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Solidarity Newsletter- October 2009
Director’s Update By Tommy Nixon, Executive Director I was recently talking with a close friend of Solidarity’s who commented how our mission statement was long and hard to understand. I agree. Most people look at Solidarity and believe we are about serving “poor” people, running after school programs, or community development. We believe that no matter what the context is or what social ill we are faced with, the only answer is for the church to be The Church. If we, as Christ followers, actually live out the teachings of Christ, the world will change. Over the past 7 years we have come to deeply understand that Christ’s words are true- when you give… you receive. Solidarity was founded on the teaching, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” As we have attempted to do that teaching the best we can, it has expressed itself through after school programs, community development, a screen printing business and working with street children. When we first started Solidarity, we wanted to save people with the gospel, yet we have realized that we are the ones being saved. It is through our participation in God’s Kingdom through deep relationships, that God is transforming our lives. We are not saving anyone; rather we get to join in with what Jesus is already doing in the lives of our friends and neighbors. So what are we about? We are about you. I f you are a Christ follower, we want to give you the opportunity to journey with us towards deeper relationship with Christ. We can’t go deeper with Jesus if we are not actively participating in what He is doing in the world. So for our friend who had the courage to tell us about our mission statement, here is what are attempting to do daily: “Love God well, Love others well, Live as Christ.” We invite you to do that with us by giving up your time, talents and treasures. For more information on the ways to do so, read below.
A Look into Solidarity’s Spiritual Formation Nights By Kevin Mo-Wong, Church Development Director The first Wednesday night of every month Solidarity invites everyone to something we call Spiritual Formation. There is time and space set aside to simply be with God, to get to know Him better, and to listen for His voice. When Solidarity was first founded, we were a bunch of college students who just wanted to love others in ways that drew them closer to Christ. So we created a bunch of different programs in order to foster relationships of love with people in our neighborhoods. The organization got good at loving others but there was so much more missing. We were a group of people who were “do-ers.” The original need of Spiritual Formation nights when it started a few years ago, was to help the Solidarity staff learn how to rest and abide with God. The staff, at that time, was about doing the things of Jesus, but we needed to work at learning to be with God. We discovered that the crucial aspects of following Jesus were to love God, love others, be loved by God, and to allow ourselves to be loved by others. These four values are the basis of our Spiritual Formation nights. We hope that these four values start to become a natural rhythm in the lives of everyone who participates with Solidarity. Every first Wednesday night of the month we invite you to journey with us as we attempt to love God, love others, be loved by God, and allow ourselves to be loved by others within every aspect of our lives. We want to love God within our jobs, be loved by God when we are dropping the kids off at day care, take time to accept love when we’re out to lunch with friends, and love others as we stroll down the aisle at the supermarket. During Spiritual Formation we seek to make these four values to be a lifestyle as a community. For more information and details about Spiritual Formation, contact Kevin at:
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Upcoming Community Events By Rosie Gomez, Community Development Associate You’re invited join us with what is happening in our community through three particular events. Neighborhood Thanksgiving Dinner: On Saturday, November 21st, we are holding our 4th annual Thanksgiving Dinner at our local community church, Puente de Gracia, from 12-3pm. Join us for a community dinner, music, and a celebration to give thanks. The address for the church is: 1690 N. Placentia Ave, Suite #B, Fullerton. Family Christmas Pictures: Come help our families in the community have their picture taken! On Saturday, December the 5th from 10am-1pm, a photographer will be at Puente de Gracia taking family Christmas pictures for a low price, and all proceeds will go back to the neighborhood. Signups are required- contact Rosie Gomez at
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or 714) 610-4254 for more information. We encourage all to get involved with either of these events.
Community Christmas Store By Rosie Gomez, Community Development Associate Our annual Community Christmas Store is coming soon and many toys are needed. For the last four years Solidarity has been hosting this event, allowing the parents of our neighborhood purchase gifts for their children at 90% off the original price. Every year we have over 400 kids/teens receiving gifts and need to collect as many toys/gifts possible ranging in age from newborn to 18 years of age. If you’re interested in donating gifts for this event, some idea gifts are:
· Infant Learning Toys · Clothing (for all ages) · Skateboards, Roller Blades · Video Games · Bicycles · Dolls · Teddy Bears · Make Up and Perfumes (for teens) · Outside Equipment (soccer balls, etc.) · Sports Clothing (for teens) · Hand Bags · Jewelry · Hannah Montana items · Gift Cards
Please note that all toys must be unwrapped, and we are also collecting wrapping paper, tape, and gift bags to do gift wrapping for the parents on-site. We are estimating that over 1,500 toys will be needed this year, as the need is bigger due to the struggling economy. We have seen many of our neighborhood parents lose their jobs this year and are in much need. The money raised by the Christmas Store goes back to our community programs. Ways to get involved: We encourage you to get involved with helping me by collecting toys for the store, and by volunteering at the store itself. The event is hosted at our neighborhood church, Puente de Gracia (1690 N. Placentia Ave, Suite #B, Fullerton) on Tuesday, December 15th, Wednesday, December 16th, and Thursday, December 17th. Volunteer activities include assisting in the store set up, wrapping gifts for the parents, restocking the gifts, and clean up. Deadline for gifts is Friday, December 11th. For more information, contact Rosie Gomez at
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or at 714) 610-4254. Thank you so much for your help- it’s greatly appreciated!
