to love our neighbor. Together, they partner with other local community organizations (200+ non-profits and scores of market place and civic leaders) for the flourishing of our city.

Samaritan Ministries

Samaritan Ministries was formed in 1981 in partnership with First Presbyterian Church. They are an interdenominational, volunteer-based Christian ministry that serves Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Their Soup Kitchen and Samaritan Inn Shelter are open 365 days and nights a year to serve people in need.

We recently discovered that Samaritan is short on vital volunteers that help provide lunch and dinner to guests. They currently need:

Lunch volunteers (7-8 each day): 9:00am-1:30pm, Monday- Saturday; 10:00am-2:00pm on Sundays. Participants must be at least 13 years old (13-16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult)
Dinner volunteers (2-3 each day): Flexible starting time.

Second Harvest Food Bank

Second Harvest Food Bank serves 18 Northwest North Carolina counties as a vital source of food and support services for 460+ local food assistance programs. Through on-the-ground partners, they distribute nearly 34 million meals for food-insecure families.

Senior Services Meals On Wheels

Senior Services Meals on Wheels empowers a team of volunteers to deliver a hot meal and a warm smile to local seniors who are homebound. Deliveries generally take about an hour and a half Monday through Friday between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Winston Salem Fellows

The Winston-Salem Fellows want to inspire and equip a rising generation of leaders to embrace the reality of who they are, to live their faith seamlessly in all areas, and to participate in things that are greater than themselves. They accomplish this by providing an intensely practical ten-month experience designed to help young adults successfully bridge the transition from college to career as men and women prepared to live lives of passion and purpose.

Winston Salem Freedom Schools

Freedom Schools is a free six-week summer program for Grades K-12 designed to increase literacy, self-esteem, socio-emotional skills, love of learning, and civic engagement. The mission of the Winston-Salem Freedom Schools programs is to boost student motivations to read, generate more positive attitudes toward learning, increase self-esteem and connect the needs of children and families to the resources of their communities. The activity-based Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Integrated Reading Curriculum, which is aligned to the Common Core State Standards, integrates reading, conflict resolution, and social action, and is designed to promote social, cultural, and historical awareness.

Winston Salem Street School

Winston Salem Street School is a private alternative high school serving the at-risk youth of the Greater Winston Salem area of North Carolina. It is designed to meet the needs of students who struggled in traditional schools due to academic or behavioral obstacles, many of whom were expelled or dropped out. The WSSS was specifically created to target these students and offers them the chance to earn a diploma recognized by the State of North Carolina.

World Relief Triad

World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization whose mission is to empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable. They aim to tackle the world’s greatest problems with holistic, locally-driven solutions that lead to lasting change — whether in response to disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression or mass displacement and immigration. World Relief’s work in the United States, specifically, focuses on helping refugees and other immigrants in vulnerable situations rebuild their lives in a new country.

Young Life & Younglives

Young Life introduces adolescents to Jesus Christ and helps them grow in their faith. It starts, not with a program, but with adults who are concerned enough about kids to go to them, on their turf and in their culture, building bridges of authentic friendship.

Since Young Life began in Forsyth county in 1957, we’ve grown to now offer:
Young Life (high school), WyldLife (middle school), Young Life College (college), Capernaum (special needs) and YoungLives (teen moms).

There are MANY ways to get involved:  volunteer leader or mentor, YL committee, ministry support team, specific roles (driver, childcare worker, provide a meal), planning teams (BQT or Golf), etc. For more information, contact younglifefc@bellsouth.net or 336-725-1750.