Briefs from Orlando

Keeping You Up to Date...

'JaymorGroup’ Office Space Donation Provides Visibility, Efficiency

'McNamara Pontiac’ Warehouse Donation Provides…A Place to Put Our Stuff

'Mid Florida Tech' Brings Vocational Expertise to OHMH Projects

‘What’s that?’ ‘Why It’s a Pallet of Purdy Paint Brushes, Of Course!’

‘JaymorGroup’ Office Space Donation Provides Visibility, Efficiency

Although it may be possible to run a successful operation out of a home-based garage or basement, so many things work so much better when an organization has a designated location to receive guests and conduct official business. The shingle for One Heart – Many Hands was officially hung this week in the heart of Orlando’s downtown. Complete with a reception area, four offices, a meeting room, phones and computers, our new Central Florida headquarters is in line-of-site of the Mayor’s office, major corporations, and internationally recognized non-profit organizations. While One Heart - Many Hands has had a presence in Orlando since May 2008, cultivating relationships and laying the groundwork for hundreds of projects and coordinating thousands of volunteers, we now have officially arrived in a very visible way. We thank The Jaymor Group for allowing us to set up shop in their beautiful building at absolutely no cost. It is an honor to count Jaymor as an integral partner in our mission to improve the lives of people in need.

‘McNamara Pontiac’ Warehouse Donation Provides…A Place to Put Our Stuff

As we report on the exciting partnerships we are developing with major corporations like The Home Depot, 84 Lumber, and Purdy Painting Tools, you might wonder, “Where will One Heart – Many Hands store all of this donated equipment and building materials prior to the project the launch date (June 21, 2009)?” Sometimes things unfold so neatly, that there’s no doubt a Higher Authority is at work, and obviously serving as our most valued partner. Nearly a year ago, Project Director George Sisler developed a wish list that included the hope of aprox. 30,000 square feet in warehouse space. As he was driving through the neighborhoods where much of our home-based projects will take place, he passed by a property known locally as McNamara Pontiac/Isuzu. But George saw more than a few empty buildings; he saw opportunity. It so happens that on another trip by the same location, George spotted the owner of the facility working outside. Mr. Hal McNamara surely wasn’t expecting that day to be approached by an eager service project director toting a wish list, but in short order a friendship was cast. We now we have warehouse space aplenty: right at 28,224 square feet to be exact! Indeed, partnerships are sometimes no more than drive away.

'Mid Florida Tech' Brings Vocational Expertise to OHMH Projects

Our staff has recently been able to visit and assess some of the homes where our volunteers will be working in June. We have occasionally encountered some needs that will require fairly sophisticated skill sets, along with permits that aren’t easily obtained by a traveling service project organization. Our partnership with Mid Florida Tech (the largest vocational school in the Southeast) will allow us to address some of these more challenging projects. Whether it’s complex plumbing, electrical or large-scale framing jobs, Mid Florida Tech has hundreds of master craftsmen and apprentice workers willing to visit our job sites before our teams arrive (or, if necessary, afterward) and complete the more technical aspects of the work that might not be ideal for our average volunteers. Thanks to our new partner, Joseph McCoy, Senior Director at Mid Florida Tech, who sees the value in making service a truly educational experience.

‘What’s that?’ ‘Why It’s a Pallet of Purdy Paint Brushes, Of Course!’

Nothing spruces up a place quite like a fresh coat of paint, and most of our job sites, whether home-based or otherwise, will require at least some painting work. Naturally, paint doesn’t put itself on fences, walls and ceilings…it requires people with brushes and rollers and sponges and such. Purchasing thousands of paint brushes, for thousands of volunteers, would be mighty expensive. So here comes Oregon-based Purdy (‘The Brand Preferred by Most Pro Painters’) with a whole pallet of free paint brushes. That’s 4,220 instruments for applying paint; that’s 4,220 instruments for doing good and helping others. Thanks to our partners at Purdy for donating a generous supply of professional painting tools!

Wycliffe Associates/One Heart - Many Hands Begin New Partnership

In addition to the exciting relationships we have been able to cultivate with central Florida business, government and community leaders, we pleased to welcome our newest partnership with Orlando-based Wycliffe Associates. With more than 40 years experience supporting worldwide efforts of Bible translation and mobilizing lay people, Wycliffe Associates has offered to call upon their own constituency base to assist One Heart – Many Hands with volunteer recruitment. Wycliffe Associates brings the expertise of an organization which mobilizes more than 5,000 volunteers each year. We are honored to count Wycliffe among our newest partners.

One Heart – Many Hands Expands Central Florida Staff

Looking ahead to 2009, our number of “boots on the ground” here at our post in Orlando will triple beginning in early January. Project Director George Sisler and his wife Heather will be joined by Ron and Chris Fox (from Prineville, OR) and Jim and Charlotte Blain (from Potter County, PA). All three couples have previously worked together organizing teams and projects that focused on disaster recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Look for upcoming feature articles on each couple, highlighting their efforts to prepare for the thousands of volunteers who will be matched with hundreds of service projects in and around Orlando in June 2009.

Local Partner Already Helping to Identify as Many as 30 Projects

Sign for the Orange Blossom Trail Development Board As One Heart – Many Hands is a mobile organization (for example, focusing on Indianapolis one year and perhaps Philadelphia the next) it is essential that we form close partnerships with local officials — experts on specific community needs. Our work with the Orange Blossom Trail Development Board (OBTDB) in Central Florida represents one such partnership. The organization is a community-improvement entity that has seen notable success in the last few years in helping to revitalize one of Orlando’s most economically challenged neighborhoods. Because of limited resources, the OBTDB often works on one street, one home at a time. In June 2009, One Heart – Many Hands volunteers will help to dramatically accelerate the neighborhood’s recovery by working on no less than 30 home-based projects that the OBTDB has identified as being in “critical need.”

Orange County Officials Plan Referrals in Pine Hills

Another Central Florida partnership that One Heart - Many Hands has developed is with the office of Orange County Mayor Richard T. Crotty. The Mayor’s office, which facilitated many of our vital relationships with local business partners, has designated the low-income Pine Hills community as an area from where One Heart – Many Hands will receive many official referrals for projects. Residents of Pine Hills (which includes Mercy Drive) have been lauded in recent media reports for their efforts to establish church-sponsored after-school programs and neighborhood watch teams. Pine Hills is on the rebound and One Heart – Many Hands is delighted to have even a small role in this remarkable, community-focused recovery.

Would your church, school or organization like to volunteer to help repair floors and roofs, walls and fences, wheelchair ramps and windows in homes occupied by low-income, elderly, handicapped and single-parent families in Central Florida? Click Here to send an email to the One Heart - Many Hands staff requesting more information or a registration packet.