Reading Up on the Elementary Reading Program By Whitney Siefken, Office Assistant The After School Program’s Reading Program is back for another year! Upon its start on October 19th, we’ve been working with five kids in one-hour sessions, focusing on reading comprehension, speed, and accuracy. The Reading Program is held from 3p,-5pm Mondays and Thursdays, and we're always looking for volunteers, resources or reading materials. For more information or to get involved, contact Whitney at:
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Update from Solidarity International in Sao Paulo, Brasil By Karin Zaldana, Solid Brasil Intern
The following letter is from Karin Zaldana, one of the students in the Garnet neighborhood that we’ve been in relationship for many years. Karin grew up in El Savador and graduated from High School here this past May. Shortly after graduation, he spent several weeks with Tim Anderson, our Solid International, Brasil Director, living in Casa Elohim with Tim and the boys from the house. This letter talks of his experiences while in Sao Paulo, seeing firsthand the amazing things God is doing there. The following pictures are taken from his time there, on one particular camping trip Karin, Tim and the boys went on. To tell you tell you the truth I love this place. It’s beautiful here and has been easy to get used to because it reminds me so much of El Salvador, except for the crazy driving. Most of the time I feel right at home. As of now I have been hanging out a lot with the kids in Casa Elohim and working with favela kids together with one of the other staff members. Three of the boys have left casa Elohim since I have been here. They have all been able to return to live with their families and one of the staff members is also going back home this week. Seeing people that I become friends with leave has been hard. The things that I see and feel here just can’t be described with words- you yourself have to experience it. You can listen to people talk about it and build up a passion for what’s going on here or even say I’m going to help these kids out by giving them $20 a month but what does that really do? Yeah, you’re helping them financially but where is the love? You may say, “I worked hard for that money, how is that not showing them love?” You may have a point their but ask yourself this, how much money do you spend on yourself in a week or in a month? Are you not showing more love to yourself then to them? In the Bible it is written, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” So next time you think about buying the new Nike’s or buying more stuff for yourself, think about what else you can do with the money. One thing that you can do is split the money and buy yourself some cheaper shoes. I’m not saying that you have to do it all the time like if you were saving up to buy something that you have been wanting for a while and you earn it. Go for it! I’m also not saying that you can’t buy yourself an Arizona tea and a pack of cookie at 7-11 for $2.04!
If you really want to show these kids love or anyone else at that, you have to be a part of their lives! You have to spend the time with them because time is the best gift that you can give somebody you want to show love to. The time you spend with that person is time that you will never get back. One thing that I have learned in the time that I have been here is that the kids really want someone to love them. They don’t care about what you have or don’t have; all they really care about is the love you’re going to give them. They hardly even know me and they come up to me and give me hugs as if they have known me forever. I think that we can all learn something from these kids and we can learn to love well by loving each other! God gave us a job and it’s to find our passion for Him. So whatever it is go for it and do it with all your heart and know that he is backing us up 100% of the way and if people put you down don’t listen to them because if they reject you they reject the Son and if they reject son they reject the Father. If you would like more information on Solid International, Brasil, contact Tim Anderson at
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Supporting Solidarity There are many different ways people can be a part of the transformation that God is doing in our neighborhoods, including monetary giving. Your tax-deductible gift will provide alternatives to gangs for our elementary-aged kids this school year, will help further the chance to take our pregnant teens to local parenting classes, will continue helping neighbors dream big for their neighborhoods, and will further God's work in our communities in many other ways. We welcome one-time gifts and monthly commitments- should you choose to give monthly, contact our offices and we’ll send you a packet with all you need for your monthly support. We have three easy ways for you to give: Electronically: Give directly from our website using Google Checkout, a quick and safe way to give a one-time gift using your credit card. Monthly Credit Card: Solidarity now has an easy and convenient way to give monthly- set up your donation using your credit card, and we’ll do the rest. No more envelopes and remembering each month. On the specific date you choose and with your permission, Solidarity will securely charge your card for your specified monthly donation. We’ll send you a receipt for the charge and that’s it! If you’re interested, contact Bethany Rowe at
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or 714) 924-4186 and she’ll get you set up. Mail:
Solidarity
PO Box 220
Placentia, CA 92871
Housekeeping Please note that while we have changed program locations, our mailing address is still the same- you can find it below. However, our phone number has changed: it is now: 714) 924-4186. For faxing information, please contact our offices.
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